"Dos Santos was only a child, but along with others, she ran to hide in the nearby mountains. The invading Indonesian forces were determined to find them especially the women and girls. The army searched for us in the bush, captured us and took us back, she said, recounting how at just nine years old she was violently raped by Indonesian soldiers."
"The crimes committed against dos Santos, her mother and many others in Lospalos marked just the beginning of Indonesia's savage 24-year-long occupation of East Timor. What followed was violent military rule typified by massacres and the forced starvation of civilians, sexual violence and the torture, imprisonment and execution of those who resisted Indonesia's occupation. Indonesian soldiers parade with weapons during a flag-raising ceremony to mark Indonesian Independence Day at the governor's office in the East Timor capital of Dili in 1999 [Weda/AFP]"
East Timor declared independence from Portugal in November 1975 and was invaded by Indonesia shortly afterward. The occupation began with attacks such as the December 1975 assault on Lospalos, where civilian men, women and children were hunted, raped and forced into captivity. Survivors include Berta dos Santos, who at nine was raped, and her mother Helena, who was forced into sexual slavery. The occupation lasted 24 years and featured violent military rule, massacres, forced starvation, widespread sexual violence, torture, imprisonment and executions. East Timor had been a Portuguese colony for more than 300 years, with decolonisation initiated after a 1974 coup in Lisbon.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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