Vacy Vlazna is a poet and a skilled story teller building a hands-on, vigorous, humanitarian account of East Timor's freedom struggle. There is much to admire and enjoy in this compelling story of courage and of sophisticated political analysis coloured by a commitment to a common humanity on behalf of the people of now Timor Leste.

Her focus on the daily lives of a poor, but not always powerless, people will not be repeated in any official, diplomatic account. That is the originality and the value of this reveille for Timor.

Learn from the brave, resolute Timorese people and their supporters. Admire the value of independence and the vision needed to get there. Grasp the stamina, love, courage and the humour which peppers the pages of this book. Em. Prof. Stuart Rees OA.