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East Timor travel safety advice


East Timor travel safety advice

East Timor continues to face sporadic internal ethnic & political tension and related violence may occur. This may not be targeted at foreigners or tourists, but follow the guidelines below. During periods where this is not an issue, remember you are travelling in a very poor country, and crimes such as assault and theft do occur: There is still a considerable international presence in East Timor, including a United Nations mission and international police and military (mostly conducting capacity building and training for national security forces). The Canadian Foreign Affairs department warned on June 22, 2010: "Violence or demonstrations may affect transportation routes and land border crossings as well as flights in and out of Dili’s airport. Disturbances have occurred in the vicinity of Dili’s Comoro airport, areas surrounding internally displaced persons camps, and at food storage warehouses. There has been continuing gang-related violence, arson, robbery, and vandalism. Gangs in Dili have attacked cars with stones and darts fired from slingshots, particularly during the early evening and at night. Local taxis should not be used. Travellers should avoid armed irregular groups, including martial arts groups that may be resident throughout the country. Travellers are advised to avoid unnecessary local travel and exercise extreme caution." Foreigners or tourists have been the target for violence in East Timor, travelers should be responsible and adhere to standard precautions as in any developing country. Remember you are traveling in a poor country, and crimes such as assault and theft do occur. The key to avoid such crime is to apply common sense and reduce your exposure to possible opportunity crime such as:
  • Avoid large gatherings (demonstrations have had the potential to escalate with little or no warning in the past).
  • Remove any visible valuables from your car if leaving it unattended.
  • Women should avoid traveling alone in taxis at night.
  • Women should avoid walking alone at night in quiet streets.

  • The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about East Timor


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    East Timor Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

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