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All that is left of the seaside village of Manatuto
after the Indonesians had finished

By Corporal Heather Callister

As my alarm went off and the person next to me moved in their stretcher, the 9th of May was the day that I was to take a drive to Manatuto with 26 Tpt Sqn.

Orders were given the day before we left. We were to resupply the Philippine Humanitarian Support mission to East Timor with fuel, water and perishable goods.

I was picked up at 0710h to join the convoy at Camel Barracks for final preparations. I was allocated to a Landcruiser, so I had the luxury of air conditioning. We headed off at 0730h. The convoy consisted of five Mack trucks, a Landcruiser, two motorcycles and an MP vehicle.

We moved quickly through the centre of Dili - people tend to get out of the way rather fast when they see a Mack truck coming through. The MPs and motorcycles were there to clear the roads of any traffic when we were making our way through the many defiles along the way.

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A rare sight! A non-vandalised Catholic Shrine on the outskirts of Manatuto.

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A convoy winding its way east.

They would halt the traffic as we edged our way through the very narrow, steep passages. The countryside was very green and the water was so blue but it was still a very dangerous place.

We pulled into Manatuto and slipped the trailers. The Mack with the container was backed up and unloaded by hand, as there was no MHE available. In taking control of the situation I lined the Philipinos up to form a human chain. After the second container was unloaded it was time for a nap. After the fourth truck was unloaded, we broke for lunch. It was a fantastic meal! I had pork, which was beautiful, and rice that wasn't as hard as bullets.

As with any of the Asian countries they had plenty of photo opportunities - makes you feel like a pin-up girl.

Once we were all loaded it was time to head for home. It started to rain, like it does in East Timor, so the MPs sped off to clear the way and we began the long trip back to Dili.

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The salt works at Manatuto.

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Traffic on the main east - west road that connected Dili and Manatuto. This was always a dangerous place to be.

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