Oe-Cusse, (19/10/2024) – The Centro Nacional Chega! I.P., in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth for Sports, Arts, and Culture (MJDAK) through the Secretariat of State for Arts and Culture (SSAC), and the Authority of Special Administrative Region of Oe-Cusse Ambeno (RAEOA), successfully organized the Border Festival 2024 on “Cultural Exchange to Strengthen Reconciliation.” The festival saw enthusiastic participation from Timorese people from West Timor, such as Malaka, Belu, Kupang, Kefa, and So’e, as well as from Timor-Leste itself.
The festival featured performances, including musical concerts, cultural dances, local product fairs, historical site visits, peace of arts workshops, and interactive dialogues focused on reconciliation between Timor-Leste and West Timor, Indonesia. Additionally, the festival provided economic benefits, enhancing family incomes, particularly for small businesses and local companies, such as cafeterias, guest houses, and restaurants.
Dominicana Coffee / Kafé Dominicana
Berta Belo, a staff member at Kafé Dominicana, expressed her satisfaction with the Border Festival 2024, held in Oe-Cusse. During the festival, their daily earnings improved significantly from $100 to $160, compared to $40 to $50 on non-festival days. We offered a variety of items, such as coffee, cheese bread, juice, and Mie Goreng (an Indonesian stir-fried noodle dish). Berta stated, “I feel happy with the festival as it is so crowded. We hope this event continues in the future.”
Oe-Japa Restaurant
Maria Lurdes Sufa, Oe-Japa Restaurant officer, stated that during the festival, they earned significant incomes by welcoming many customers from West Timor, Indonesia (Atambua, Kupang, Malaka, Kefa, So’e, etc) to the restaurants. She said “The festival is great for us as many customers come for eating. Those people are from Indonesia and Timor-Leste. During the non-festival day, only fewer customers visited us compared to the festival day.”
TUM TUM Driver
Joanino Batan Sila is a TUM TUM driver who felt happy about the Border Festival held in Oe-Cusse. He earned between $20 and $25 a day, compared to just $15 to $16 on non-festival days. Several TUM TUMs operated during the day and some in the evening, as many people attended musical concerts, cultural dances, and local product fairs.
“I feel happy at the crowded festival as participants from West Timor (Kupang and Atambua) and Timor-Leste gather in Oe-Cusse. The Indonesian participants communicate in the Indonesian language while making their way with Tum Tum to the event. I do not know how to speak the language, so I remain silent,” he explained.
The national and international guests, along with participants from West Timor (Malaka, Belu, Kupang, Kefa, and So’e) and Timor-Leste, have come to Oe-Cusse to participate in the Border Festival on “Cultural Exchange to Strengthen Reconciliation.”
A Roadside Trader
Emerenciana Sae was pleased with a successful festival, as many people came to participate and make purchases. We earned over $30 a day and $100 a week by selling bottles of water, packs of rice, phone credit cards, cigarettes, and coffee. Most people primarily bought water and phone credit cards. On non-festival days, our earnings ranged from $25 to $30.
“By selling our products, we earned money to buy stuff for our schoolchildren, such as pens and notebooks, as well as items needed for our kitchen. We request to hold this festival every year, as it benefits us and improves our business activities,” she recommended.
AZITAL Guest House
Fernando Ulan is the owner of the guest house. It is essential to conduct this festival as many people rent his guest house. He stated “We are glad to have this festival because it encourages people to rent our guest house. If there are other festivals in the future, our guest house will be available for rental. This festival is significant for us as a private business. We hope the government can enhance it further, as it helps us generate income to sustain our lives.”
He compared festival days to non-festival days, noting that fewer people come to rent Guest House on non-festival days. Our guest house charges $25 per night for a room with air conditioning, while rooms with fans are priced at $15 per night. During the festival, participants from Indonesia stayed with us from October 13-18, 2024. “We are happy that people choose to stay at our guest house,” he continued. “We desire to thank CNC I.P, SSAC, and RAEOA for organizing this festival. Although it is a short period and the earnings are modest, it helps us rebuild our Guest House. We are happy.”
(CNC Media)