There is a world of difference when people want CHANGE in the ‘developed’ countries (such as the United States), and in the world’s poorest of poor countries, such as East Timor (earlier a part of Indonesia). The former watches the verbal duels of the presidential candidates, while the latter witnesses gory blood-letting. All for a change…
East Timor has witnessed the worst outbreak of violence since the country gained its independence six years ago. In the fighting between rival factions 37 East Timorese were killed and more than 100,000 fled their homes. Many still remain in refugee camps around the city.
The rebel leader, now a cult figure, Alfredo Reinado is dead…and East Timor’s President José Ramos-Horta is lying seriously injured in a hospital in Australia.
The BBC report says: “Despite oil reserves and international aid money, East Timor is still struggling economically. It is also a young country – with over half its population under the age of 25. This is a generation born during the final years of Indonesia’s brutal 25-year occupation, during which 200,000 East Timorese are estimated to have either been killed or died of starvation. Today’s young people lived through the violent struggle for independence in 1999 and are now looking to establish their future.” More here…
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.