Dili, Timor-Leste
Friday, August 5, 2011
On Santa Cruz cemetery there had been a massacre following a students' peace protest, in which also a westerner got killed. It resembles a turning point in the history of Timor, leading to the intervention of external forces in the conflict between East Timor and
Indonesia, and the promotion of peace. Some tombs by the entrance looked like there had been a fire at some point, but no other traces of the massacre were visible. The tombs were made from bathroom tiles and concrete, and lots of creativity had been used for their design. They were decorated with plastic flowers, which were also burned near a cross in the middle of the cemetery, sun-melted candles, and pictures of religious icons. Many graves also displayed pictures of the deceased, which had bleached out in the strong sunlight, giving them a ghost-like look. All of this was set against a back-drop of palm trees and the surrounding mountains, making for one magical place.
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