At that time, it was impossible for Lao Wu not to interact with the local people, so he taught himself Indonesian and Portuguese.
"Bengdiya" ("Hello" in Portuguese), "Delhi Magasi" ("Thank you" in Indonesian), learn them word by word.
At the beginning, the pronunciation was not correct and others could not understand it. I had to ask others to say a word and quickly take a pen to write down the pronunciation in Chinese. It was like learning "English for fools".
This worker teaches a little bit, that worker teaches a little bit, and you gradually learn it.
I can learn relatively quickly at work, but I can't write well. On the one hand, I haven't taken any special classes, and on the other hand, there aren't many local language schools.
Not knowing the language was a disadvantage. For example, once they were discussing a project with a Filipino and they couldn't understand it. By the time they found a translator and rushed over, the project had already been taken away by someone else.
Chinese people can afford to endure hardship more. As long as they pass the language barrier, they will not lose to others anywhere.
Up to now, Lao Wu can read both languages well, but has some difficulty in writing. Being proficient in the language is the first step, and his subsequent work and life will be more smooth.
This lasted until the end of April 2006, when the soldiers caused trouble.
The reason is actually very simple. In order to save money, the East Timor government fired more than 500 government soldiers, accounting for about a quarter of the total.
The fired soldiers asked for two months more salary as compensation, but the government did not agree.
So the rebel soldiers started marching and setting up roadblocks at major intersections, and that's how it started.
"We didn't take it seriously, so we did whatever we were supposed to do! But things soon became serious, and we had to pay attention." Old Wu said with a wry smile.
"At that time, a friend called me to tell me that a newly opened store of one of my fellow villagers was burned down by thugs. As I drove through the city, I felt chills running down my spine. I was too calm and felt like a disaster was imminent.
At this time, in terms of life, when we first arrived there, we were always cautious. When we needed to buy daily necessities and go out to work, we came and went in a hurry. We never dared to wander around. Later, we found that the locals deliberately offended them as long as you didn't go.
, they still respect the Chinese very much.”
"This fellow villager was one of the 10 people who came with me. I was driving when I heard the news. I was shocked. I seemed to lose my grip on the steering wheel. I immediately pulled over and called the fellow villager."
The call was put through. Lao Wu's fellow villager on the other end said helplessly: "It's burned down, it's all burned down, the whole store has been burned down."
When Lao Wu's fellow villager first came here, he worked as a brickworker. After making money, he opened a shop selling small commodities in a comprehensive market called Daibisai (transliteration), which is similar to a domestic farmer's market.
When the business was good, they opened another one. The Chinese think more long-term, unlike the locals who just have enough food and clothing, but this also brings them greater losses. For example, Lao Wu.
Lao Wu went to see him the next day, and what he saw was that the entire market was in shambles. More than half of the stalls and stores had been burned and smashed. There was not much left, and his belongings were basically zero.
Later, a fellow villager told Lao Wu that officials from the Chinese Embassy went to express condolences to him after the store was burned down, and also sent him condolence money and daily necessities.
They became very nervous. In the afternoon, an Indonesian friend of Lao Wu called him and said, the rebels are coming today. You should come to my place and take shelter.
He lives next to the Presidential Palace. It is relatively safe.
When his friend called, Lao Wu had just finished work and was on his way home, so he immediately drove home and took a few belongings to his house.
Lao Wang and his friends analyzed the situation and discussed what to do, whether to persist or to leave temporarily.
There are about five to six hundred local Chinese people, all of whom are thrifty and entrepreneurial people. These people also have a small fortune, so they are more dangerous and are the first targets of local rioters to attack and rob.
After coming here for more than three years, Lao Wu's movable and real estate assets totaled more than 50,000 US dollars. In addition, he still had three small projects on hand. He probably wouldn't even be able to collect the project money after he left.
But something unexpected happened, and even several banks were closed. The only cash that could be taken away was the little cash that I had with me.
In the end, he decided to leave because Lao Wu heard and saw that in some places outside the suburbs, thugs were starting to burn houses and engage in gun battles. The situation was escalating, so he wanted to take shelter somewhere first.
At 9 o'clock that night, a fellow villager at their construction site couldn't go back to his dormitory without a car. Old Wu even drove him back. When he drove through the city, he felt chills running down his spine.
The street looked calm on the surface, but it was too calm, as if they were the only car driving, which gave Old Wu a feeling of impending disaster.
Lao Wu's house is rented for 250 US dollars a month. It has a dormitory and office, a computer, an air conditioner, a freezer, a washing machine, and construction machinery, but it no longer belongs to him.
Early the next morning, they went to the Chinese Embassy.
When I arrived at the embassy, I saw how many people were coming in and out!
At the end of the day, there are always hundreds of people asking questions, and the embassy's phone calls come one after another, either from mobile phones or landlines.
I finally found a staff member and asked, and he said, "If you want to leave, please leave your contact information."
At that time, considering that the closest place was Darwin, Australia, the Chinese Embassy contacted the Australian Embassy and prepared to arrange for Lao Wu and others to evacuate to Darwin first.
At that time, the network was very busy and the mobile phone could not make any calls. Lao Wu and his fellow villagers could not be contacted, so they could not discuss the matter and could only keep in touch by sending short messages intermittently.
In those days, the Chinese Embassy was in constant contact with the country. Lao Wu stayed at a friend's house until noon the next day, when he received a notice from the embassy, asking him to send a list of people in the area who requested to return to the country in the form of a text message, and prepare to return to the country.
At that time, international flights to East Timor had been grounded, so if you wanted to leave here, you had to charter a flight.
Old Wu thought about the property he had worked hard for for many years, and felt unwilling to do so, but saving his life was the most important thing now, so he simply didn't think about it. He sat by the bed and sent text messages wildly, dozens of them in total. Due to the poor network, he couldn't
I don’t know how many messages I received.
Lao Wu was quite courageous and had many friends here, so he was cruel and drove to inform his friends.
The war was in chaos, and when he drove to the beach, the scene in front of him deeply shocked Lao Wu.
Several Australian warships have parked on the sea level and are approaching the port, and peacekeeping troops have already landed.
They were wearing camouflage uniforms and looked majestic. There were some female soldiers among the team, which gave Old Wu a sense of comfort.
When he came out of his friend's house, Lao Wu thought, I don't know how long this riot will last. If they all leave and no one takes care of the belongings in the house, there may be nothing left when they come back. It's better to take advantage of it while there is still time.
Leave some valuable items at a friend's house.
Immediately, Lao Wu brought two trucks and two workers back to their original residence. However, when they arrived, they discovered that the lock on the iron door of the fence had been changed, and they could not even enter their home.
After banging on the iron door for a long time, a local native came out and opened the door. When Lao Wu walked in, he saw that the home had been occupied by an Indonesian.
Lao Wu's house has two bedrooms, two living rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. It is rented for 250 US dollars a month. The landlord is an Australian Chinese.
Lao Wu was very naive at the time, thinking that he could live with you and let me take away my things. Lao Wu's dormitory also served as an office, with computers, air conditioners, freezers, washing machines, etc.
But they wouldn't even let Old Wu in. The Indonesians and the natives had sabers. When they saw Old Wu and others coming to negotiate, they would use their sabers to chop him down.
At this time, Old Wu felt truly scared deep down in his heart for the first time. The native held Old Wu's arm with one hand and put a knife across his neck with the other. The Indonesian stared at Old Wu like a wolf and spat out a few words in contempt.
Words: "Galang, Galang. (Leave in Indonesian)"
Lao Wu was so frightened that he just nodded subconsciously and kept saying "Bye bye bye ("OK" in Indonesian)".
Seeing them like this, the two of them whispered to each other and muttered for a while before letting Lao Wu and the others go.
Fortunately, Lao Wu carries a laptop with him and has a backup. Otherwise, if the computer is lost, the customer data will be lost, which is a very important thing.
But his construction company also has construction machinery such as mixers and vibrators, but those things no longer belong to Lao Wu.
At that time, East Timor had become anarchic, and whoever owned it belonged to whomever owned it. In such a situation, the locals were most willing to cause trouble to the Chinese, because the Chinese were all property owners, and many locals were property owners.
pauper.
Many of them don't even have houses, let alone property. Even if they do, many of them are thatched houses, not just tin houses. I have encountered them several times. If they don't rob the Chinese, who will?
After this encounter, Lao Wu regained his consciousness, no longer hesitated, and immediately turned around and drove back to the embassy.
The Chinese Embassy consists of 8 main buildings, including a main building, a reception room, two garages, a gym, a kitchen, a restaurant, and a guard room.
When Lao Wu entered, there were densely packed people inside, with seventy or eighty people standing in the yard.
At 2 o'clock that afternoon, the 12 people contacted by Lao Wu's text message also arrived.
Later, the embassy added 5 more people to form a group of 17 people, with Lao Wu as the group leader.
At around 9 o'clock in the evening, more than 200 people came to the embassy to request protection and return to the country.
Late at night, we sat on the ground in the garage and in the yard to rest. Some people used the tents they brought, and the elderly, women and children were arranged by the embassy to rest in air-conditioned conference rooms.
In any case, everyone's minds have basically calmed down and they have returned to the embassy. The embassy is Chinese territory and they are safe.
At that time, there were people marching around the embassy with knives, and everyone refused to leave. (~^~)