No-Name Bird: A story of East Timor

Author: Lilitu Babalon | Source: 2BBB | Date: 22-02-01

A topical, contemporary novel set in Timor, No-Name Bird is the heart-warming and extraordinary story of a small boy, Jose, and how he sees and reacts to the unfolding tragedy of the Indonesian invasion of Portuguese Timor in 1975. With the increasing violence, Jose finds solace in the wisdom and guidance of his uncle Adolfo and No-Name Bird, the fighting cock they train.

Interspersed within the story are details of the events of the time - the struggle between newly formed political parties, total withdrawal of Portuguese forces, the short but vicious civil war and finally the Indonesian invasion with its enormous loss of life.

No_Name Bird gives an easy to digest account of events leading up to the Indonesian take-over in 1975 which marked the end of Portugal's four hundred year rule of Timor.

About the Author

Josef Vondra was born in Vienna, Australia and came to Australia with his mother at the age of ten. After spending 14 months at a migrant camp, Vondra and his mother moved to Melbourne where he attended De La Salle College in Malvern. He has worked as a journalist and writer in Australia, Europe and Asia and has written 10 books. His first book, Timor Journey, was the result of a trip to Portuguese Timor and his novel Paul Zwilling led to a Senior Writers Fellowship with the Australia Council in 1974. His other books include two studies of migrant countries