the fist or the mouth?

Gunshots heard again...
Some houses have been burnt...
Rocks thrown and young people people again in trouble...

My heart is heavy.
In fact, since the day that Fretilin Congress voted back Mari Alkatiri and Lu'olo, i've been apprehensive of what may happen.
I'm not against Alkatiri, but I know that having him here might just prolong the impasse. Unless Mr PM makes a drastic move to reach out to his estranged men in the hills.

This uneasiness that hangs in the air bears down on all of us insidiously...

Anyways...recent events have made me think that perhaps the prolonged years of warring and violence in Timor has created a people with the propensity to use the fist to resolve their problems.
People in positions of influence and power have been heard saying "If you want war, we'll have war." An innocent boy with a bright future, and headed for the ASEAN games is stabbed to death one evening while hanging out with his mates because someone from a rival martial arts gang didn't like one of his friends and had launched a surprise attack. A peaceful demonstration turns into burning cars and houses, a few dead and guns fired into the air or as some say, into people.
Of course, this ain't unique to Timor as we can see daily that it happens elsewhere in the world. And of course, not every Timorese is a raging, irrational bull. But i am only interested in the problems of this country which i am living now, and the people who are causing so much chaos, thus this narrow discourse.
Against this backdrop of anger, i can't help thinking of the gentle people of Hawaii. What impressed me most during my time in Hawaii was the love for "talking stories." Hawaiians love to talk stories to one another, using this oral tradition to relate incidents, to discuss unhappiness and to resolve their conflicts. Thus, they have built up a strong use of mediation and non-violence. When Hawaiians are angry, they use to Hula to express their anger, singing their traditional songs and stomping out their moves with their feet and their drums. They protest in front of the government house with music and dance. I wish more people would embrace this form of negotiation. Perhaps Timor needs to re-establish the tribal councils it must used to have during a time when liurais or kings were powerful. Perhaps the work the UN has done here to spread the knowledge of Human Rights has not made any difference. Have we really instilled in the young people the right to respect life? The people here need to realise that they have to STOP the cycle of violence.
But how to when perhaps they believe that violence is the only effective way of attaining change for them? Many of them were guerillas who fought for 2 decades for Timor's independence. Of course, shrewd diplomacy, the support of the international community, combined with political fluke and change in indonesia contributed to the independece referendum. But I think most Timorese believe that it was largely their resistance in the jungles that has allowed them to fly their own flag.
So when will this cycle of violence end? We're talking about a traumatised nation. GOD HELP US ALL.