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Quote:
Originally Posted by LytSlpr
What happened to East Timor will not necessarily happen to Cebu. They bolted out of Indonesia because of Suharto even if they were not capable of being an independent country. Afterwhich, Suharto ensured that they will have a terrible life as a punishment to the Timorese. You know how Suharto is.
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East Timor is rich in natural gas and oil, it is famous for their organically grown Arabica and Robusta coffee
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Quote:
However, the lack of foreign direct investment in oil and gas exploration and the use of the U.S. dollar as its currency has almost brought the country's economy to a standstill.
The situation has made some East Timorese recall better days when the country was still Indonesia's 27th province under president Soeharto.
"We understand that independence is this country's utmost achievement. But we can't deny the irony that our life now is harder than before independence," said Nicolai, a 27-year-old driver working for a car rental company.
He said with a salary of some US$80 per month, he could barely make ends meet considering his daily expenses of $3. Therefore, he has taken a side job at a small coffee processing plant.
"When we were still a part of Indonesia, we could afford to buy food although we didn't have decent jobs. But now, aside from being expensive, food supply is also limited -- especially in the remote areas," he said.
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Do you not see the parallel? Singapore is run by wealthy Cantonese, Indian and European Businessmen.. lets wait to see what developes with East Timor in the coming years before declaring that Cebu is a different situation.