..............................;
Rosalie Sword
Rosalie Swor d
wanted to live
somewher e wher e
she could take it
easy. Her daughter
agr eed that
the Mor nington
Peninsula might
be perfect.
"I wanted a small garden and somewhere
low-maintenance. Kirsty imagined a
place near the beach, a place that looked
over the bay. She wanted somewhere
quiet where she could come and relax,"
says Rosalie of her daughter Kirsty, the
former First Lady of East Timor.
Rosalie's move to Rosebud in 2000
marked an incredibly challenging time in
her life. Her husband Brian had recently
passed away and she'd just returned
from helping her newly married and
pregnant daughter settle in war-torn
East Timor. Rosalie wanted to get away
from the bustle of Melbourne and find
somewhere peaceful to live.
Her son, Michael, and his family had
already escaped Melbourne for the more
family-friendly setting of the Peninsula,
while he was incarcerated in an
Indonesian jail.
Since those days in the '90s,
much has changed for Kirsty
and the country she was helping
to free. Xanana was released,
they married, East Timor gained
its independence, and Xanana
became the President (he is
currently waiting to hear what
his role will be in Timor's new
parliament). During her time
Rosalie with
her family,
son Michael,
daughter Kirsty
and Kirsty's
3 children
so, for Rosalie, it was a natural destination. When
she couldn't find a home with the views she
wanted, she called on her arborist son. "Because
of his work, he knew the streets that had the good
views, so I bought land on one of these streets
and built my house" recalls Rosalie.
And that's how the Peninsula began playing host
to the First Lady of East Timor, Rosalie's secondborn,
Kirsty Sword-Gusmao. It sounds glamorous,
but those who know the Swords, or have read
Kirsty's autobiography A Woman of Independence,
understand just how rocky the path has been.
With a theme reminiscent of a Dr Phil episode,
but with a happy outcome, Rosalie's life changed
when her daughter met and fell in love with
Timorese political prisoner Xanana Gusmao
..............................................................................
as First Lady Kirsty gave birth
to three sons and continued to run the Alola
Foundation, a non-government organisation she
formed to assist Timor's women.
As for having time to relax at her mum's home,
well, when Kirsty does return to Australia she's
usually so occupied giving fundraising talks
(including one held last year at Toorak College,
which raised $18 000 to fund students in East
Timor) that she rarely gets to put her feet up and
take in the view.
"Usually Kirsty will fly here, then fly interstate with
a packed schedule and I look after the boys,"
Rosalie says, smiling. It's obvious that though
three young boys would instantly replace the
peace and quiet of Rosalie's home with slight
chaos, Rosalie doesn't mind a bit, although
she's thankful for the local attractions.
"The boys love the playgrounds here,
especially the one in Sorrento. They love
the maze and we always end up going
on the ferry to Queenscliff," says Rosalie.
Rosalie's involvement with East Timor
has continued to grow since her first visit
in 1999, just months after the destruction
and violence that followed the vote for
independence. The Timorese are still
dealing with the tragedy of 1999,
and the previous 25 years of
occupation, but there are now different
issues facing them, and Rosalie is
reminded of these during her twiceyearly
trips back to East Timor.
"It's the thing of going backwards and
forwards," she explains. "When I go back
to East Timor, I see the terrific need of
the people and the tremendous need
for education. Having been a teacher,
it breaks my heart to see how poorly
resourced the schools are, and what
little chance the children there have for
a really good education compared with
the worst, the poorest, of Australian
government schools."
Rosalie's focus on education led to the
establishment of links between Timorese
schools and local schools through the
Friendship School Project. "Woodleigh
School, Dromana Secondary College,
Vale Street Primary, Mt Eliza Secondary
College and St McCartens have been
linked with schools in the Lospalos
area," explains Rosalie. The project
raises funds to provide workshops for
teachers and supplies them with ideas
and resources for teaching.
Between launching new curriculum for the
Friendship School Project and recovering from
a five-week visit from her Timor family then
school holidays with her two Australian-based
grandchildren, Rosalie has been checking her
mobile phone. She's waiting for a text message
from Kirsty in Dili with June's election results. It's
yet another life-changing moment in all their lives,
yet whatever the result, whether Xanana Gusmao
becomes Prime Minister (as expected) or not,
Rosalie will be there, helping her daughter and the
children of East Timor.
by Jayne D'Arcy
Footnote:
Xanana Gusmao was re-elected Prime Minister
of East Timor just after this article was written.
Since 2000 the Mornington Peninsula Shire
has been linked with Lospalos, a tiny, difficult
to access, town on the eastern point of East
Timor. The 'Friends of Lospalos' group meets
monthly in Mornington and runs fundraisers
to support projects in Lospalos, including last
year's 'Evening with Kirsty Sword-Gusmao'.
To support Lospalos, stock up on East
Timorese coffee when you're at any
Mornington Peninsula Shire Office.
Call David Price on 0418 752 093
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