Criado (Timor)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Akiu, a young Chinese Timorese , was one of the Sparrow Force's criados

Criados ( Portuguese for “servant”, “servant”, “servant”, sometimes incorrectly creado ) were young helpers of Australian soldiers in Portuguese Timor during World War II .

background

At the time of World War II, the west of the Southeast Asian island of Timor was part of the Dutch East Indies , while the east formed the colony of Portuguese Timor. Portugal was neutral during the war, but the Allies feared that Japan could use the colony as a springboard to nearby Australia, which is why Dutch and British-Australian troops landed in the colonial capital on December 17, 1941, despite Portuguese protests. Japan took the presence of Allied troops as an opportunity to occupy both parts of Timor in February 1942. Outnumbered, the Allies began with the Sparrow Forcea guerrilla war in Portuguese Timor in order to bind as many Japanese troops as possible and to prevent an invasion of Australia. The soldiers also received support from Timorese and Portuguese locals.

The criados

The pay of the Criados consisted of British silver coins, one of which was made into a hairpin here.

The Criados were boys between the ages of 8 and 14, the average age was 13. They served the Allies as guides, porters and scouts at the same time. The Criados were the eyes and ears for the Australians and also important in the procurement of food. They were the first to go to villages to check which side the residents were on and whether Japanese patrols were nearby. The Australians were totally dependent on the boys and the help of the Timorese people. The Australians had no contact with their homeland for the first two months, which is why they were thought to be dead or imprisoned. Only later did supplies come from Australia, but with the increasing advance of the Japanese they had more and more difficulties. The silver florins, with which the criados should be paid for, also stayed away. Even so, they continued to help the soldiers.

The Criados also took part in skirmishes, although the Portuguese governor wanted to maintain the neutrality of the population under the occupation. Since the Timorese were involved on the side of the Allies, the Japanese took this as an opportunity to increasingly recruit Timorese themselves. Timorese auxiliary troops of the Japanese, the Colunas Negras, were brought from Atambua to the east .

In December 1942, the Allied soldiers were evacuated from Timor. They assumed that their Criados should also be brought to Australia as they faced the death penalty in Japanese captivity. But when the Criados wanted to climb aboard the boats, they were rudely rejected with the words “No niggers” and had to stay on Timor.

After the war

Australian WWII Memorial in East Timor, erected by Australian veterans in 1969.

Between 40,000 and 70,000 Timorese lost their lives in World War II. In the historiography of English-speaking countries, the Criados are the only Timorese to be mentioned on the part of the Allies. A group of soldiers who had served on Timor returned after the war, provided development aid and politically supported the East Timorese independence movement after Indonesia occupied the country for 24 years from 1975. However, the Australian government was the only one in the world that de facto recognized the Indonesian annexation . For ANZAC Day 2017 an exhibition was organized in the Western Australian Museum in honor of the Timorese boys. There were no personal honors or thanks from the Australian side. When Rufino Alves Correia, the last Criado, died in 2010, East Timor’s President José Ramos-Horta lamented Australia's lack of gratitude. The use of the former Australian Brigadier General Ernie Chamberlain for a tribute was also unsuccessful.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ABC: Akiu was a criado of Chinese and Timorese descent. , accessed on April 23, 2020.
  2. ^ Western Australian Museum: Debt of Honor , accessed April 24, 2020.
  3. ↑ a b c d ABC: Anzac Day 2017: Exhibit honors Timorese boys who risked their lives for Australian commandos , April 24, 2017 , accessed on April 24, 2020.
  4. ↑ Tsuchiya: Indigenization of the Pacific War in Timor Island: A Multi-language Study of its Contexts and Impact , 2018, p. 8.
  5. ↑ Tsuchiya: Indigenization of the Pacific War in Timor Island: A Multi-language Study of its Contexts and Impact, 2018, p. 7.
  6. ↑ Tsuchiya: Indigenization of the Pacific War in Timor Island: A Multi-language Study of its Contexts and Impact, 2018, p. 12.
  7. ^ A Short History of East Timor . Department of Defense. 2002. Archived from the original on January 3, 2006. Retrieved January 3, 2007.
  8. ↑ Tsuchiya: Indigenization of the Pacific War in Timor Island: A Multi-language Study of its Contexts and Impact, 2018, p. 6.
  9. ^ The Biographical Dictionary of Australian Senate: McINTOSH, Gordon Douglas (1925–), Senator for Western Australia, 1974–87 (Australian Labor Party) , accessed March 13, 2019.
  10. ↑ The Weekend Australian: East Timor President's anger over forgotten 'criados' , April 23, 2010 , accessed April 24, 2020.
  11. ↑ Eureka Street: Timor Diggers' guerrilla war , April 24, 2010 , accessed April 24, 2020.