Sydney
7 September 2003
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‘Don’t forget your people back home’
Fr John Suban and parishioners with a truck he was asked to bless.
By Damir Govorcin
“Don’t turn your back on your people back home.” That is John Suban’s clear message for East Timorese people living in Australia.
Thousands of East Timorese sought asylum in Australia after fleeing the bloodshed in their own country before achieving independence.
While Fr John acknowledged the contribution his people have made to Australian society, he is urging them to support those back in East Timor.
“East Timorese people no matter where they are living in the world must work together to build a brighter future for East Timor,” he said.
“If the East Timorese have work here in Australia they should send money back home.
“If they do this they will be well received if and when they come back to East Timor.”
Fr John, from the Divine Word Missionaries order, recently visited Sydney where he met the Bishop of Wollongong, Bishop Peter Ingham.
He also spoke to students at St Patrick’s College, Strathfield, Epping Boys High and St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill, about his experiences of living in East Timor.
Fr John, 47, serves at the Balibo parish of St Anthony near the West Timor border. The district suffered much in the troubles that accompanied the vote for independence in 1999.
The people of Balibo were driven from their homes and from East Timor at gunpoint. They returned to ruined homes in a centre with almost no infrastructure.
Since then Balibo, like the rest of this fledgling nation, has been moving forward slowly.
“There’s around 11,000 people in Balibo and 99 per cent of them are Catholics,” says Fr John.
“Since 2000, people are a lot happier and are working hard to build for a better future.
“Unemployment is still high, but at least people have enough food to eat.
“In the villages, people are self-sufficient, growing rice, corn and manga beans.”
Lay missionary John Newman from Mittagong, NSW, has been sent to teach English at Balibo’s secondary school through PALMS Australia’s Global Mission Program.
Balibo has two primary schools with many of the children staying at the dormitories of the parish.
As well as teaching the secondary students, John gives English lessons for teachers at the primary and secondary school.
The Mittagong missionary, who has been in Balibo since February, has been embraced by the community.
“People like John because he is a good teacher and also a man of faith and integrity,” says Fr John. “He is a good witness for the people.
“He teaches the students about discipline and the need for learning and working hard.”
Lay missionaries like John will help rebuild East Timor after the ravages of war, says Fr John, who stresses that the images of death, rape and destruction perpetrated by anti-independence forces are still vivid in the minds of the East Timorese.
However, he believes the Church has a pivotal role to play in the reconciliation process.
“The Church is committed to education, and building a sense of spirit and hope among the people,” he said.
“All East Timorese people want to live in a peaceful place.
“As part of the reconciliation process, priests are pushing the message of peace in church and meeting with victims and encouraging them to move on with their lives.”
Fr John, one of a family of seven, grew up in Flores, near the border with West Timor.
He says his family life was simple, but there was a lot of love.
As a young man, he was deeply religious and liked to help people in difficulty.
He was ordained at 30, and says every day since he has continually “fought for my people”.
“I am a servant to the people and I am driven to do something good for them,” he said.
“I practise what I preach. I go out into the communities and visit and talk with people spreading the message of the Gospel. I will always be available to anyone at any time.”
Fr John says Mass in Balibo is not only a liturgical experience, but also a wonderful spiritual and social occasion.
“There’s beautiful singing and music being played and the parishioners contribute to the liturgy,” he says.
“Mass brings everyone in the community together and faith fills people with renewed spirit and hope.”
Fr John will travel to Ireland this month to study English for nine months, before spending six months studying in Rome.
“Irish priests are excellent teachers of English so I’m looking forward to gaining a greater knowledge of the language,” he says.
“I hope after my travels I can apply what I have learnt to help people with their problems in East Timor.”
PALMS, which stands for Peaceful Action for a Liberating Movement to Solidarity, is a Catholic organisation that has prepared and sent more than 1600 lay missionaries to work with communities since 1961.
PALMS Australia’s Global Mission program places participants with a community requesting particular expertise to assist in developing the skills of the local people.
The organisation is interested in meeting teachers, doctors, nurses and other professional, technical, and trades people willing to share their skills for one, two or three years in Asia, Africa or the Pacific.
PALMS arranges accommodation, pastoral support, a basic living allowance, return travel to the receiving community, and a comprehensive insurance policy throughout time in the field.
Anyone interested in joining PALMS Australia’s Global Mission Program should contact Clare Gates on (02) 9642 0558 or email clare@palms.org.au