14 October 2008
By Judith Martin
As Sapper Andrew Irvine picks his way through the narrow pot-holed road, chickens scuttle past, and a pig snuffles in the stifling heat.
It’s siesta-time quiet in the small Dili village. Within minutes however children begin to materialise from nearby houses, falling in beside the young soldier, chatting using what English they know, and laughing with him.
The scene is typical of those wherever the Kiwi soldiers take to the streets of Timor Leste on their daily patrols.
They make a point of interacting with the locals, acknowledging people with a smile as they walk past. Sapper Irvine is part of a platoon based at Bidau Santa Ana on the outskirts of Dili. He and about 30 other soldiers live in a once-elegant but now rundown two-storied house in the centre of a busy village spilling with children, goats and noisy vehicles.
When the soldiers, many of them barely out of their teens, go on patrol they are a draw card to local youngsters. Word has got around that they’re often good for a game of soccer or frisbee, and this village is no exception.
It’s all part of patrolling, and getting to know what’s going on in the community, says Major Jason Dyhrberg, officer commanding of 120-strong Delta Company.
Helping the Timorese become confident and secure, and encouraging stability in this troubled and desperately poor nation is what it’s all about.
It’s MAJ Dyhrberg’s fourth deployment to Timor Leste. He served here as a rifle platoon commander in 2000, and again as a reconnaissance platoon commander in 2002. He returned to Dili for a one month command stint last year, and was back again in April this year as officer commanding of 120-strong Delta Company.
With a 180-strong presence in Timor Leste this is the NZDF’s largest overseas deployment, with most of the New Zealanders working with an Australian-led mission to help maintain security and stability in the country.
New Zealand and several other nations put in a huge effort in what was then East Timor from 1999 to 2002. Following a proindependence (from Indonesia) referendum, vengeful militia murdered and raped and systematically burned nearly every city and village. In an effort to make and then keep the peace New Zealand sent more than 1000 defence personnel to the island.
Relative calm prevailed until 2006 when factional violence and trouble again erupted, this time mainly in Dili; there were murders, buildings were burned, and thousands of people displaced.
Major Dyhrberg arrived last year in the middle of a tropical rain storm, with the Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps surrounding the airport bursting at the seams. Moments later a local who had drawn a slingshot on someone was shot in the chest, and the Portuguese riot police began converging on the area.
“I thought, ‘It’s nice to be back….’” says the officer.
But there’s no hint he has become cynical or disillusioned about what’s happening with Timor Leste.
Yellow overalled men are tidying up the roads and removing rubbish, and there is a greater local police presence.
Yet the security, humanitarian and political situation in Timor Leste remains fragile.
Although displaced people are returning to their villages or enclaves, there are still IDP camps bulging with people, and murmurings of disquiet over planned political reforms.
The New Zealanders patrol Dili in vehicles and on foot to encourage calm and stability. And they do it in typical Kiwi style. The soldiers are armed, but with windows wound down in their patrol vehicles they wave and chat to passing locals wherever they can. They talk to village elders wherever possible, and find out how people are feeling about issues.
“We are impartial,” says Major Dyhrberg. “We don’t take sides with anyone. Our soldiers are very approachable. They talk, make eye contact. We and the locals are on the same level. We need them on our side and to support us so that we can do our job properly.
“We are always fully armed, and in constant communication. It appears calm out there, but all that is needed in a place like this is one ugly incident…”
The city is divided into “platoon” areas, and every two months the platoons rotate, moving into one of three forward operating bases. Community-based patrols make the soldiers more visible, and shorten their reaction time should an incident occur.
Major Dyhrberg is obviously proud of the work his soldiers are doing.
“It’s not easy work. It can be mundane, dusty, and with long periods on the streets in full kit in temperatures up to 40 degrees. They must keep alert and professional at all times.”
That said however, the patrols often take a soccer ball with them, and while some keep watch other patrol group members will have impromptu games with groups of local children, or young adults in the many grassy spaces throughout the city.
The NZDF has for some time had an air component in Timor Leste, made up of 31 people operating two RNZAF Iroquois helicopters. That detachment, from RNZAF Number 3 Squadron, based in Ohakea, is planning its return to New Zealand in late October to enable 3 Squadron to prepare and train for the arrival of a new helicopter fleet.
In the meantime though the patrols look set to stay in the streets of Dili, and the NZDF will be placing an increased emphasis on helping the Timorese people become self sufficient, encouraging them, says Major Dyhrberg, to find Timorese solutions to Timorese issues.
The NZDF also has five officers working with the Timorese Defence Force, the F-FDTL in the areas of small arms training, human resources and logistics. That number is set to increase in the near future.