Looking back and looking forward - Questioning how trauma is understood and addressed in Timor-Leste

Following widespread violence during the Indonesian occupation and later socio-political crisis in Timor-Leste, concerns were expressed that trauma posed a threat to individual and societal wellbeing. However there is not always clarity in how post-conflict trauma is defined, nor consensus about how it should be responded to. In this paper I present an overview of existing literature on trauma in Timor-Leste and introduce the early direction of my doctoral research on this topic. Putting forth some of my unanswered questions, I invite discussion of different ways that trauma is understood, talked about and addressed by various locals and foreigners in Timor-Leste.