Conflict and Resilience in an Urban Squatter Settlement in Dili, East Timor

Since the end of the Indonesian occupation in 1999, East Timor’s capital Dili has experienced a continuous rural–urban influx. This urban population growth has been concentrated in clusters of crowded and socially fragmented new squatter settlements, posing profound challenges for informal social control and community cohesion. Such neighbourhoods have continued to suffer from endemic communal tensions and gang violence. Using a case study of an urban squatter settlement in Dili, this paper makes two arguments. First, it is argued that, to engage with these communities and address conflict within them, it is imperative to understand the intricate and dynamic linkages between rural–urban migration, urban settlement patterns and communal violence. Secondly, it is argued here that the profuse variety of non-state groups inhabiting such settlements should be viewed from the context of the migrant experience, as unique forms of community resilience to this challenging environment.