Dr. Dan Murphy, MD, PhD
Bairro Pite Clinic, Dili, East Timor

Dr. Bruce Barrett , MD, PhD
UW Department of Family Medicine, President, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Madison

Dr. Zorba Paster, MD, PhD
UW Department of Family Medicine
Chair, Dean Medical Center Family
Practice Department

Drs. Gene and Linda Farley MD, PhD
UW Department of Family Medicine
medical activists husband and wife

Dr. Judy Ladinsky, PhD, Director
UW OfÞce of International Health

Lynne Cleeland, MS
Instructional Program Manager
UW Medical School

August 2001: Angela Rogers from Yale University has released a report on Treating Child Illness in Dili. You may download the MS Word version. (We tried to make it HTML from Word, with no luck. Sorry.) 

June 2001: Dr. Dan Murphy has released a report on medical conditions in East Timor. Read the PDF document for full details. 

13 April 2001: The East Timor Observatory has released a comprehensive assessment of the medical situation all over East Timor. Areas of focus include illnesses, malnutrition, and reproductive health. The summary included here has been reprinted from an East Timor-related listserv. 

What is MAET?

Medical Aid for East Timor (MAET) is a national and international grassroots project to send material aid and medical supplies to the world's newest country, East Timor, also called Timor Loro Sae. This project was started in 1996 by the Madison Chapter of the East Timor Action Network. 

The importance of monetary and material support for the East Timorese cannot be overstated. Since the cutthroat mayhem of September 1999, everything has either been looted, trashed or burned. The Motael clinic and most others in the 'independent clinics' system of East Timor were destroyed. The recent destruction was precipitated by paramilitary thugs and goons who were recently armed by factions of the Indonesian military elite, "Kopassus" special forces, Military Intelligence and Police. Several high level officers implicated in the recent atrocities have links to United States/Indonesian military training programs. 

East Timorese trained in assisting western physicians are missing, dead or located somewhere in Indonesia. The only NGO operating in East Timor consistently for the last 10 years, Caritas, has seen most of its staff killed or disappeared. A dozen or so Indonesians, who observed the election or acted as Human Rights monitors and journalist reporters are also missing. 

As a result MAET is now actively seeking monetary donations for the rebuilding of the clinics, maternity programs and local training of Timorese. MAET is also seeking to broaden its ties with the medical community in the Madison area and elsewhere. 

While some things have changed on the island, much stays the same or gradually gets worse. The UN has brought a level of calm to the island but tens of thousands of mostly young people (60% are 3 to 15 years of age) languish in concentration-like camps. These camps include border regions of the East Timor enclave of Oeccuse and the entire East Timor border with West Timor, Indonesia. These camps are controlled be para-militias who seemingly account to no one. 

The East Timorese have been denied basic medical services for a very long time and are in desperate need of outside assistance of all kinds. Medical professionals willing to travel to East Timor are needed. Medical supplies and monetary contributions are critical to the longterm needs of the East Timorese future health. Medical textbooks on major tropical diseases are unknown in East Timor but are critical for physicians working there. 

Meanwhile preventable diseases continue claiming the health and lives of many East Timorese. Preventable diseases, often precipitated by malnutrition, like tuberculosis, malaria, fungal, and bacterial infections and water borne parasites are common. Mental illness is also present. Vicious and inhuman assault and the ravages of continuous conflict round out these and other medical problems present in everyday medical and emergency needs of East Timor. The Indonesian military routinely subjected East Timorese women to rape, sexual slavery and forced sterilization.

MAET has worked with Health Alliance International and Dr. Dan Murphy, who has spent almost all the last 2 years in East Timor. "Dr. Dan" as he is known by the East Timorese is presently in East Timor working in clinics, developing a maternity program and training local East Timorese medical personnel. Dr. Murphy has appealed for scholarships for East Timorese medical students to complete their training as they are unable to return to Indonesia. MAET would like to see more interdisciplinary efforts such as might address Dr. Murphy's need for a steady source of electricity as required e.g. for refrigeration of vaccines. In addition to working closely with Dr. Murphy, MAET hopes to coordinate with the Madison/Ainaro Sister City Alliance on projects such as the rebuilding of the hospital in Ainaro East Timor. 

Please give generously for the people of East Timor, a people who have shown the world that they are determined to survive as a free and independent nation. We who have access to a larger measure of material resources should surely be able to help them in their hour or need. 

Be assured that 100% of any contributions you make to the MAET Clinic Fund, MAET's medical books fund and/or the tax deductible Health Alliance International/MAET clinic fund, will benefit the people of East Timor directly. 

The present work of MAET varies and includes the following:

1. MAET has a long term and short term plans and a financial commitment to supporting the independent clinics, through maternity care and local training of an East Timorese medical professional corps. We send money so that they can purchase what they need and we send supplies and information that are unavailable there. 
2. MAET is always ready to assist in arrangements for U.S. medical professionals, nurses or doctors to travel to East Timor to provide technical, emergency and professional assistance. For those unable to go to East Timor, local Medical Aid support projects and East Timor Action Network chapters are much needed-contact us for more info. 
3. MAET collects medical supplies and equipment; contact us about our needs or your offer. 
4. MAET raises funds directly for East Timor, through very colorful East Timorese Ethnographic T-shirt designs. The T-shirts sell for $20 plus shipping and handling. The project is sponsored by the supporting groups in Madison, WI and people involved with MAET and ETAN chapters nationwide. 
5. Tour de Timor bicycle ride:September 16th 2001 
6. MAET recently premiered its Madison produced video "East Timor's Health Undone" which covers the day to day work of Dr. Dan Murphy, treating and diagnosing the poor, ill, infirm and abused of East Timor, under the most difficult conditions and unspeakable disease problems, such as the prevalence of malaria, tuberculosis and other preventable diseases, aggravated by the wounds of militia violence, and the homelessness and malnutrition such violence produced. (Copies of the video are available. For more information please contact madison@etan.org.) 
7. MAET is appealing for monetary contributions on a national level to raise funds for clinics, maternity programs and East Timorese staff training. We also support Western doctors, nurses and other medical personnel in East Timor, when asked. Medical Aid East Timor works in association with Health Alliance International, a 501 C3 non profit. 
8. MAET is trying to buy medical textbooks for East Timor. We purchase the most up to date texts on tropical diseases and the major health problems. 
9. MAET is branching into health and nutrition, by collecting much needed grain and farm seed. 
10. MAET is seeking to broaden its ties with the medical community in the Madison area. We are forming a board of advisors (see left, above) composed of Madison's medical leaders. Advisors would lend moral support to MAET by allowing their names to be used on MAET's letterhead. We would also ask that advisors be available for consultation should MAET undertake a project in their area of expertise. For those wishing more active involvement, MAET is seeking medical and health care professionals who would be willing to help organize trips to East Timor, possibly with the help of the UW International Health Exchange and the UW Office of International Health or by networking with existing programs such as that of Health Alliance International. For questions, or if you would like to volunteer for an advisory or other organizational role, contact Mike at the address below.

Membership in MAET is based on your own initiative and activity as an organizer for East Timor or in association with East Timor Action Network locals. 

What Can I Do?

Here is a list of ways you can support the work of MAET: 

• Start a MAET fundraising appeal
• Sell colorful ethnographic T-shirts
• Organize local benefits in your community
• Increase awareness about health and other developments in East Timor
• Organize interested medical service professionals or solicit donations for the clinic fund
• Participate in our book sale
• Organize a speaker event in your community or church 

Donations

Send all donations to the address above; make checks payable to "Medical Aid East Timor Clinic Fund" (not tax deductible) or "Health Alliance International/MAET Clinic Fund" (tax deductible). 

100% of funds or proceeds sent through MAET benefits the people of East Timor. 

Links and News

Here are some links and news stories about health care in East Timor: 

Building a National Health Care System for East Timor

L'ao Hamutuk Bulletin November 2000 (focus on health) 

Growing pains of East Timor: Health of an infant nation by Kelly Morris

(The Lancet: 17 March 2001) 

East Timor's health service: Sustainable in the future? 

Dr. Dan Murphy on serious health problems in East Timor

(TAPOL: 3 October 1999) 

Sickly refugee tide swamps E.Timor aid staff

(The Australian: 10 December 1999) 

Rebuilding Ravaged East Timor

(Irish Times: 28 September 1999) 

A Doctor in East Timor: Diary of an Eyewitness