Untitled
(Excerpt)
by
Lamin
Conteh
...We just sat there speechless, having no idea
what struck our car. One thing we all knew was
that we were all alive at least until that moment.
Finally, Freitas broke the silence: Lamin Lamin!!
BIG BIG stone pointing to a big basalt rock lying
between him and Frenando on the rear passenger
seat. He was interrupted when he saw three armed
with machetes emerging from the nearby bushes.
The tallest among them and of course the oldest
was wearing blue jeans with a camoflage jacket.
The other two were in their mid-twenties wearing
black overalls. Get out, get out, said the older one
whom the rest called Comandante. I was the first
to alight from the vehicle, again he shouted, your
hands up and stood in front of the car while the
engine was running and the headlights on.
When we were all standing in front of the car, he
requested the three locals give him their identi-
ty cards and they immediately complied. After a
thorough look, he returned the IDs of the two local
police and asked us to leave without the interpret-
er, whom he called a pest and a pest who should
be eliminated. My heart broke and I knew I had
to act and act now to prevent what was about to
happen. Since I wasn’t allowed to use my hand-
held radio for assistance, I used my Timorese
language proficiency (Tetun) to convince him not
to harm Moniz. I told him all UN vehicles were
equipped with cameras and therefore would be
arrested even if he decided to kill us all. That was
a lie though. After an hour of talking he hesitantly
let go of Moniz and returned him his ID. The three
men later helped us push the stock wheel, I gave
them some snacks, juice and cigarettes from the
car. They melted into the dark night and we re-
turned back to base. During my second mission to
Timor, I heard that Comandante was in prison for
the atrocities he committed.
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