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East Timor Problems

by Vishal Kumar

When we take a look at the problems of East Timor, we find that this small land often experienced some critical problems from the early days. The problems in East Timor began with the Portuguese…


When we take a look at the problems of East Timor, we find that this small land often experienced some critical problems from the early days. The problems in East Timor began with the Portuguese invasion. As the time passed by, problems engulfed this little country. Then problems came in different forms, sometimes they were social, sometimes they were political and at times, they were economical. But the government always played a positive role to solve them.

In mid 90s, the Dutch colonies were withdrawn and later in 1975, the Portuguese decided to give up their colonies in East Timor. This Portuguese withdrawal was followed by the invasion of Indonesian Army. When we look at the pages of history, we find that this barbarous intrusion of the Indonesian Army caused some serious problems regarding the economical and political stability. The Timorese tried their best to resist the Indonesian army but failed. But this struggle cost the life of 20,000 Timorese. This violation of human rights in East Timor drawn the attention of nations around the world in 1990s.

Poverty is a great problem in East Timor for years. Almost 40 % of the total population are still under poverty line. Malnutrition is another problem creeping up these days. Many children are dying due to the lack of nutrition. In fact reports say that every one among ten children are malnourished in East Timor. Education in this small country was always a big problem. But government is taking optimistic decisions these days for a better future and the good news is that they are achieving slow but steady success.

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