Jonathan Thatcher, Balibo – Maria Maia, her mouth stained scarlet from the juice of the betel nuts she chews, bursts out laughing as she fingers her just-printed photograph on the registration form.
"Most are attracted by their picture. They are all enjoying it," says Bukari M'Bye Gaye, a Gambian member of the huge UN operation steering East Timor to independence after centuries of indifferent or brutal foreign rule.
Nearby, about two dozen other East Timorese watch a video explaining how to register for an all-important August 30 election.
But as the territory approaches August 30, the second anniversary of its overwhelming vote to shake off 23 years of Indonesian rule, many diplomats and locals are worried.
"The potential for violence is there. It worries me that there are people intent on disrupting these elections," deputy speaker of the National Council Milena Pires told Reuters.
Election in August
The council will be disbanded and replaced by an elected constituent assembly which will write a constitution, establish a proper parliament and prepare the way for a presidential election and independence possibly early next year.
"The people themselves are the best guard against a repeat of 1975 or 1999. I don't think the violence would be widespread," she added.
East Timor collapsed into civil war in 1975 after centuries of Portuguese rule abruptly ended, prompting Indonesia to invade and begin an often savage 23-year reign that was never internationally recognised.
That came to an equally abrupt end in 1999 when most East Timorese voted for independence, triggering a revenge campaign of destruction by pro-Jakarta gangs that left the impoverished territory in complete ruin and forced most of the 800,000 population to flee their homes. The current registration of every man, woman and child in East Timor is the first step towards the August election.
Memory erased
"We know nothing. The memory was erased. [When we arrived in 1999] we were starting from below zero," the head of the UN administration, Sergio Vieira de Mello, told Reuters in the capital, Dili, where the signs of the 1999 mob violence are still very visible.
Equally visible are the dollar-salaried UN staff whose almost $100 daily allowance is close to a third of the annual per capita income of East Timorese, for whom unemployment is commonplace. It is that huge economic divide, say some residents, that is in part to blame for the signs of increasing unrest, some of it focused against foreigners and particularly women.
De Mello conceded some of the criticism against his administration for being too slow was justified but said that in terms of other large urban areas the violence was negligible. "The only true answer will be employment and economic development, not police," he said, adding that those trying to sabotage the August vote were only a tiny minority.
Diplomats and locals say the worry is that unemployed and disillusioned youths will be an easy target for those seeking mobs to disrupt polling. "As the election nears there are so many groups that want to disturb it," says David Ximenes, who heads security for the National Council for East Timorese Resistance (CNRT), an umbrella group of pro-independence organisations.
"There are so many people now in Dili. There are no jobs ... Indonesia never set up a dialogue culture but a culture of violence. So it's not only [the lack of] jobs.
Militia lurk across border
Across the porous border with Indonesian West Timor, thousands of pro-Jakarta militia fighters linger in sordid refugee camps, their future unclear but their hearts set on stopping the homeland from becoming independent.
At the other extreme of the political spectrum is the RDTL, an acronym for the Democratic Republic of East Timor, proclaimed by the Fretilin party in 1975, days before Indonesia invaded. It has emerged as a major irritant for the UN and the main pro-independence grouping, the CNRT, which it refuses to join.
The UN's de Mello said the world body would remain fully committed to East Timor even after independence – which he predicted could be in the first quarter of next year – and would not leave the tiny territory in the lurch.
But he urged political parties – only three have so far registered, including Fretilin which hopes to sweep up most of the votes – to state their policies so voters have some idea of what they are picking. "This is the first test of their [political groups'] democratic commitment and if they fail this test this may be their last ... they know they owe it to their own people," de Mello said.
Whether East Timorese completely understand the process is less clear. "It is fun," beamed 18-year old Julius de Santos, as he waited his turn in Balibo to register and have his photograph taken.
But he looked puzzled when told the first vote would be for a constituent assembly which would decide on a presidential election. "No, it's to choose the president," he said, making it quite clear he would vote for independence hero Xanana Gusmao, who insists he will not run.
[On May 14 the Lusa news agency reported that UDT presidnt, Joao Carrascalao, has repeated calls for a postponement of the constituent assembly ballot, arguing that the Timorese were not yet ready for elections. "We think it's too early to hold elections on August 30. Conditions have not yet been created", he said. Carrascalao added "The democratic process requires an informed and conscious vote and the people of Timor have not been adequately informed of what a constitution is or how to participate in free elections, with various options and problems" - James Balowski.]