Inspired Magazine

Someone overhead them talking at the
Indonesian consulate in Singapore and thought
the island may be part of the Anambas
archipelago. So they flew to one of the biggest
islands in the group. Based on rumours and vague
directions, they caught a ferry that would bring
them closer to their intended destination.
Next they found two pilots who agreed to fly
them still closer to Terampa, but the pilots would
only take money for a one-way ticket as they
couldn’t be sure they’d be returning. After landing,
the captain of a navy boat heard of their quest
and offered to take them direct to Terampa.
Finally there, the trio hiked into the jungle and
began their search. The first day they found many
graves, but they all appeared to be Indonesian.
The next day a local farmer offered to help. He
knew of eight graves that could be Vietnamese.
With hundreds of graves strewn across the island,
they decided to start with these eight. But they
only had permission to excavate one grave – and
if it wasn’t their cousin they’d still have to take the
remains back with them. It seemed impossible
they’d find him.
After hacking through the jungle to reveal the
abandoned gravesites, the farmer asked which one
they’d like to excavate. Carina, her brother and her
cousin each privately considered which grave to try
– by chance they’d all picked the same one. Here
was their one chance to find their lost cousin.
FOUND
They knew they’d be able to identify their cousin
because he was buried in a wooden coffin – his
mother had been gifted wood by fellow refugees
who no longer needed it as they knew they were
evacuating the island the day after Carina’s cousin
had died. They didn’t believe anyone else would
have been buried in a coffin. Her cousin had also
been wrapped in a military blanket before burial.
After digging for some time the shovel suddenly
struck wood. Their hearts leapt. Surely they
couldn’t be this lucky. Further excavation revealed
a body wrapped in a military blanket. “It was
amazing, we just had this sense of absolute
disbelief – not only that we’d found him but that
we’d done it so quickly. I have to believe we were
guided by spirits.”
Right Carina helped
a family find the grave
of their 14-year-old
sister who died two
days after she arrived
on Kuku Island.
Below The remains
of Carina’s cousin.
GUIDED BY GHOSTS
The find made Carina think of those she’d
come to know on the island on which she’d been
stranded – those like the eight-month-old baby
she’d cradled and helped bury all those years ago.
But she had no idea where that island would be
amidst Indonesia’s island-studded seas.
It just so happened that the captain of the ship
that had transported them to Terampa knew of the
island where Carina had nearly died – Kuku Island
– and it wasn’t far away. He offered to take her
there the next day.
She raced to the markets to buy incense and food
to offer the dead. And as she set foot on the beach,
images of the dead and dying swirled through her
brain. Her heart became heavy with sadness. She
felt the spirits of the dead all around her. “I sensed
that the spirits of the island were there,” she says.
“They helped me find my cousin, and they’ve
helped me to find so many others.”
Guided by the spirits of the refugees who died in
their desperate bid to escape, Carina is determined
to continue her annual pilgrimage to these remote
Indonesian isles to reunite Vietnamese families
with their long-dead loved ones.
Get involved
For more information and to order Carina’s book
visit the website www.carinahoang.com.
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CARINA HOANG