In 1961 the liberation struggles start in Angola against the portuguese colonial power. The African students in Portugal fear for their safety and plan to flee outside the country. With the help of Theology students, French and North-American pastors, the operation code name "Angola" fled over 100 african students abroad towards freedom, amongst them several future leaders of african countries.

On May 20th, 2002, after 24 years of Indonesian occupation and two United Nations Administrations, East Timor gained its independence. A month before this, the people of East Timor chose their first president, Xanana Gusmão, the historic leader of the resistance to occupation. A president who the people want as their spokesman, and whose dream is that Timor be a green place, that the number of schools increase, that the population might have enough to smile and not have nightmares at night. But there is also a Bishop who wants to make East Timor into a new Switzerland, a general who knows how to talk of democracy, and many, many others, whose intelligence made up for lack of arms and international support. 'East Timor: THE DREAM OF THE CROCODILE, is a documentary about the first country to be born in the 21st Century. A country that gained freedom through suffering, but that can now talk about it with a smile and determined hope for the future.