Dili, December 12, 2024 (Média Democracia) – The Centro Nacional Chega (CNC) created a reunification plan to take responsibility for the children who disappeared during the Indonesian period 1975-1999, who were not reunited with their families.
According to CNC Executive Director, Hugo Maria Fernandes said, through the collaborative work reunification program, children who were lost during the Indonesian occupation can be recalled to Timor-Leste, so they can be reunited with their families.
“This reunification program is very good because Timor-Leste Centro Nacional Chega and Civil Society collaborate with Indonesian Civil Society to search for the Timorese who disappeared during the Indonesian occupation who were brought to Indonesia when they were children.” Said the Executive Director
He continued, through this reunification program, it can help us to collaborate with Indonesian Civil Society in the search for Timor-Leste Citizens who disappeared when they were forced by the Indonesian Army to live in Indonesia and have not been able to meet their families until now.
“So, this Reunification Program, Centro Nacional Chega together with Indonesian Civil Society collaborated when finding Timorese citizens who were lost during the Indonesian occupation, when found they will be taken to Timor-Leste to meet their families but not to live permanently in Timor-Leste, because they have become Indonesian citizens.” He said.
He added that when they are found, they will be taken to Timor-Leste to meet their families and then it can be discussed based on culture because many families hold funerals for them because their families think they have died because they have not seen them for a long time.
“They cannot stay in Timor-Leste because they are already Indonesian citizens, so they can only visit and then have to go back to their families, because they are also married and have children, so we call it a reunification system,” he continued.
He said that the most important part of the reunification program was to be able to bring back some of the children who were lost during the Indonesian occupation from 1975-1999 to come to Timor-Leste to be reunited with their families, so that they could have discussions based on their respective cultures.
To be more precise, the data collected by CNC since its seven years of existence can bring more than one hundred children to meet their families in Timor-Leste and then they return to Indonesia. However, the data recorded some of more than one hundred people have not been brought to Timor-Leste to be reunited with their families, believing that in the future will work hard to bring them to visit their families in Timor-Leste.
Reported by : Nelfiano
Picture by : Nelfiano