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TOPU
HONIS KUTET
is a children's home which is run by Father Richard
Daschbach (left) and is tucked behind the mountains
to the south of Oecusse Town.
In
2000 Topu Honis Kutet had some 35 children however
by 2004 this had increased to over a hundred. It has
also expanded to include a facility in Mahata to the
east of Oecusse Town enable older children to attend
the secondary school there. It is non-governmental
and receives funding from a number of charities in
Timor Leste, Australia, Japan and the United States.
Father
Richard is from Pennsylvania, USA. He is also a member
of the SVD (Society of the Divine Word) order, of
the Catholic Church. He first arrived in Timor in
his mid twenties in 1966 when he was sent to minister
to the people in West Timor between the town of Kefamenanu
and the Oecusse border,
when it was part of Portuguese East Timor. In 1982
some seven years after Indonesia had invaded and occupied
Timor Leste, Father Richard entered Oecusse by foot
through the Suco of Naimeco and ended up settling
in Lele Ufe where he remained the local priest for
a number of years. During his time in Lele Ufe he
often visited Kutet and determined upon permanently
basing himself there. He moved to Kutet in 1988.
During
the troubles of 1999
Father Richard and the Topu Honis Kutet become a haven
for pro-independence supporters fleeing "SAKUNAR,"
the pro-Indonesian militia as well as the Indonesian
security forces. It was a natural refuge, while close
to the main town it was difficult to access being
some 1500m in elevation at the end of a narrow track
in an isolated part of the mountains. It also has
its own water supply in addition to a number of escape
routes to the north and the east.
Prior
to the Popular Consultation on 30 August 1999, hundreds
of people had sought refuge under the care of Father
Richard. However, between 30 August and October this
number had swelled to the thousands. There were a
number of clashes between those in Kutet and the SAKUNAR
militia who tried to infiltrate the countryside around
Kutet. A number of people were killed in these encounters.
It was during this period that Father Richard gained
a reputation for strong "lulik," or strong
magic. Whenever refugees would make their way up to
the mountain redoubt Father Richard would instruct
his assistants to provide water, food and shelter
to these newcomers. Some assert that these were produced
by divine intervention while others argue that Father
Richard had wisely hoarded supplies in the weeks running
up to the Popular Consultation.
Father
Richard speaks Indonesian and Baiqueno fluently, and
conducts all of his religious duties in Baiqueno.
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