In Conversation with The President : José Ramos-Horta, Timor-Leste

by Erin. The Brilliant Foundation

Listening to the President of Timor-Leste Talk:

I didn’t know what to expect when I was told I would be meeting a President, because my first impression was someone who would just talk about running a country, but it was so much more than that. President José Ramos-Horta, was one of the most admirable people I have ever met, not only did he talk about his responsibilities and priorities but his actual life story and what inspired him to become who he is today. 

For someone who earned the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate in 1996, he is very humble. It was so entertaining to listen to his perspective on life, and when he was describing his funny experiences from childhood through to adulthood he listed so many of them.  

The most memorable ones for me were of him working as a teenager, sitting at the back of the truck going to labour somewhere in the fields. He was told by his older brother that there was a creature living in the bamboo forest with a head shaped like a horse and the body of a human that ate children, resulting in him praying a lot as a child. 

He mentioned when he was in his mid 20’s he would mix beer with whisky and did not recommend it.  He successfully published his novel about East Timor, unfortunately, no one bought it.  He wanted those copies to be given to friends and family and ended up having to buy his own books. 

It was unbelievable that this kind, down to earth, dedicated man was shot multiple times in February 2008, for what he believed in. Despite that traumatic event, he successfully returned to the Presidency, continued his global diplomatic work, and ran for a second presidential term in 2022. After the talk, we were invited by Professor Emerita Samina Yasmeen AM to come and have an actual one to one chat with the President.

When I Met the President of Timor-Leste:

There were so many people swarming and pushing in the crowd making it hard to have a view of him. When I almost lost hope, a hand reached through the crowd towards me, realising who he was, I took hold of his hand.

The President wanted to talk to me personally, I was so shocked I didn’t know what to say, he immediately asked “Who are you and where are you from?” to my response I said my name and my school that I went to. 

He gently smiled and asked my age and I replied “14 years old”. His eyebrows raised looking surprised since everyone mostly here were over 25 years of age. 

“How did you hear of my country?”  he asked curiously, I answered saying:  “Through people talking about your outstanding achievement of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996.” 

He smiled and said “Thank you very much.”

I asked: “What’s your favourite food to eat in East Timor?” and his response was “I like to eat live crawling monkey brains.” I stepped back so astounded not knowing what to say until he started laughing and I smiled back. 

The conversation only lasted about 3 minutes until I shook his hand and said “It was an honour to meet you” and then the next person came through. 

The people I met along the way:

When coming to the event that evening,  I didn’t expect to meet like-minded people. Everyone was different in their own way but were all brought together through this one person. 

At the start I met Toni, who was such a bright bubbly person she was so kind and interested to learn about who I was. At the function she said: “It’s not everyday you meet a President right?” I also had a chat with Fiara Augustin, currently studying at the University of Sydney. I met James Arvanitakis who said he’s the Director, Forrest Research Foundation; Sally Dawkins, Regional Director, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Brendan Augustin, President, WA Australian Institute of International Affairs who was the host for the event that night.  

It was truly a memorable evening at the University of Western Australia Club with over 200 people in attendance. I look forward to going to these events in the future.

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