By Mallika Naguran
As it enters into the second decade of self-rule, with a change of governing powers mid-year and with UN Peacekeepers gone by year-end, will Timor-Leste make it on its own?
On 20 May 2012, Timorese celebrated ten years of the restoration of independence and striking out on their own. Since the end of the UN transitional administration on 19 May 2002 after 25 years of occupation by Indonesia since 1975 (following 300 odd years of Portuguese colonization), a wounded Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor) became the youngest nation to chart its own destiny. But how long will the euphoria last?
Ten years ago, the country was in acute disrepair: little roads, fewer still in good condition, a clutch of health services, poor access to clean water and sanitation, widespread poverty, and on top of all, internal conflict and factional fighting in 2006 that tore the tattered fabric of society to shreds.
Today, rural villagers get on with subsistence farming, youths go to high school in capital city Dili, and women get their voices heard as elected member of parliaments. Private businesses and investments in Timor-Leste contribute to double-digit economic growth in a stable and conducive environment. A thousand Timorese will become qualified doctors by 2016.
Read the full story at Eurasia Review