Sancho: My name is Sancho de Silva. I'm one of 1,500 East Timorese asylum seekers in Australia. I came to Australia in 1995, and now I study at Ballarat University. I'm doing a horticulture course.

When I was fifteen I heard a lot of stories from my friends and I heard my parents talk to their friends and brothers about East Timor's future. When I left home and went to college, again I heard about East Timor's problems this time from my friends, and they tell us to dream about East Timors future; Besides telling us to dream, we were also asked to think about what you want this country to be like. I had no idea about these things, because I was still learning. I only find out what ís going on here since I went to school. I didn't know anything because I was living in town, so basically I haven't got any history about what went on in East Timor. So after one year, two years my friend said: 'Please, do something, dream about your future and dream about East Timor'.

After we finish school, I went back to my home town and everyone talked about the dreams including my parents. So now, it's only in your hands, they said. 'We are older people, we can't do anything. Now it's your turn to do what you must to make this country what we want this country to be When I came to Australia, I read Xananaís book telling about the dream. Here I learn more and more, and now I understand what my friend was saying about our dream is to be free, to be liberated; our country and our people. And now we are free.