These portraits and landscapes, taken during a time of uncertainty, depict people who, despite everything, looked toward the future with determination. Children playing among the rubble, elders with quiet wisdom, young people rebuilding what seemed impossible to restore. Timor-Leste was not just a post-war setting; it was a country in the process of being reborn, a people who, through their everyday actions, affirmed their right to exist.

Now, nearly 25 years later, I return to these images with a different perspective. I revisit them not just as a testimony to that time, but as a dialogue between the young photographer I was and the one I am today. The distance of time allows me to better understand the meaning of each photograph: the light, the shadows, the expression on each face. What I once captured instinctively now resonates with deeper significance.

This photobook is a tribute to the resilience of the Timorese people. It is not just an archive of a past era, but a reminder of human strength in the face of adversity. The hope I witnessed in those days was not fleeting; it was the seed of a future that, against all odds, continued to grow.