I ran his courier to Darwin Airport to pick up his last eyewitness dispatch from Dili, which came with a flippant cover note about the war ,somewhat in the style of Evelyn Waugh’s l938 novel Scoop , a satire on the rivalry between newspaper war correspondents . ( Sadly , this same rivalry played a large part in the deaths of the Balibo 5 .) East informed “Courier Anna” he had just been through a wonderful nine days “ in this tranquil isle”-shot at from the ground ,machine gunned from the air and mortar bombed. Despite this, he had had “ a happy week “, lost half a stone and could now eat sweet potatoes three times a day without doing an Oliver Twist.. The next time Anna had a steak, she was instructed to have an extra bite for Roger.
The second part of the message, written two days after the above , following declaration of independence and the fall of Atabae to the Indons , he correctly predicted these stories she picked up and circulated for him down south may be the last . Delivering another Gawd bless on her , East said he would be seeing Anna when the swallows come back from “Capatrana " .
During that hectic time after the Indonesian invasion of Dili and the disappearance of East , in my capacity as secretary of the Darwin sub-district of the Queensland Branch of the Australian Journalists’Association , I desperately attempted to focus attention on his plight and , if possible, locate and extract him from Timor. Telexes were sent to the Brisbane office of Sir Leslie Thiess , the interim head of the Darwin Reconsruction Commission , for whom Roger had worked, and the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra . In one telex I sent to the Indonesian Embassy , which I thought I had skilfully crafted , admonishing East for his position , for not catching the last plane out from Dili , and now thought to be hiding in the hills . With Indonesian approval and cooperation , I offered to go to Timor –Dili or Kupang -and try and make contact with him .
In the telex I mentioned that Roger had gone from Darwin to help Fretilin. Journalist Peter Blake , a close friend of Roger’s, said by making that statement I had just signed Roger’s death warrant. Instantly recognizing my stupidity, I felt deeply disturbed about my folly. As it turned out , he had been executed before I performed my naïve act . Nevertheless , I often mull over that action of mine when many things are churning through my mind late at night.
RE THE FILM BALIBO – Apart from renewing my unease , I thought the movie revived, with absolute justification, the national guilt of Australia for standing by so long while the Timorese were slaughtered on our doorstep. Roger East , I am certain, would be impressed by the movie , especially as it presents the horrendous torment of the Timorese . A crusading journalist ,Roger fought for underdogs in various parts of the world. In Darwin , he spent time with, and expressed admiration for and concern about crusading journalist Jim Bowditch , former editor of the NT News .
When time permits , another piece will be posted applauding the tenacious journalist / author Jill Jolliffe and actor Anthony LaPaglia , a sensitive, well- balanced sucker who invests money in worthy movies like Balibo and Australian soccer.
