Gusmao gives courage to new nation

Gusmao gives courage to new nation

Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta Post/Ubud, Bali

Ubud has always had a special place in the heart of Kirsty Sword
Gusmao, a teacher-turned-first lady of the world's newest nation:
Timor Leste.

"When I first visited Indonesia in the 1980's, I spent over a
week in Ubud," she told The Jakarta Post through an email
interview early this week.

"It was my first experience of Indonesia. Its beauty,
tranquility and rich cultural life took my breath away," the
Australian-born Gusmao recalled.

Her visit to Ubud, Bali, will be slightly different than
previously, as she will be attending "in my capacity as First
Lady and perhaps more importantly, as the author of a book which
relates the story of her love affair with Indonesia as well as
that of my involvement with my new homeland, Timor Leste".

Gusmao and her husband, Timor Leste President Xanana Gusmao,
will be the distinguished guest speakers of the upcoming Ubud
Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF), which will be hosted in the
art village of Ubud from Oct.6 through Oct.11.

The couple will share ideas and speak with numerous Indonesian
and international writers -- senior as well as young talents in
the literary world.

"I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit the town
again," she added.

In her best-selling memoir, A Woman of Independence, Gusmao
touchingly and bravely tells a story of love and the birth of a
new nation.

The driving force that motivated her to write this book was a
simple desire to tell the story of her unique perspective on an
extraordinary tale of courage and determination.

"Perhaps I did it for my children in the hope that one day,
they may gain an appreciation of the history of their homeland,
its amazing struggle to be a nation and of their parents' role in
that difficult birth," Gusmao said.

Born in Melbourne, Australia, in l966, Gusmao grew up in that
city and in Bendigo, and attended Melbourne University, where she
obtained a Bachelor of Arts (Honours), majoring in Indonesian and
Italian, and a Diploma of Education.

In 1991, after working as an Administrative Secretary with the
Overseas Service Bureau of Australian Volunteers International,
she joined the Refugee Studies Program at Oxford University as
Assistant to the Development Coordinator. During that year, she
traveled to then-Indonesian territory East Timor as a researcher
and interpreter.

From 1992 to 1996, she lived and worked as a teacher and human
rights campaigner in Jakarta, Indonesia. But her life would turn
out to be much more than that of a scholar, educator or advocate.

She first met Xanana Gusmao in 1996 in Jakarta's Cipinang
prison, where he was serving a 20-year sentence as a political
prisoner.

"It was a breathtaking and life-changing moment. Xanana and
Timor Leste are presently, quite simply, my life. My commitment
to both consumes my every waking hour," she recalled.

Kirsty Sword married the East Timorese freedom fighter and
independence leader Xanana Gusmao in July 2000, and today, the
couple is blessed with three children: Alexandre, 5, Kay Olok, 3,
and Daniel Gusmao, 10 months.

Being the First Lady of Timor Leste was beyond her dreams and
expectations.

"I feel excited, honored and frequently overwhelmed! Our
country, Timor Leste, has had to rebuild from the ashes of the
violence and destruction of 1999."

The country has taken great steps forward, but there is still
much to be done in terms of restoring basic services, rebuilding
infrastructure and more importantly, giving people hope for the
future.

"Being the country's First Lady is no easy task," she said,
"particularly since the role doesn't come with a manual and nor
do I receive any financial support from the East Timorese state."

Thanks to her women's organization, the Alola Foundation, she
is able to go some way toward meeting the needs of women and
children in the country.

Gusmao clearly enjoys the challenge of living up to people's
expectations of her as a role model and as a "mother of the
nation".

"I also love being involved in work which offers me the
satisfaction of knowing that I am making a difference, speaking
three or four languages in the course of the average day and
being a Mum."

The struggle to balance her responsibilities as a mother to
her children with those extending beyond the home may be a
struggle with which all working mothers around the world may
identify.

"It is a daily battle and one which saps me of a great deal of
energy and provokes multiple layers of guilt every single day.
When I succumb to the public demands made on me, I feel guilty
for neglecting my young children," she said.

This delicate balance seems to be a socio-cultural norm among
women in Timor Leste, about which Gusmao comments: "I am in awe
of East Timorese mothers who have, on average, 7.5 children and
who are the backbone of the social life of their communities and
nation."

Being the First Family of Timor Leste, one of the poorest
nations in the world, is far from the comfort and privileges
generally associated with a presidential family.

The expectations of the nation and its people seem to follow
the Gusmaos into the farthest reaches of their private life, and
it is not uncommon for visitors to turn up on their doorstep late
at night to request an audience; sometimes it is a church leader
soliciting a donation for a commemoration or religious rite, or a
desperately poor family in need of a scholarship for their
children.

Even the constant security presence at home, in the form of
bodyguards, makes for an extraordinary life.

One quality that stands out in Gusmao is that she never gives
up hope. Through the Alola Foundation, the first lady is in the
frontline against poverty and illiteracy, and has a vision to
empower her people with dignity.

"My mission is to create the conditions for a better life for
the women and children of Timor Leste," she asserted.

This, she said, involved reminding the world of its
responsibility to play an active part in the rebuilding process,
from the commitment of ongoing funds to the provision of
technical and other forms of assistance.

"I am most concerned about the alarmingly high rates of infant
and maternal mortality in the country, which are amongst the
highest in the world.

"Having said that, the needs are so overwhelming that it is
hard to avoid the sensation at times that my contribution is
nothing but a small drop in a huge ocean," she said.

That "small drop" covers the areas of economic empowerment,
advocacy, education and maternal and child health through Alola's
programs: "We are equipping women with the tools and skills they
require to take control of their lives and to play a leading role
in bettering their lot."

Toward this end, Gusmao has established the National
Breastfeeding Association and Mother Support Groups at the
village level, which place responsibility for promoting maternal
and infant health in the hands of the women themselves.

She is also active in the Handicrafts Industry Development
project, which helps women to earn an independent income.

"My hope for Timor Leste's future is that it may one day enjoy
true independence, in the sense that it will be free of
dependency on foreign donors and have the human resources and
wisdom within its leadership to set the country on a course of
economic prosperity and a dignified life for all of its
citizens."

Kirsty Sword Gusmao will be speaking on A Woman of
Independence and life in Timor Leste on Oct. 8 at the Indus
Restaurant, Jl. Raya Sargingan, Campuhan, Ubud. For more
information on the Alola Foundation, visit
www.alolafoundation.org.