Half the population lives below the poverty line: 12 million dollars spent for the Pope's visit

The East Timor government's allocation of a 12 million dollar budget for the visit of Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of Catholics and Head of State of the Vatican, has drawn backlash. 

Pope Francis, who has served as the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church since 2013, arrived in East Timor, the third leg of his Southeast Asian tour. It was noted that the Pope will hold meetings with government leaders in Dili, the country's capital. 

On the other hand, human rights activists have criticized the visit, noting that it cost approximately 12 million dollars in a country where nearly half the population lives below the poverty line. 

'THE GOVERNMENT IS IGNORING THE POOR'

Marino Fereira, a researcher at the La'o Hamutuk (Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis), argued that the budget allocated for the visit was "exorbitant," stating, "The government is ignoring the poor." 

Tomas Cabral, the Minister of State Administration who chairs the committee organizing the Pope's visit, stated that while the amount spent was high, it was also used for road construction and the renovation of churches and other public facilities. Cabral remarked, "Do not compare our country with neighboring countries that have sufficient infrastructure and facilities to host international events. We have to build everything from scratch here." 

It was alleged that approximately 23 hectares of land were seized for the ceremony planned to be held in the Tasitolu region, and some residents were evicted from their homes. 

Human rights activist Pedrito Vieira said, "The lives of these families are in limbo. They still do not know where they will go as they are waiting for compensation there." 

42 PERCENT OF THE POPULATION LIVES BELOW THE POVERTY LINE

Minister Cabral, however, stated that these individuals were not landowners and that they had been given time to relocate. 

According to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) data, employment rates are very low in East Timor, where approximately 42 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. 

Pope Francis began his longest foreign trip, lasting 12 days, on September 2 as part of his 45th overseas visit. It was announced that the Pope's Southeast Asia tour covers Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore.