Brigadier-General Lere Annan Timor took his lost son Bobi Rahman and his wife Cici to the airport on 30/06 after their plane was delayed on the 29/06 because some of some technical problems with the aircraft. At approximately 11:51 o 30/06 Lere and his family arrived at Nicolau Lobato Airport.
Lere, his wife and several other relatives accompanied Bobi and Cici to the departure lounge. Bobi came to East Timor after his father met him and his adopted parents in Indonesia on 08/04/2010. Lere told Tempo Semanal that, “the first moment I found and know him through his adopted mother and father. When I knew his adopted parents I got to know my son. My message for him to day is, “please do as your adopted parents raised you to do during the last 29 years. And I as your birth father having just met you for a week or two just recently. So I do not have many things to say to you, or to teach you. The things that I would like to tell you I believe have been told by your adopted mother and father. I know your parents are not simple parents as your adopted father is a General and they both are leaders. Because of this I think your parents are disciplined and responsible people so please do as they did tell you,” Lere told his son in front of Tempo Semanal.
The former Indonesian Police head in East Timor from 1978-1982 former Brigadier Sontono and his wife adopted Bobi in early 1982. Bobi was born on 19/08/1981. Two hours after Elito (Bobi's birthname) born his mother died. Elito is the name given by his birth father Lere, comprised of "El" from his mother Elsa da Costa and "Ito" from his father baptised name Tito.
According to Lere's sister who took care of Bobi for several months before he was brought to the village in Iliomar on 14/01/1982. Bobi was supposed to buried alive with his mother. But she took him away into hiding.
Sabina and one of Lere's brothers who was later killed together with several Falintil fighters took Bobi to a nearby village. Lere's brother told the villagers that the baby boy is the son of Elsa and Tito. He asked the villagers to look after the boy or hand him over to the Indonesians to for his safekeeping. "Please tell the Indonesians that after the boy grows up he should come back and fight his father in the bush."
Bobi was raised by a former enemy of his father. This enemy found Bobi and made him his son. Bobi came back to his birth nation on 20/06 with his adopted parents. They arrived in Dili airport around 13:31 and were greeted by Bobi's birth father the Deputy Commander of East Timor's defence force - the FALINTIL-FDTL - Brigadier General Lere Annan Timor. Many members of Lere's family turned out in Dili airport for Bobi's homecoming. General Soentono also returned to East Timor for the first time since he left East Timor in 1982. "I came back here today to bring my son to meet his father Lere and the other members of his family,” Soentono told the reporters in Dili airport.
Lere has been looking for his lost son since 1998 when he first met Tempo Semanal Journalist near Laga sub-district in Baucau District. “I have lost a son and I hear he was taken by an Indonesian Officer to Surabaya,” Lere told Tempo Semanal in November 1998.
Lere gave a warm and friendly hug to his enemy. Lere discovered his son was with Brig Soentono through a doctor name Yahannes. Then General Yunus Yosfiah assisted in bringing the two Brigadiers to a meeting in Jakarta on 08/04/2010.
Now these Indonesian and Timorese Generals are meeting not to fight as they did in the past, but their meeting full of joy mixed with tears.
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