Word: compounding
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...compound," said H. Joseph O'Connor, Dunster House superintendent and building manager in the Houses. "It tends to drive [the cockroaches] down, otherwise it would have been a bigger problem. If we hadn't treated the drains, there would have even more...
...stood with independence leader Leandro Isaac on the steps outside the Mahkota Hotel as he hugged journalists and friends. "We will die if we have to," he told me, but even with the streets of Dili empty and thousands of refugees already taking shelter in schools and church compounds, nobody believed the worst-case scenario of Indonesian military brutality would happen. Shortly afterward, Dili descended into total violence. Most foreign journalists fled, but a core group of 30 of us remained, deciding to move to the Turismo Hotel for safety. Almost immediately police told us there would be an attack...
Inside, the atmosphere was tense. U.N. staff had been there since the night before, living off ration packs and sleeping where they could. The compound was under constant fire from the Indonesian police, military and militias. That night was no different. As I sat on the steps in front of the main hall, crowds of Timorese suddenly rushed toward me. The intense gunfire had moved near the school compound next door, where hundreds of refugees had found shelter. All at once, the refugees had come streaming over the wall, cutting themselves on razor wire in their frenzy...
...Tuesday it was uncertain how long the mission could survive in East Timor. All U.N. staff members were now concentrated within the compound walls, along with 2,000 refugees. Most of us had left for the compound with no more than we could carry. We could shower, but we were wearing the same clothes every day and eating and sleeping little. And since we were constantly under siege, we couldn't go out all day and night. The psychological war being played out by the army was intense...
...backfired. When the U.N. gave the order to evacuate the compound on Wednesday, no one was willing to leave. Around us refugees became aware that we might be going. There was no question of taking them with us. "You are abandoning us again," one East Timorese friend said to me, as he hugged his family and cried. The anger and frustration became extreme. As journalists we decided that we wouldn't leave. "If we stay here, they will kill us, but if we leave, they will kill the refugees," said one of my colleagues. Among U.N. staff who had been...