Fieldwork district trip update

End of my tether

I’ve been on the road for a little over a week now. Nine days including today. I’m really feeling it. Fatigue and weariness is setting in.

I’m in Los Palos, the district capital of the District of Lautem. I’ve only been here twenty-four hours and I’m sitting in the restaurant of the hotel I’m staying at; the Roberto Carlos Hotel. I don’t think it’s named after the football player, it’s the name of the guy who owns it. Apparently he comes from Angola.

I’m gonna rewind a little first. Last time I wrote, it was a Monday evening, must have been the 16^th. A lot has happened since then: I think I mentioned I had visited the CNE office and had started to make connections with political actors in Manatuto. Well, the following day, my research assistant and I headed off to visit the local FRETILN guy.

He wasn’t home. Great, this is fieldwork remember. We had a chat with his son, I believe, and he said he would get in touch when he got back. The guy was in Dili, of course… Well, strike that one. We did have an appointment with a guy from CNRT in the afternoon so I made ready for that. Getting to this guy’s place took ages. Oh boy, it was warm, about 1.30 in the afternoon. Must have taken at least half an hour. Had to stop several times to ask people how to find his place. I’ve got some photos of a prominent landmark nearby… I’ll put them up soon.

Fortunately, this guy turned up only shortly after the appointment we made and we held our interview outside, in the yard. With the kids, rooster, chickens, pigs and dogs around. I’ve checked the audio and I can clearly hear his answers but you can’t help but notice the background noise. This is fieldwork in Timor-Leste. Keeping it real.

That went pretty well, and we made our way back home. On this return trip, we noticed a house with a Partido Democratico (PD) flag flying above it. Well, why not ask? Turns out, the president or something of the local PD branch lived there. On the spot interview was asked, and agreed to. Bonus.

Manatuto is really a sleepy little town and we were struggling to find interview subjects. I was honestly over the place. No disrespect, it’s a lovely little place, with a nice beach but it wasn’t turning out to be a good research site. Still, three interviews is a start. More than I started with. And the place was noticeably hotter than Dili.

Wednesday we departed for Baucau. A city I had eventfully visited for one memorable night last year. My fears of waiting around in the midday heat for potentially hours on end were thankfully dashed; we caught a bus literally straightaway. What good fortune! We bundled in, somehow found space for bags and us, and my legs!!!

A short walk from the terminal in Baucau led us to my good friend and colleague’s house. Augusto is an amazing person and I could not have achieved in Baucau what I did without his help, and his family’s hospitality. First thing in the morning, we departed for the CNE office, having learned our lesson from Manatuto. They helped us find a couple of people and we started making phone calls and making appointments. Most of the interviews I got, however, were through Augusto’s personal connections. Emphasises the point that it really is about who you know.

Thursday produced two interviews: first with Frenti Mudanca, then with a trip to the beach to meet someone from PST. One frustrating aspect of this research has been trying to get a gender balance in my interviews. Most of the people I interview are males, and I was pleased the PST representative was a female.

Friday started off, well, not that well. A visit to a FRETILN household produced no interview, the father and mother are both involved, but the father was apparently away, according to one of his kids. She said they would call us when he came back. Got the impression that could be a week away. There was a meeting with some important people, including political types in the morning and we thought if we hung out there, we could find someone. The meeting started at 9 and because these things tend to go on, we went back home and rested.

We went back at 11. We waited, and waited, and waited. Wasn’t until at least 1pm that they left. We got hold of the FRETILN guy who was supposed to be away and he agreed to talk straightaway. We didn’t have time to waste because we had another appointment with a PD representative immediately afterwards. Plenty of walking ensued. We had no transport, though we got some timely and gratefully appreciated lifts with Augusto. Got that one down, great, two interviews. Although exhausted, another opportunity had presented itself during the first interview of the day. The mother I referred to earlier is not only in FRETILN, but she is a member of parliament and member of OPMT, the organisation within FRETILN that represents women politicians. We scrambled back, completely stuffed, but firing on adrenaline. She was fantastic, though I had to cut down on my questions; she was a real politician. I asked her one question, she gave me three answers at once. She had a message and she enjoyed sharing it with us. They were kind enough to offer some of the home grown passionfruit too; lovely! Three interviews in one day; hurrah.

So, five down and one more planned for Saturday morning. One turned into two as it transpired. We interviewed a CNRT representative before a meeting he was at. In attendance was another person, who used to be involved in PSD, but was only prepared to speak as a political observer of the Baucau District. No worries. I left Baucau with ten interviews in total. Reasonably happy with that.

Today, Monday… back to CNE, in Los Palos. Augusto knew the guy there and he helped us out find people. Frustrating as one person was in Dili, one wasn’t prepared to talk, and the other had their phone off. Luckily, a representative from FRETILN was available almost straightaway. Smashed it. Have got one lined up for tomorrow, fingers crossed.

In closing, I think I’ve hit a wall with this trip. I’m really feeling flattened and short on energy. Having to walk an hour to the CNE office didn’t help of course. I don’t feel that there’s too much more I can do here. Also, I’m feeling a bit unwell so it’s time to go back to Dili. Cutting my trip short a little but I think I’ve been quite productive. Anyway, that’s all folks for the moment. Take care.

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