DILI, 20 september 2022 (TATOLI) – The Spouse of Max Stahl, Ingrid Bucens, today, gave an update to Timorese Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak on the situation of the Max Stahl Audiovisual Archive Center (CAMSTL).
“We are here to pay our respects to Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak and also spoke to him about the current situation of CAMSTL,” Ingrid Bucens, Max Stahl’s wife, told reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak in Farol Dili, today.
During the meeting, Bucens and the Prime Minister spoke about the transformation of CAMSTL into a public institute that will keep the legacy of Mx Stahl.
“During the meeting with the Prime Minister, we talked about the progress of CAMSTL, which will be transformed into a public institution,” Bucens said.
She said that work on the transformation of CAMSTL into a public institute started in late 2021: “The whole document for the transformation of CAMSTL into a public institute is ongoing and almost completed. And His Excellency was interested to hear all the progress that had been made to date.”
“We also informed the Prime Minister about the damage to the CAMSTL building which threatens the safety of all material CAMSTL. The Prime Minister agreed to repair the building in the near future to ensure the safety of all documents, etc. Besides, we also discussed the new location for CAMSTL,” Bucens said.
At the meeting, Bucens also discussed with Prime Minister Ruak about Stahl’s children who will receive Timorese citizenship.
“We are proud because the government of Timor-Leste has promised to grant Timorese citizenship to our children, Leo Oscar Michael Stahl Wenner (16), and Malin Maria Stahl Wenner (13). Timor-Leste is our home as our children have grown up here since they were babies,” Bucens said.
Max Stahl’s wife and their children come to Timor-Leste for their holidays: “Our children spend their school holidays here in Timor-Leste. So, we decided to come here to pay our respects to prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak.”
Max Stahl was granted Timorese citizenship in 2009, in honor of his significant contribution to the nation’s independence.
In 1991 Max Stahl arrived in East Timor (now Timor-Leste) where he lived and documented one of the most dramatic moments of the country: the massacre in the Santa Cruz cemetery, in Dili. The images of the massacre were spread around the world and changed forever the history of the nation. In 2019 he received the Necklace of the Order of Timor-Leste, the highest national decoration.
Max Stahl was born on 6 December 1954 in the United Kingdom. He was a journalist and war correspondent, who spent most of his life in Timor-Leste, following the Santa Cruz massacre, in 1991.
Max Stahl, a father of four, died on october 28, 2021, in Brisbane surrounded by his wife, Ingrid Bucens, and family after battling cancer since 2012.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
