Daniel Joel Groshong, 1962-2017

When Dan Groshong lost his life on 12 August, in a tragic car accident on the way to Laclubar, thousands of people, as well as the entire nation of Timor-Leste, lost a wonderful friend, advocate and supporter.

His irresistible smile, indomitable optimism, infectious enthusiasm and unwavering determination accomplished many things that other people considered impossible. His generosity and readiness to help earned him friends throughout the world.  His creative ideas, persistence and flexibility overcame tremendous obstacles, and his vision and priorities ensured that the Timorese people were the principal beneficiaries of his projects and his work, as well as that of the Hummingfish Foundation that he formed seven years ago.

Dan’s photographs, books, energy and personality have inspired and educated people all over the world. Here in Timor-Leste, we each know part of who he is, and he continues to live in our memories.

When Dan was in Timor-Leste and his family was at home in Hong Kong, they were always on his mind. He has been married to Menzi Dacuycuy for almost 18 years, and they have two children – 15-year-old Agos Patrick and 12-year-old Anna May. We are grateful to them for sharing their husband and father with Timor-Leste. Dan has two brothers – Jud and Andrew -- and three sisters – Karen, Anne and Melissa.

Dan was born in Oregon, USA, on 30 November 1962, where he grew up. After graduating from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1982, he served in the U.S. Navy and worked as a photographer, initially for the environmental activist group Greenpeace and then as an independent news and sports photographer. He covered important U.S. news stories including the O.J. Simpson Trial, Los Angeles street gangs, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and major national and international sports events.

In 1996, Dan moved to Hong Kong, and his photojournalism became international. Dan’s pictures of crises and wars in Somalia, Chiapas, Jakarta, Kashmir, the southern Philippines and Afghanistan have been printed in hundreds of magazines around the world.

His assignments to Timor-Leste to cover the 1999 referendum and 2001 election changed his life, and ours. He was seduced by the warmth of the people, and the natural beauty of rai doben Timor-Leste. He became part of the emergence of this peaceful, democratic nation. In Dan’s words “Countless people suffered greatly in Timor over the years, and despite the hardships they endured, the people possess a maturity and dignity that can only be gained by those who have survived great pain and suffering. The ties that were formed between family and friends during those difficult times are what bind Timor-Leste and her people together.”

From 2003 through 2005, the family lived in Dili while Dan envisioned, photographed, edited and published Timor-Leste: Land of Discovery, the first coffee-table book on this country.  It was a labor of love – he travelled all over this land, shooting 7,000 rolls of film, 15,000 digital images, and diving under the sea more than 200 times. The book also represents his outgoing and generous nature – he acknowledged more than 100 people for supporting the project, and many of us continue to be his friends and colleagues.

Land of Discovery introduced the beauty and peaceful side of Timor-Leste to people all over the world, and many of them have taken up Dan’s invitation “to go to Timor-Leste and allow its wonders to embrace you.”

Dan’s closing words in Land of Discovery are “Once you allow Timor into your heart, this beautiful land will forever be a part of you.” His personal journey reflected those prophetic words. Over the new few years, Dan used his photos and experience to convey this message widely, through international photography exhibits, reports in newspapers, dive and travel magazines and television, calendars, and by working with the Government on tourism expositions, the dive photo competition and the “Be With Us, Be With Nature” campaign.

Dan tried to ensure that local communities were involved in the tourism activities he promoted. For example, the dive site K-41 was popular among expats and tourists, but the people of Behau where it is located knew little about the malaes who often picnicked or camped on their sacred land next to the sea. Dan helped Behau community leaders and members relate to the visitors by providing security and selling fish, and he helped the visitors respect the rights and traditions of the local people. 

To help support his family, Dan taught photo journalism at the City University of Hong Kong and the United International College in Zhuhai. His Tayo Photo Group laid out and produced elegant coffee table books, including ones on Timor-Leste for Timor Telecom and the Australian Defence Force. He designed I am the future / Ha’u Mak Futuru for the Norwegian Ambassador after the 2006 crisis, exemplifying optimism that Timorese youth would build a more peaceful nation than their parents had lived in.

In 2010, Dan decided to formalize his work by setting up the Hummingfish Foundation, a Hong Kong-based NGO intended to add value to the earth’s unspoiled natural environments, by promoting sustainable community-based nature and cultural tourism. 

Through Hummingfish, Dan continued to promote eco tourism, bringing groups of divers, tour operators and others to Timor-Leste from Singapore, Hong Kong and elsewhere. He also began working with local cooperatives and small producers to help them market their products overseas.

One of the first projects was Ai-funan soap, made by young women in Baucau from natural, local ingredients. Dan helped improve packaging and production, arranged for sale and export to high-end stores in Hong Kong, and even got the soap sold on Cathay Pacific airplanes flying around the world. His contacts, persistence and extrovert nature helped spread Timorese products, including rock salt, and awareness of Timor-Leste to new markets and audiences.

Five years ago, Dan and Hummingfish began working with the community of Laclubar to produce, process, package and export Maubere Mountain Coffee to high-end coffee shops in Hong Kong and other customers around the world. His “passion for coffee – passion for nature” evolved into a deep relationship with the Laclubar community, which was celebrated last June at the well-attended Maubere Mountain Coffee Festival. Dan has also helped Laclubar farmers sell other produce, including avocados, to Dili restaurants.

Some of the world’s top coffee experts came to the festival, after which they trained baristas in Dili. Dan also began importing espresso machines for local coffee shops. The quality of coffee served in Dili was further enhanced when Dan opened the Grandace Café in Bairro Central a few months ago. Dan has also been experimenting with producing coffee-based beer, and his photos inspired artists to paint with coffee for an exhibit in Hong Kong.

Dan’s creativity sparked another program – the “Clean Kids Project” (also known as Fase Liman) which was piloted at a primary school in Gleno in 2015. With a song, competition, newsletters and weekly distribution of free Ai-Funan soap for kids to take home, families learned about hygiene and how they could improve their health. Hummingfish hopes to scale up the project to reach more schools and communities in the future.

In his spare time, Dan started a Facebook group “Bug City Hong Kong” – although many of the photos inevitably were of bugs in Timor-Leste. Most of its 552 members never met Dan personally, but several have expressed their sadness at the loss of his virtual presence.

Written words cannot adequately express Dan’s commitment, capabilities, and consideration for his world-wide network of friends, family and colleagues. In the last few days, hundreds of people – family, students, co-workers and friends – have written eloquent tributes to him on Facebook and other social media.

His nephew Edward wrote from the Philippines: “My uncle was a gentle and caring father, not only to Agos and Anna but also to me and to the people of Timor Leste. He was, and still is, a great man (great is an understatement of how amazing he is as a person) and was full of hope and vision of making the world a better place. He has touched thousands of lives through his gentle persona and thousands more through his Ted talks, photographs, and advocacies.”

From David, a Dili colleague: “Dan spoke of a sense of personal destiny, as though each of the experiences in his life had been leading to this point, and that somehow, Hummingfish and Maubere were meant to be. He was full of plans for the future. Everything seemed possible but suddenly he is gone and the many people that loved him are left struggling to come to terms with this tragic loss. You cannot replace the irreplaceable but through his actions, Dan has shown the way and his vision and values will live on in the actions of those that follow in his footsteps.”

Jerry, a former roommate: “This amazing man, kind of a super human, is suddenly gone. My one time roommate, photographer, photojournalist, entrepreneur, husband, father, teacher, mentor, nurturer, gentle man, real human being, epic humanitarian and saver of humans and the planet...gone. If you can make 1/4 the impact on humans and the earth, that this guy did, while you’re here, then you DID SOMETHING!”

His Hong Kong photography students. Richie: “I was shocked and still couldn't believe you were gone. You let me know the life of a great Photo Journalist, and eventually led me to a priceless experience of working as a real photographer. Thank you for the inspiration and encouragement you have in my life.”

Jasmine: “He was a photographer who survived wars and always sees the beauty of the world. I have seen his great passion for photography. Dear Dan, you are always the bravest photojournalist in my heart.”

Mathiew: “He not only taught me photography but also how to approach a story, how to better communicate with people and make sure that my work ethics was always at its best. Above all, he welcomed each of his students like family and I'm sure we all found a friend and a role model in this man.”

Finally, in Dan Groshong’s own words: “Often when facing a huge challenge, you don't know if you will be successful or not. You know it’s a near impossible task and that it will take everything you have in you and more, but you have to try anyway.”

Each of us has to try to live in a world that has taken Dan Groshong away from us too soon, and to find a way to honor his life by carrying on his work and emulating the best aspects of his soul.