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September 9, 1999


SEATTLE – As thousands of people flee violence in East Timor, World Vision has set up operations in the West Timor town of Atambura to provide emergency supplies. The agency was forced to close its relief efforts in East Timor because of escalating violence perpetrated by militias in the wake of last week’s elections.

World Vision’s Al Dwyer, the last private relief worker out of Dili, East Timor’s embattled capital, distributed food on Tuesday to some 1,600 people, despite being shot at during a rampage.

“By the time I left Dili, so many buildings had been damaged or destroyed, it looked worse than what I’d seen in Angola,” said Dwyer, who worked for World Vision in that war-ravaged African country.

Dwyer was evacuated on the same plane as Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, co-winner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize. Dwyer had distributed emergency food for some 1,000 refugees who had crowded into the Bishop’s residence, as well as 600 who had sought refuge at the Canosian Sisterhood.

World Vision has operated a relief program in East Timor for the past three months, and had anticipated some emergency needs in the wake of the elections. However, the level of violence far exceeded what was expected, said Dwyer. At least 100,000 people have fled from East to West Timor in the past several days. World Vision staff on the ground report that water and sanitation are the greatest needs for the displaced. As an initial response, World Vision is distributing $40,000 worth of soap, water tanks and hygiene kits to 2,000 families. The agency also plans to meet the food and health needs of the homeless families.

Donations to World Vision’s East Timor relief effort can be made by calling 1-888-56CHILD (1-888-562-4453) toll-free.