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Former Peacekeeper Ben Farinazzo, 22 years on, reunites with Timor-Leste man he helped deliver On a stormy night 22 years ago, Ben Farinazzo's job as a peacekeeper in Timor-Leste took an unexpected twist. After being told some locals were looking for him, Mr Farinazzo found three people standing by the front gate of their camp. He was greeted by a man and two women, one of whom was heavily pregnant. "Her name was Umbelina and her husband and mother had accompanied her from the hills in the intense rain, as she was about to have her baby," he wrote on social media this week. "They had been hiding for more than a month, surviving on boiled tree roots." Mr Farinazzo was part of the Australian peacekeeping mission to Timor-Leste, then known as East Timor, after violence broke out following a nationwide vote in favour of independence from Indonesia. What happened next that night was something that even Mr Farinazzo admits no army training could have prepared him for. “Eventually a healthy baby boy arrived and the storm stopped,” he said. “It was a strong reminder that despite the terrible conditions, that life could and must go on. “A beautiful little baby boy, born on a cold, concrete
Ben Farinazzo and baby Ben in East Timor in 1999.
floor of a burnt-out classroom in the middle of a raging storm — a symbol of hope, new life and new beginnings”. The family was so grateful for his help, they asked Mr Farinazzo to name him but he politely declined. “They smiled and asked if they could name him after me, a moment I will never forget,” he said. Before he came back to Australia, Mr Farinazzo visited the family “to make sure they were alright”, giving them a care package as well. Even after his return from Timor-Leste, the retired captain found himself wondering what had happened to “Baby Benjamin” and his family. “I often think about him and his family. I wonder if he is still alive and what his life is like,” he told the Australian War Memorial in 2019. Little did he know the power of social media would mean he would one day see Baby Benjamin again.
Post goes viral in Timor-Leste
Baby Benjamin moments after being born.
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AUSTRALIAN PEACEKEEPER
Mr Farinazzo posts every year on September 20 to mark the anniversary of International Force East Timor (INTERFET) — the day Australian peacekeepers landed in Dili. He told the ABC usually his posts don’t gather that
