248 pages | 6 x 9 | 18 illus.
Cloth 2006 | ISBN 9780812239096 | $65.00s | Outside the Americas £56.00
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A volume in the series Contemporary Ethnography
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East Timor, the world's newest nation, finally gained its independence in 2002, following half a millennium of Portuguese rule and 24 years of Indonesian occupation. That occupation produced a refugee diaspora spread between Portugal and Australia that has been integral in advancing East Timor's cause abroad. Because East Timorese in the diaspora identified strongly as exiles and invested so much in pursuing East Timor's independence, the homeland's liberation has complicated the very basis on which many have "imagined" themselves since fleeing to Australia.
Wise interrogates the space after exile for members of the East Timorese diaspora in Australia, in dialogue with key debates on diasporic identities within cultural studies, contemporary anthropology, and cultural geography. Drawing on innovative ethnographic research,
The lived experience of Timorese in Australia and former refugees who have returned to East Timor is brought to life through their eloquent and often moving firsthand narratives, which the author has used liberally throughout the book, vividly presenting them alongside images and analysis of their role in the political struggle.
Providing unique insights into cultural identities in the transition from exile to diaspora in a post-refugee group,
Amanda Wise is Research Fellow at the Centre for Research on Social Inclusion at Macquarie University in Australia.
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