BOBONARO, 02 January 2019 (TATOLI) — There’s a woman sitting the edge of the street in the Anahun Village in Bobonaro District. In her right hand is a small hammer, while her left hand wipes the sweat off her face.
She’s been working since sunrise. As the sun sets once again, her day isn’t over.
“Son, I am very tired, I am very sweaty because breaking the rocks by hand is very hard work, yet the family budget and the needs of my children force me to do the work of a man,” she told TATOLI.
Rosalia Prisca is from nearby Odomau Village, in Bobonaro.
“Sometimes I feel upset, but this is life, because if I don’t do this work I will not get the money, thus I [make the] effort to do the work like every other woman to sustain everyday life,” she said.
This is Rosalia’s daily routine. Perched on the edge of the street, she covers her head from the sun with a small piece of cloth, and smashes rocks into smaller pieces to sell for construction work.
“I feel very tired when I break the solid stones. I feel like I have no more power [any more]… but I have to do this man’s job to get money. If don’t want to feel tired [and rest], I will not get any money,” she said.
She tells us she carries the stones to her worksite from as far as four kilometres away, and that she mostly works alone — though sometimes her husband and children pitch in to help.
“My work every day is breaking the stones. I have no other work to do. I start at 7:00 am and I’m back home in afternoon [5:00pm]. In one month, I produce one ‘ret’ (truckload),” she said.
Despite the backbreaking work, things have improved for Ms Prisca since Timor-Leste’s independence in 2002. Before that time, one ‘ret’ would fetch just US $1.50; now she can get $80 to $90. Her customers are mostly in nearby Balibo and Cailaco.
Rosalia Prisca has five children; three girls and two boys. Her eldest daughter graduated from UNPAZ (University of Peace) and her son is graduated from the UNTL (the National University of Timor-Leste). Another daughter is married and another one still studying at high school.
View the original story in Tetum: “Ha’u Kolen Tanba Tuku Fatuk Ne’e Todan”
Journalist: Zezito Silva
Editors: Maria Auxiliadora; Robert Baird
Translation: Nelia Borges
