The East Timorese Resistance Archive & Museum: collective memory and the construction on national identity in Timor-Leste

Abstract

Timor-Leste is a small country in Southeast Asia, and has a long history of domination and resistance. It was a Portuguese colony until 1975, shortly after invaded by Indonesia. The quest for independence and self-determination led to a long and intense period of resistance, which included armed struggle, diplomatic pressure, popular participation and strengthening of reinforced cultural characteristics that differentiate them from Indonesia, as the Catholic religion and the Portuguese language. An extensive documentary material about the period was collected and placed in the East Timorese Resistance Archive and Museum. The theme of this text is the role of this institution to safeguard their collective memory and construction of Timorese national identity and conducting a visit with students at the National University of Timor-Leste.