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3rd April 2011 |
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Pray for East Timor (Timor Leste)Population: 1.1 million with 79 people per sq km. Religion: 87% Christian Challenges for Prayer The vindictive destruction and forcible removal of many Timorese by the departing Indonesian military and its Timorese militia allies left a legacy of hatred and trauma that will take decades to heal. Internal tensions – between Eastern and Western, disaffected armed gangs and rival political factions – cause violence and unrest to persist, despite the presence of international peacekeepers. Australian troops (400 there now) will withdraw from East Timor in 2012 - six years after hundreds of them arrived in the half-island nation to quell violent upheaval. Pray for peace for Timor, that grievances might be laid to rest and that reconciliation might begin to take root. Pray for our close neighbours.
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 Timor appears caught in a descending spiral of poverty, poor health and illiteracy. It is the poor who suffer most from the violence and destruction wrought by various factions. The oil and gas fields of the Timor Sea will hopefully bring the finances required; pray that Australia will be fair and generous in sharing the revenues, and that the income will be justly and wisely invested into projects that benefit the whole population and not just enrich a few. |
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