Wednesday, April 25, 2012

More about the Secrecy Tour - 3rd - 21st May

BMETS is hosting a visit of three women from Timor Leste – Beba Sequeira, Laura Abrantes & Odete Belo from May 3rd to May 21st 2012.They are coming to renew their connections with our Sisters group and most particularly to Launch the English version of “Secrecy- The Key to independence” - stories ofwomen in the Clandestine movement in the Timorese Resistance 1975 – 1999, collected by Beba & Laura.

We warmly invite Springwood East Timor Support Group members & friends to attend any one of the Launches: 

* Monday 7that 7.00pm - Blue Mountains: We are holding a low key launch in the at 7.00pmat the Mountains Community Resource Network in Lawson (MCRN). MCRN is at thecorner of San Jose Ave & Loftus St, across the road from Lawson BowlingClub on the opposite side of the road to the shops. It is less than 5 minutesfrom Lawson Station (eo@wscf.org.au formore information 0403 257 519)

Beba,Laura & Odete have 5 major speaking events, where they are launching thebook:

* SaturdayMay 5th  -Fairfield at STARTTS 152-168 The Horsley Drive Carramar 4.00

* TuesdayMay 8th – Parliament House, Sydney 10.30

* ThursdayMay 17th– Lovett Gallery, Newcastle Regional Library Laman St, Newcastle 5.00

* Saturday May 19th– Sydney Writers Festival Resistance Panel with other writersfacilitated by Katherine Thompson 11.30-12.30 Philharmonia Studio TheWharf Theatre &

* Sunday May 20th- Sydney Writers Festival Secret War Stories 4-5pm BangaraMezzanine The Wharf Theatre. The program says: On the anniversary ofindependence for East Timor, two women reveal the role women played fightingwith the men in the country’s resistance to occupation by Indonesia.Laura Soares Abrantes and Isabel “Beba” Sequeira have compiled abook of women’s oral histories, wanting to gain recognition from theirgovernment of the role women played in achieving self-determination. They talkto Meredith Bergman.

BlueMountains East Timor Sisters Project
Email:  eo@wscf.org.au
Website:www.bmets.org.au

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

First Inaugural East Timor Friendship Forum



Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Garage Sale - WATCH THIS SPACE

We are yet to set a date for the next garage sale. We are hoping to hold one in early June and we will post it to our blog as soon as we do.

Sydney Launch of "Secrecy - The Key to Independence"



On the 10th Anniversary of East Timor’s Independence, the Hon. Helen Westwood, MLC, in partnership with the Blue Mountains East Timor Sisters, invites you to join her in the Sydney launch of this important women’s story that highlights the role of women in the fight for freedom in East Timor.

About the writers:

Laura Soares Abrantes was active in the Timorese resistance, gathering information about Indonesian human rights violations and sending it out of the country, both as a student in Java and with women’s organisation ‘Fokupers’ in Dili. She has contributed to many books on Timorese women from 1999 to the present, either as a story-teller, story-collector or editor.


Beba Sequeira’s family were involved in the Timorese clandestine movement, leading to her being interrogated by the Indonesian military. She tells her story in Step by Step: Women of East Timor. After the referendum in 1999, Beba helped establish a women’s organization, APSC-TL, and has worked tirelessly to improve the status of women in Timor Leste.

Venue - NSW Parliament House,
Date - Tuesday 8th May from 10.30 am —12 pm.