Lurdes Pires

Abdul & José

Lurdes Pires, Luigi Acquisto

During Timor's brutal occupation by Indonesia thousands of children were stolen, as were many of the country's resources. This is 'Jose' Abdul Rahman's story. In 1978 Jose, eight at the time, was hiding on Mount Matebian when a plane dropped a bomb, killing 22 of his family. He survived, fled the mountain and started following an Indonesian Battalion. The soldiers forced Jose, and many other boys, to work as porters. In 1979 the soldiers took the children by ship to Indonesia.