The Description of the Timorese Struggle for Freedom in the poems

29 through the dictions of „I and mine‟. In this poem, Xanana presents the image of the war vulgarly that represent the Timorese struggle ; war costs people‟s life and the lost of the country “the sky is not minethe sea is not mine life is only gain by death”: I am at war the sky is not mine I am at war the sea is not mine, I am at war and life is won only in death in the hope of regaining my sea Xanana, 1975-1999, stanza 1, lines 2-7 Through the image of the „the sky‟, he addresses that the use of military power is not only by the war ships but also by using war planes to win the battle over Timorese. „Sky‟ which Xanana presents is representing war planes and the „the sea‟ is the representation of war ships. In the poem “I am at war”, Xanana captures the real condition of Timorese people during struggling against oppressor. Many Timorese lost their life for defending their motherland. Timorese were forced to fight the war that they never wanted. The tone suggests a struggle against colonial superior military power; Xanana and the people of Timor Leste have no chance in defending their country. However, in the last line of the poem, there is still a hope that one day the Timorese will gain their freedom and country “in the hope of regaining my sea.” These two poems, “My Sea of Timor” and “I am at war” are a portrayal of Suha rto‟s military invasion of Timor Leste on 7 December 1975 under pretext of 30 anti-colonialism and the struggle of the Timorese against it. The regime overthrows FRETILIN Revolutionary front of Independence of Timor Leste, government and occupied the country over quarter-century which between approximately 100-180,000 soldiers and civilians are estimated to have been killed or starved. The descriptions in the poem about Suharto‟s military power by Xanana above are to reveal the notion of colonizers in expanding their colony by using military power as Michael Barrat- Brown in Said, 1994: 341 explains that in imperialism, without question that the commonest strategy in an expansion of the colony is the use of military power. The invasion of Timor Leste by the Soeharto‟s regime actually violates Indonesian constitution where it says that every nation has the right to be free from colonialism. The Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia of 1945 PREAMBLET Whereas Independence is the natural right of every nation, colonialism must be abol-ished in this world because it is not in conformity with Humanity and Justice. Sindunegoro, 1991: 19 The character of Indonesia with its international solidarity to abolish colonialism throughout the world and build nations upon democratic ideals where the rights of individual and nations based upon independence, peace and social justice is violated. The poems “My Sea of Timor” and “I am at War” are the descriptions of how Timor Leste‟s independence was ignored by Soeharto‟s Regime for the sake of his economic and political interests. The regime cooperated with its Western allies by justifying that Timor Leste is a half island, poor, and underdeveloped; in other words, 31 it is not a viably independent country. Barrat-Brown, Michael in Said 1994:341 mentions that imperialism is still without question a most powerful force in the economic, political and military relations by which less economically developed land is subjected to the more economically developed. In the poem “Maubere”, Xanana as a speaker in the poem appeals to the Timorese to struggle against the endless oppression and enslavement that have been put upon them by the colonizers through the tone “repetition of “maubere” and images of belly, ruts, and walls; “maubere people tear open your belly your cravings rust of neglect, of anguish, of oppression and hurl them to the wind to you furthest brother in the secret places of the sacred land.... maubere people clench you fist hours is yours your defiance will bring down the wall of your own enslavement.” The tone of defiance through the diction of “mauberemaubere people” used in the stanza is transmitting the message which carries defiance in uniting the Timorese to end the long suffering of enslavement by the excessive military control. “Maubere people” or the Timorese can liberate themselves from enslavement: Maubere People, Maubere, child of East Timor, tear open your belly, your cravings, ruts of neglect, of anguish, of oppression, and hurl them to the wind, to your furthest brother, in the secret places of the sacred land, Maubere People, clench your fists, The hour is yours, Maubere 32 And your defiance will bring down the walls of your own enslavement long march of liberation liberate yourself Xanana,1975-1999, stanza 1, lines 1-9, stanza 2, lines 1-5, stanza 3, lines 3 - 4 The poem “Maubere” is an illustration of how the Timorese lived in harsh condition under colonial hegemony for a long period of time and their struggle: “ruts of neglect, of angui sh, of oppressionthe wall of your own enslavement”. Timorese have been living under two different colonialisms: under Portuguese rule for nearly 500 years and Indonesian military occupation for 24 years. During those times, the Timorese were forced to abandon their culture and way of thinking because they were considered uncivilized. The title Maubere is the term used by Portuguese to marginalize Timorese; maubere means „uneducated, inferior‟ to the colonizer, while Indonesian Military officers referred it as „backward and lazy‟. maubere or „Other‟ is to justify colonialism that the „other‟ is uncivilized, so they must be civilized through the civilization brought to Timor Leste by Portuguese and Indonesian military. Then, Xanana uses the term maubere to unite Timorese or “maubere” as a new identity of Timorese as he called it “maubere people, maubere, child of Timor.” maubere also becomes the new identity of Timorese as a frontier. Frontier here has a dual function. Geographically, the imagined community has a certain geographical boundaries. As a national consciousness has risen, maubere creates imaginative boundaries between people who feel themselves as an oppressed nation, poor, and destitute by the invaders. Xanana cites the term maubere, not only as a new identity 33 but also as a symbol of resistance and political tool to gain international recognition of Timor Leste. The term maubere is used to reject colonial values and hence provides a voice to the dominated, marginalized and divided the Timorese. This is as displayed in the last three lines “the hours is your‟s maubere and your defiance will bring down the wall of your own enslavement .” The use of the term maubere as Timorese new identity by Xanana is a strategy for self-determination. The poem entitled “Oh Freedom”, Xanana displays excessive oppression of colonize rs through the images of nature; “cold mornings curtain of the skyhillsdisturbed sunrise the serene plains of the pasture drinking from the springs calm afternoons the darkening of the waves sea.” These images represent excessive oppression even though “oppression” is not directly mention in the poem. Further the tone Xanana uses, conditional [If] that gives lurid description of the Timorese struggle during oppression of colonizers. Every walk of the life of the Timorese was controlled by the oppressor: “If I could onlywake up in cold morningwake up shivering beating by the galewhich opens for the curtain of the sky and see, from the top of the hills the purple painting o f a disturbed sunrise east of Timor” first stanza lines, 1- 8 and “if I could only in the scorching suns towards the finding myself” in second stanza lines, 1-3 and “If I could only in the calm afternoons feel that tiredness of the sensuous nature stretching itself in its own sweat and listen to the telling of the weariness‟s within the laughter‟s of the naked barefoot children” in third stanza lines, and “If I could only at the darkening of the waves 34 walk by the sand absorbed in myself in the wet rapture of the breeze and touch the immensity of the sea in a breath of soul which let me dream the future of Timor.” in the last stanza, lines, 1-9, Xanana uses conditional [if] is also to underlines how difficult it is for the Timorese to live their daily life normally when everything they do was under control, from the start of the day till later in the afternoon: Oh Freedom If I could only in the cold mornings wake up shivering beaten by the gale which opens for me the curtain of the sky, and see, from the top of my hills, the purple painting of a disturbed sunrise east of Timor If I could only in the scorching suns towards the finding of myself in the serene plains of the pasture, and feel the smell of animals drinking from the springs which would murmur in the air, legends of Timor Xanana, 1975-1999, Stanza 1, lines 1-8, stanza 2, lines 1-8 The first and second stanzas above show the hope of the Timorese to wake up in the morning freely without any fear. People were hoping that they wake up in the mor ning and have enough strength “beaten by the galewhich opens for me the curtain of the sky ” to face the excessive oppression as “the disturb sunrise” and do their daily activity. There is no morning that not control. The second stanza portrays, 35 maybe later in the day people are hoping to be free and enjoy doing their activities “If I could only in the scorching suns ride in raptures towards the finding of myself in the serene plains of the pasture but ride in ruptures is not exist and in on a hope. People just pray to their ancestors that migh t help reduce their suffering “and feel the smell of animals drinking from the springs which would murmur in the air, legends of the Timor. Then, curtain of the sky and the disturb sunrise ” represents uncertain future of the Timorese. If I could only in the calm afternoons feel that tiredness of the sensuous nature stretching itself in its own sweat and listen to the telling of the wearinesses within the laughters of the naked barefoot children of all Timor Xanana,1975-1999, stanza 3, lines 1-9 In the third above stanza, Xanana reveals that after hard days of working, people are hoping to come back and see their family enjoy the afternoon, share their daily grain to each other as a family “If I could only in the calm afternoons feel that tiredness of the sensuous nature stretching itself in its own sweat and listen to the telling of the weariness‟s within the laughter‟s of the naked barefoot children.” Spending time with the family was only a hope, because people left their kids and joined guerrilla in the jungle to fight for liberation of the nation. Those who did not join the guerrilla in the jungle were tightly controlled, so family time also had been under control. 36 In the l ast stanza of “Oh Freedom” below is still the portrayal of the harshness of the life of the Timorese. The images still carried the helplessness of the Timorese cannot enjoy their life and the tone is still expresses the voice of Xanana insistence of the Timorese freedom. From the first stanza to the last Xanana address directly to colonizers “if” the Timorese might have their freedom: “the darkening of the waves... let me dream the future of the island of Timor”. There was no time for the Timorese to have normal daily life that same as the colonizer. Family gathering is just an “if” and so is their future of the country: If I could only at the darkening of the waves walk by the sand absorbed in myself in the wet rapture of the breeze and touch the immensity of the sea in a breath of soul which let me dream the future of the island of Timor xanana, 1975-1999, Stanza 4, lines 1-9 Last stanza is a portrayal of hope of the Timorese to be free from the occupation, so that peop le can enjoy their life “If I could only at the darkening of the waves walk by the sand absorbed in myself in the wet rapture of the breeze and touch the immensity of the sea in a breath of soul which let me dream the future.” The future is only a hope and the hope is in the air; Timorese must struggle to realize the “hope” into a freedom which is still in the hand of the colonizer. “Oh Freedom” i s a portrayal of Suharto‟s military oppression in every walk of the life of the Timorese. The regime implements a strategy known as „divide and rule‟ by using 37 village guidance officer called a Babinsa Bintara Pembina Desa as the „eyes and ears‟ of the occupation forces and collecting intelligence on a regular basis. This military presented in every village all over the country to make sure that the Timorese followed every rule that had been put upon them. In the poem “Grandfather Crocodile”, Xanana depicts Crocodile becomes the central figure in the poem. The tone through the diction of „crocodile‟ is to emphasize that Crocodile in Timorese culture considered as sacred and believed as the ancestor of the Timorese. Through this poem, Xanana portrays the Timorese culture in order to show the colonizers that Timorese are there to defend their culture as well as their way of life. In this poem, he shows the colonizer about their origin “from the depths of the ocean and his lumpy hide was transformed into a mountain range where people were born and where people died,” how they live their life and remind the colonizer that the Timorese are determined with their own destiny “ a crocodile in search of a destinyGrandfather crocodile -the legend says and who am I to disbelieve that he is Timor” the Timorese culture in the eyes of colonizer is primitive and uncivilized, so it must be modernized. Edward Said ‟s Orientalism 1994: xii- xiii identifies superiority of Western culture and the rest is “Other”, which means imperialism culture is the most effective method to justify colonialism. Overall, “Grandfather Crocodile” is used to strive against arrogance colonial culture: From the depths of the ocean a crocodile in search of a destiny spied the pool of light, and there he surfaced 38 Then wearily, he stretched himself out in time and his lumpy hide was transformed into a mountain range where people were born and where people died Grandfather crocodile - the legend says and who am I to disbelieve that he is Timor Xanana, 1975-1999, stanza 1, lines 1-3, stanza 2, lines 1-7, stanza 3, lines 1- 4 In this poem, Xanana places the Timorese culture at the centre; “cultural strategy” is a powerful tool to inspire revolution against colonialism. The notion of cultural strategy by Xanana is to undermine colonial cultural hegemony and its structure that has been put upon Timorese and other oppressed nations and reemphasize national culture so- callled as “inferior” to colonizers as an ideal culture that is distinct from colonizers and must be proud of. Cultural strategy is also to eliminate the inferiority of colonized people towards colonizers and build consciousness of being equal to colonizers in every walk of life. Furthermore, to achieve national liberation for the Timorese and other oppressed nation is to eliminate formal structure of “civilization mission” by colonizers. Senghor in O. R. Dathorne 1975:230-232 puts his hatred in his poem “Nuit de sine” against French government policy, so- called as „civilizing mission‟, to assimilate Africans into the French culture and way of living by giving them education, dealing specifically with French history and tradition, and all but ignoring the origins and culture of the African people. 39 The portrayal of Portuguese rule and Suharto‟s military occupation in Timor Leste in Xanana‟s poems shows that new civilization that colonizers claimed as new enlightenment for the Timorese has brought down the existence of the Timorese civil liberty. The Timorese became slave in their own country; they lost their culture, way life, and many lives for civilisation that had never been their choice. However, the Timorese would always defend their cultural existence because it has been their way of life for long period of time. Through his poems, Xanana portrays freedom is the rights of every individual or a nation and he raises the consciousness of his fellow Timorese to struggle for their freedom and the country. As in his poem “Maubere” stanza 3, line1- 4, “Maubere People, confront and face yourself in the long march of liberationLiberate yourself”, Xanana believes that in order to achieve total liberation, the Timorese must gain political, social and cultural freedom. 40

B. What Concept of Freedom reflected in Xanana Gusmao’s Poems is

During all periods of history, we have poets who sing praises of their country to which they belong, join a crusade for social change, or herald a revolution for the goodness of particular people or country. Poetry and freedom have become one unity throughout oppressed nations in struggling against western hegemony. To use Fanon‟s words 1968: 240, it is a “literature of combat.” In Africa, poets such as Leopold Sedar Senghor, Aimé Césaire, Agustinho Neto, and many others use poetry as a way to gain freedom. Through poetry, these poets put across their ideologyconcept of freedom for people that they represent. Leopold Sedar Senghor in his, Totem 1948 and Aimé Césaire in his, Return to My Native Land 1947 have their concept Negritude, while Agustinho Neto in his, Sacred Hope 1974 has his “the re-Africanization of the mind”. Xanana Gusmao, a poet and leader of The Revolutionary Movement for an Independence of Timor Leste FRETILIN, uses poetry to record political and social issues during Portuguese rule and Suharto‟s military occupation. Through poetry, Xanana portrays his concept of freedom . The concept that he put across is the concept of Maubere that does not only represent the Timorese identity and as a frontier but also as a concept of freedom. Maubere is the concept of freedom based on political, social and cultural freedom where Timorese people choose to live in their own land, live their lives according to their culture and under the government of their own choice. The concept of Maubere puts the island of Timor 41 Leste as the place where Timorese spiritual, religious, and political identity is shaped. The island of Timor is where Timorese “Maubere” first attained to nationhood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal of Timorese existence. The concept of freedom which Xanana calls as “Maubere” is to achieve political, social and cultural freedom. First, there is freedom of the state. This is what he calls as political freedom; this implies freedom from external control. It is in this sense that one can talk of a colonial territory as moving from the status of dependency to the status of a free and independent state. In the poems “I am at war”, “My Sea of Timor”, and “Oh Freedom”, Xanana depicts Timor leste‟s political freedom where he emphasizes that nation of Timor Leste must be free from colonialism and Timorese civil society must be respected, allowing Timor Leste and its people to build a democratic society like other democratic societies in the world in their own term. Political freedom is the essence of Timor Leste‟s nationhood and Timorese individual rights to determine their future. Political freedom goes hand -in- hand with mutual respect among countries. As Xanana states in Do One Thing Heroes for a Better World 1999: 2, freedom means “to build a democratic system enshrined with the respect for fundamental rights of Man, of the human being, of the individuals. Freedom goes hand-in-hand with mutual respect. Political and cultural freedom is the way for Timorese to gain total liberation.” 42 The second concept is social freedom. In a democratic society, social freedom is inevitable for the people. Social freedom means protection of nation‟s existence and wellbeing, which means a search for measure and possibilities in order to have social development. In the poem “Oh Freedom”, Xanana portrays the absence of social freedom for the Timorese because the colonizers as a larger society imposed social constrain upon the Timorese. The excessive control of the colonizers over the Timorese means the Timorese was not able to build better social life and social development. Social freedom means the Timorese have freedom of choice in building better society. The third concept of freedom which is discernible in Xanana‟s thought is cultural freedom. In order to have total freedom, colonized people must have cultural freedom. In the poems “Maubere” and “My Grandfather Crocodile”, the Timorese culture is well represented. Maubere represents the Timorese identity, while “crocodile” denotes the Timorese fundamental culture and origin. Through these poems, Xanana portrays his concept of cultural freedom. In his interview with Mark Aarons from The Monthly 2007, he insisted that Timorese must preserve their traditional culture, especially relationship with their ancestral lands; If Timorese live in a community, they will have the opportunity to go to their ancestors lands when its the right time, not in an animist perception of life, but more like a ceremony, a ritual. We can also bring the new generation, to remind them that these are our roots. Since the West and Suharto‟s regime consider their culture is superior and use it to legitimate colonialism, in these two poems, by presenting his notion of cultural 43 freedom Xanana presents how the Timorese must struggle against the cultural hegemony of those colonizers that can lead Timorese to total liberation. Cultural freedom is the right of individuals and communities including Timorese to define and protect their valued and diverse ways of life.

1. Political freedom

Political freedom is inevitable for oppressed nations. In his release after referendum in 1999, Xanana Gusmao stated that political freedom is important for Timor Leste as a nation to gain its sovereignty. He and Maubere people are now free from colonial hegemony. For any nation in the world, freedom is only won when the country is free from colonizers; nations and the people must achieve political freedom, so that they can build a democratic society of their own. Political freedom is the rights of every nation in the world. Further he added, the Timorese must work hard to fulfill the dreams that now come true. Freedom is like a blank piece of paper where the Timorese can write their dreams, and dream of happiness for their children. Since Timor Leste is under Portuguese and Soehar to‟s Military occupation, Xanana puts his concept of freedom “Maubere” through his poems “I am at war”, “My Sea of Timor” and “Oh Freedom.” In the poem “I am at war”, Xanana depicts the concept of freedom which brings the real freedom and independence to Timorese. In this poem, Xanana reveals that freedom can only be gained if the nation is free from occupation; thus, the Timorese must struggle to keep holding their motherland by taking arms against the colonizers as described below: