A new book will document the contribution of young people to Timor-Leste’s long struggle for independence.
The government, through the Secretariat of State for Youth and Sport (SSYS), will establish a team to write and research the book, as well as open an office.
Secretary of State for Youth and Sport Leovigildo da Costa Hornai said the team will begin collecting information and evidence this month.
While previous books published by student organizations and other writers have touched on the struggle of young people, it has not been a complete history.
“We have not put the true story in our documents or in a book,” he said.
Other books written by experts about the history of Timor’s struggle for national freedom have also not specifically dealt with the contribution of young people, he said.
He said the planned book would contain a comprehensive history, particularly about the participation of young people in various movements up until the Santa Cruz massacre on November 12, 1991.
Hundreds of young people lost their lives after the Indonesian military opened fire during a protest march from Motael church to the Santa Cruz cemetery.
The project team will consist of academics and survivors of the massacre, who Hornai said bear a responsibility to tell the true story for the new generation.
“It (the book) will be kept in schools and history teachers will use it to teach the students, especially about the struggle of the youth,” he said.
He said it was important to initiate the project now while the current government still had its mandate and then the next government could continue the process until the book is completed.
Meanwhile, national MP Angelina Rangel said it was the government’s responsibility to document the history of people’s struggle for national freedom to the new generation.
She said the parliament supported the initiative and had promised to approve the project if the government proposes it in the next annual general budget.
“All people struggled for freedom, but it was always the youth who stood in front doing the demonstrations against our enemies,” she said.
As a survivor of the Santa Cruz massacre, she said a complete history needed to be told.
She also called on the government to fast-track the project as many survivors have since passed away and therefore it was important to interview those still alive so that their stories would not be lost.
She hoped that it would be a successful initiative and produce a true historical book about the struggle of young people for independence.
