Catholic struggles for freedom in his homeland

Torture victim

Because of his faith, Constancio Pinto has forgiven the Indonesians that tortured and imprisoned him in his homeland of East Timor.

He is able to forgive despite the fact that he was stripped of his clothes and beaten for 16 hours straight...kicked in the stomach and head until he couldn't move...punched in the face until his mouth and nose bled like a faucet had been turned on...and beaten so hard at times that he lost consciousness.

"I forgive them," he said. "I hope every Timorese will feel the same thing."

At the time of his capture and torture, Mr. Pinto was secretary of the underground resistance in East Timor. He now represents the National Council of Timorese Resistance to both the United Nations and the United States government. He spoke last week at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in Albany about his people's struggle for independence from Indonesia.

Struggle for freedom

"We are tired of the 23 years of the struggle," he said. "We want to live in peace and harmony and enjoy this world."

A Portuguese colony since 1702, East Timor gained independence in 1975 but was invaded nine days later by neighboring Indonesia. By the early 1980s, Indonesia had exterminated 200,000 Timorese, one-third of the population.

Mr. Pinto described life in his homeland prior to the invasion as "a peaceful life. My parents had land; we owned a house. My father was a civil servant. We had a decent life. I went to school and enjoyed life as a young boy. Now, every day, there are killings; people are arrested and tortured."

Catholic country

One thing that keeps the people of East Timor going is their faith, he said. The nation is now more than 90 percent Roman Catholic. Prior to the invasion, only one-third of the country was. His family helped many people convert.

After the invasion, his family, like many, fled into the jungle to hide from the Indonesian military.

"Many became Catholic during those three years," he said. "My parents and I trained thousands for Baptism. My parents have lots of godchildren. In East Timor, faith in God is very strong. It is an integral part of life now."

Helped by God

At the time of his arrest and torture, Mr. Pinto was employed by the Diocese of Dili as a catechist. That diocese is headed by 1996 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Bishop Carlos Belo.

During the torture, his faith sustained him. "At that time, I thought this was predetermined by God, so I offered myself to God," he said. "He will take care of me. It is by the mercy of God I survived."

While the torture was excruciating, Mr. Pinto realized that it was more than his life at stake if he talked. "If I told about the organization, hundreds would be dead," he said. "I was not going to tell anything."

Release and escape

He was eventually released by his captors, who expected that he would act as a double agent. When he didn't, he got word that they were going to kill him.

He then went into hiding and fled his country. Shortly before he left, he had a dream that a friend arrived on a motorcycle to pick him up. This friend took him to a waiting car, which drove him across the border. When he woke the next day, he was surprised to find that the dream came true.

While he was a wanted man whose picture was circulated at all checkpoints, he was able to escape.

"It was amazing," he said. "The first checkpoint was the most dangerous one. They had my picture. That morning, the soldiers weren't waiting for me. They were asleep, and no one woke up."

Protectors

He credits God for protecting him when he arrived in West Timor, where he was not arrested despite the fact that the guest house he stayed in was owned by a police officer. He also believes that the Blessed Virgin Mary was protecting him.

"As I continued on my trip to Jakarta, I fell asleep on a bus," he said. "Then I heard a woman's voice saying, `Wake up! Disaster!' I woke up just as we were about to crash. I believe it was Mary's voice. I am devoted to Mary."

He said that divine intervention continued to protect him once he arrived in Bali. Along the way, he had lost a backpack that held a change of clothes, a short wave radio and a diary that chronicled the underground movement. When the authorities found the items, they began to stop buses that were leaving Bali to search for Mr. Pinto.

"Our bus was stopped, and they threatened everyone," he said. "When no one surrendered, they started to collect IDs. I had a fake ID, but I thought it was dangerous to show it. But when they got to me, they didn't ask for my ID. This successful trip was because of faith. Without faith, I wouldn't be able to live. Without faith, East Timor would have surrendered to Indonesia."

Tensions

While East Timor is predominately Catholic and the Indonesians are mostly Muslims, Mr. Pinto said the dispute is not religious. "It's more of a territorial dispute, not a religious one," he explained.

He did note that the Indonesians have tried to disrupt religious services, destroyed churches, trampled the host, and mistreated nuns and priests. He said that was done to create tension between Catholics and Muslims.

"We've tried to avoid religious conflict," he said of the resistance leaders. "We've made it clear that we are struggling against a regime. It is not a religious dispute. In East Timor before the invasion, all religions lived in peace and harmony."

U.S. policy

While religion is not part of the conflict, he charged that U.S. foreign policy is. The dispute "is caused by Indonesia and U.S. foreign policy," he said. "We are the victims of five U.S. presidents from Gerald Ford to Clinton."

He said the United States has provided billions of dollars in arms and economic assistance to Indonesia. Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country; according to the East Timor Action Network, U.S. corporations are involved in many types of businesses in Indonesia. That economic incentive drives U.S. policy, he said.

Mr. Pinto, who came to the U.S. in 1993 to study at Brown University in Rhode Island, travels throughout the country educating Americans about the situation in his homeland.

"I travel around so that the level of consciousness is increased," he said. "When I first came to the U.S., people didn't even know of East Timor."

What next

A recent graduate of Brown, Mr. Pinto will begin graduate studies at Columbia University in the fall. He is the first Timorese to graduate from an American college and hopes his wife will also be able to get an education here.

"Our goal is to go back and help," he said.

He believes Catholics should do all they can to help change the situation in East Timor. "The Catholic Church has a strong influence in society," Mr. Pinto said. "I want Catholics to influence the government to support East Timor. Catholics can spread the word to others. Once the United States changes its policy, things will change quickly."

(The Diocesan Peace and Justice Commission is forming a local solidarity group to help those in East Timor. For more information, call 453-6695.)

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