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1. Very depilated camp
house; 2. Medical facility; 3. Abandoned hospital;
4. Haunted camp house from which ghost cries were said to be
heard. SPI investigated and the results will be featured in
another article.
1. Bridging to another section of the town where there are town
hall and churches; 2. A broken swing in front of a school;
3 & 4. These two photos were taken in sequence. The later one that
with a red circle has a bluish apparition captured!
It cannot be due to dirty lens because there is no other photo in
this set of over a thousand has this paranormal image.
Galang - The Island of Both Hope
and Hell
Galang Island rests quietly in the calm sea, indistinguishable
from thousands of other green Indonesian islands near the Equator
south of Singapore. But for tens of thousands of Vietnamese "boat
people," the United Nations refugee camp on this island
represented a single, thin ray of hope. For most of those who
boarded small, rickety boats to escape Vietnam after the war in
search of new and happier lives, Galang will not be what they
hoped to find.
Laying a thick trail of oily diesel smoke low across the glassy
sea, the noisy boat violates nature's tranquility as it slices
toward the wooden dock on this tiny, emerald isle. One would never
suspect this forested point of land protruding unassumingly from
the warm ocean was be home, at any one time, to nearly 20,000
desperate people who had no idea what their futures would hold.
They risked everything in the belief that their new lives, or the
lives they hoped to live someday in another country, would prove
better than those they left behind.
The people who arrived on Galang already passed a difficult test.
They rolled the dice on a dangerous ocean voyage and won. Many
others lost that gamble. Pirates troll the seas in search of easy
prey, and often find it. Many Vietnamese were robbed, killed or
raped shortly after they gathered their meager possessions and set
off in the cloak of darkness in search of freedom and opportunity.
A small shrine on the island pays tribute to three women who,
after suffering the humiliation of rape during their journey, took
their own lives.
Statistics from United Nation shows that 850,000 refugees have
settled in foreign nations, equal to that number are 850,000
victims, eternally resting along their journey to find freedom and
happiness. There are many bitter tales to tell, on how the courage
and faith brought the survivors to better living environment. At
the same times, many forgotten souls who are the fathers, mothers,
brothers, sisters and friends of the fortunate survivors, cannot
make it, but rested in the remote forests or deep in the ocean
bed.
This article means to pay tribute to the courageous souls, and not
let this tragic history of humanity be forgotten.
The whole camp is so huge;
got many interesting clusters of abandoned houses and structures,
free to explore and roam around
There is a famous Buddhist
temple in the camp. What strange is, the name is called "The
Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam"
How Galang Camp Came About
The Vietnamese refugee camp on Galang Island in Riau province of
Batam, Indonesia, have many bitter tales to tell of the tragedy
that befell countless victims of the conflict between two opposing
ideologies at the peak of the Cold War.
More than 250,000 boat people who made the perilous trip to escape
the war between communist North Vietnam, and first France, and
then America in South Vietnam, may have arrived on this island as
refugees. They left their country in wooden boats. Hundreds of
refugees were packed like sardines in boats capable of carrying
only around a dozen passengers. The first Vietnamese boat,
carrying 24 refugees, reached West Bunguran in the Riau Islands on
May 22, 1975. The refugees used as a guide the flames from an
oilfield in Udang. They staked their lives to come to Galang,
braving the huge waves of the South China Sea.
More and more refugees arrived that numbered as many as 250,000,
housed in a number of different places: Air Baja, Tanjung Unggat
and East Bintan. In 1979, the United Nations High Commission for
Refugees (UNHCR) took the responsibility of caring the refuggee
and decided, after reaching an agreement with the Indonesian
government, to setup a refugee camp on an 80-hectare site on
Galang island. From then on, Galang Camp was born.
1 - 3. This is the UNHCR
office where the screening of the refugees was carried out - now
of course is abandoned
It was said that outside this building many Vietnamese killed
themselves when their fate was cast to be return home or on exile
4.
This is
an interesting graffiti of a woman-like officer wearing a cap. Can
anyone understand the meaning of the scribbled words?
The office building ruin
that once determined the fates of many Vietnamese refugees, now is
haunted by memories of sadness
Situation Turned Bitter
With the funding given by UNHCR and other foreign humanitarian
organizations, life was in order in Galang Camp until the number
of refugees far exceeded the initial estimated number. Initially
Galang was established at the end of the Vietnam war and built to
house only a quarter of the population living there.
At that point, the United States had accepted 82,060. In 1991,
Canada became home to 13,516 people, followed by Australia's
acceptance of 6,470. Other countries had not stretched their arms
as widely. Japan accepted only 113 people. Spain, Italy, Argentina
and Ireland took fewer than 20 each. Meanwhile, scores of people
continued to arrive from the open sea on overloaded vessels. An
additional 50 were being born in the camp each month.
The hardship for Galang refugees intensified as many nations
strengthened their resolve not to accept any more boat people.
Often, the overloaded boats arriving in countries throughout
southeast Asia were simply pushed back out to sea.
The camp staff and U.N. workers had a very difficult job, beyond
providing meager shelter, rations and minimal health care. They
were to determine which of those people arriving would quality for
refugee status and possible resettlement in other countries. In a
way, they were burdened by the grave decision making of assigning
life and death to them, literally. Under a small open-air shelter,
the serious business of casting fates was being conducted. Each
person was interviewed when arrived, soon determining whether an
applicant's qualifications for resettlement could be met - whether
the individual was to be 'screened in' or 'screened out.'
Those unable to prove themselves political refugees under United
Nations definition - or with no close relatives in other countries
to sponsor them - faced a bleak future. Some eventually returned
to Vietnam, some remained for years in the camp, hoping against
hope to someday be "saved." That crucial decision made all the
difference for tens of thousands of people. With the passage of
time since the war, increasing numbers of applicants were found to
be economic migrants, technically not refugees, and therefore they
did not qualify for resettlement in the United States. The
interview sometimes lasted more than an hour. Eighty percent of
the time, in 1991, the decision rendered was unfavorable.
1. This is our SPI informant
and tour guide who furnished us with valuable information; On the
wall are the refugee photos
2. The gruesome workflow chart that depicts how the screening
process was done - with outcome that is either screening in or out
3 & 4. Some religious objects that used to be the personal
belongings of the Vietnamese people.
Most of them were brought along from Vietnam, survived the tough
sea journey.
One may then ask if they meant so much to them, why did the items
end up here in the mini-museum? The answer is simple and sad.
The Dark Moments in the Camp
Besides the future was doomed for most boat people in the camp,
life was never easy, especially for the women. It was reported on
the newspaper called South China Morning Post, June 6, 1993,
titled "Terrorised in the Camp of Shame" how tormenting life was
in Galang camp. The story goes like this:
Twelve years ago, Ton, his sister and
brother risked their lives to flee Vietnam in a small, overcrowded
and leaky boat, reaching what they thought was safety after
five harrowing days at sea. But the nightmare was only beginning.
For more than three months, Ton spent sleepless nights in the
notorious Galang first asylum camp in northern Indonesia clutching
his beautiful younger sister in terror. "I used to go to sleep
hugging my sister, otherwise the Indonesian guards would pick her
up and put her back three hours later," Ton said, his face alive
with emotion.
Based on interviews with former inmates of Galang, the Sunday
Morning Post has pieced together a shocking and continuing story
of widespread bribery, brutal beatings and sexual assault. Inmates
identified one senior guard who abused women sexually and brutally
beat men.
In the newspaper report, it was said
that UNHCR representatives were instructed not to stay overnight
in the camp. But it is at night when almost all the atrocities
happen. "If you are beautiful then you are in trouble," said Jin
Ching Danh, 30. Women being raped and men got beaten up became a
thing of common in the camp.
Click here for the full story
of "Terrorised in the Camp of Shame".
Over the years, at least 12 Galang inmates who had been screened
out as economic migrants have tried to commit suicide. More
trouble could lie ahead as the country winds down its refugee
determination process and inmates realise they have no hope of
resettling abroad.
1. Living quarters of the
guards and the guards and UNHCR personnel.
2. This particular living quarter and office are for the senior
officers.
The front entrance has a pair of mythical Balinese designed
monument that is said to be able to ward off spirits.
In the whole camp, only this building compound would have that
protection monument.
3. Photos of the Vietnamese refugees in Galang Camp
4. On the window of this office guard house, there seems to be
some mysterious light. Is it apparition or reflection?
View the
enlarged.
Becoming a Living Hell
In 1994, tension rose to a peak among the Vietnamese refugees as
the UNHCR was unable to guarantee their future. Many refugees went
on hunger strike. They demanded clear decisions on what was going
to happen to them: whether they qualified as refugees and which
countries they would be sent to.
Click here for the full story
of "Hunger Strike in Galang".
Many refugees were disappointed at the results of the screening
that was carried out to determine whether they qualified as
refugees. This was crucial to deciding whether they would be sent
to third countries or whether they would be deported back to
Vietnam.
Many of them failed to qualify as refugees. One of the reasons,
according to the UNHCR, was that some of them had criminal records
back in Vietnam. The thought of going back to Vietnam, however,
caused great distress among the boat people.
Click here for the full story
of "Indonesia Vows "Boat People" Move Despite Protest".
Eventually the horror of suicide began in Galang Camp.
On September 2, 1996, the tragic mass suicide ensued. The UNHCR
decided to close down the refugee camp and deported the remaining
refugees to Vietnam as no third countries were willing to accept
them. More cases of suicide were listed below.
Third countries, particularly the United States, the third main
choice after Canada and Australia, were selective in accepting
Vietnamese refugees. One of the main requirements was that they
must have certain skills, and be clever and rich. This is a
ridiculous criteria for considering the torn-out refugees in the
camp who were mostly common folks.
There are 503 graves of Vietnamese boat people here and most of
these people committed suicide because they refused to be deported
back to Vietnam. Anybody can feel their sadness. They shouted in
despair and many of them cut their own throats just like
slaughtering chickens.
This is the mysterious Body
Tree. Rumour has it that bodies were found hanging from the tree
every morning from the suicide
SPI investigated and found that the tree trunks are too vertical,
inaccessible, lack of strong side branch for hanging purposes
1. The shrine housed under
the tree has two portions: one is a Buddha, the other is a "Water
god".
The boat people who survived a dangerous sea journey would
naturally counted the blessings of protection from the god of the
sea
2. Incense urn that is decorated with sea-shells. It is supposed
that material used are readily found from the nearby seashores
3. The tree shrines. In the centre there is a stone monument with
Vietnamese writing inscribed on.
That is a very essential clue in solving the mystery.
SPI thanks a Vietnamese friend Mr. Luong from USA who used to live
in Galang Camp.
Mr Luong helped SPI translated the words and provided information
that solved this Body Tree mystery.
4. SPI continues the investigation. A full report detailing this
mystery and its factual debunk will be published soon on SPI
website.
Tragic Suicide in Galang Camp
Life broke down after much tremors happened in the camp. The
Vietnamese people, though brave and courageous who left their
homes and explored new life aboard, they were human after all. The
stress of losing their close family members, relatives, friends
and hope, led some of them to destruction. Murder and suicide
attempts were as high as the number of rapes. Suffering in such a
living hell, plus the rejection from the screening process that
shattered their hope of survival, pushed these poor people further
into fire.
The following lists several suicide cases chronologically which
are only a tip of the iceberg; many other tragedies would have
gone unreported.
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The most tragic was in 1985 when
young Tinhnhan Loai was raped by seven compatriots. She committed
suicide. In her memory, the UNHCR built a Humanity Statue at that
location.
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-
On August 30, 1991, Trịnh Kim Hương,
28, burned herself alive after being denied refugee status in
Galang camp.
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-
On April 12, 1992, Nguyễn Văn Quang,
a corporal in the First Airborne Battalion of South Vietnam,
hanged himself in Galang camp, after his refugee status was denied
and his appeal rejected. He left behind a widow and three young
orphans.
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On August 27, 1992, Trịnh Anh Huy,
20, committed self-immolation in front of UNHCR¡¦s office in Galang
Camp. It was said that his last words before he killed himself was
like this: ¡¥The lawyer¡¦s statement during screening had me live in
terror. It pushes me closer and closer to death.¡¦
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On April 26, 1994, Phạm Văn Châu, a
Vietnamese veteran, burned himself alive in Galang Camp. He died
two days later.
Click here for the full story
of "Vietnamese Dies After Self-immolation Protest".
¡@
-
On May 20, 1994 Lê Xuân Thọ, 28,
slashed his stomach and set himself afire. He died of severe
burns.
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-
On September 2, 1996, the final date
of the return of the remaining 5,000 refugees back to their home
country-since there were no more governments willing to offer
asylum-the suicide attempts reached their peak. Many were too
scared to return to their homeland and chose to end their lives
instead. Suicide victims therefore dominate the 503 graves (three
of them were Cambodian nationals).¡¨
More than 6,000 boat people, however,
were forced to return because they were not considered victims of
political or religious persecution. Out of these 6,000, the number
of people who killed themselves was kept in low profile, hence was
not exactly known.
A tour guide called Mohammad Yono said approximate hundreds of
refugees committed suicide by hanging themselves or throwing
themselves into ravines after they were denied refugee status and
faced forced repatriation.
"This place is haunted. Many ethnic Chinese have come here to get
inspiration on lottery numbers from the spirits," he said,
pointing to a ravine where refugees were said to have killed
themselves. Another rumour told by another local of Batam says
that there existed one large burial hole, in which corpses of
suicide were just dumped. Their names and deaths may not even been
recorded officially.
1. SPI investigates the
Galang cemetery; 2. The tombs are unique, for example, this one
has a female figurine
The face of the stone statue is even blushing in pink, making the
figurine came to live. 3 & 4. Assorted tombs
1. This tomb has an unique
inscription, featuring Galang, and an icon of a boat
2. This is the famous memorial plague that commemorates about a
million of boat people who perished in sea.
See the close up
3 & 4. The cemetery is built on a hill slope
Beyond The Cemetery - Resting Places for the Freedom Seekers
Nevertheless, on a hilly slope there is a cemetery known commonly
as Camp 3, in addition to Camp 1 and Camp 2. The tombs house the
deceased of recorded death in the camp.
The cemetery at the refugee camp in Galang is a reminder of the
struggle of Vietnamese refugees who fled their country after the
fall of Saigon. Many of them died of starvation or accidents
during their long and perilous sea trips on dilapidated and
overcrowded boats.
Few tombs at the cemetery bear names of the deceased, but many are
of small children. A memorial plaque in front of the graveyard
says: "Dedicated to the People Who Died in the Sea on the Way to
Freedom."
This memorial plague is one of the mass entombments for half a
million to one million boat people who perished at sea. Religious
leaders of various religions have returned to those islands to
pray for the soul of the dead. You can see elaborate incense urns
were placed in front of the memorial monument.
Click
here for the full story of "Praying for Souls".
This memorial monument is the one of the largest number of
deceased being commemorated. It comes possibly after those for the
Jewish people victims of the Holocaust, and those for Armenians
who were massacred in World War I.
There are however other kinds of makeshift graves less well-kept
and recognizable than the Camp 3 cemetery. They are the mass
graves that were dug for hundreds of bodies all from the same
boat, their drifting wreckage was pulled to shore but everyone in
it had long ago drawn their last breath. For hygienic reason, no
one searched through the cadavers to at least identify them and
get their name engraved on the tombstone.
These unnamed deceased, despite the makeshift burial on the
islands, were lucky because they, at least, were allowed a resting
place. Hundreds of thousands others lost their life in the South
China Sea, they died in pain, in despair, in wretchedness,
unknown, without a grave. In their dying moment, they still tried
to look up the sky for God, for Buddha, they still tried to say
their prayers, unfalteringly, to Quan-Yin, to the Virgin Mary.
They died without a decent burial. The ocean was a gigantic mass
grave for them.
1. Hell money papers are
scattered everywhere.
Given the new condition of the paper notes, a ritual should have
been performed here not long ago.
2. This is one of the many children tombs; 3. Perhaps carving a
3-D stone image of the deceased is a Vietnamese culture
4. A pair of Christian tombs
1 & 2. This special tomb
pair is barricaded out - an icon of boat is craved on the fence; 3
& 4. Tombs of different religions
1. At the back of the
cemetery, there is a strange stone structure - a white bell. This
bell has special religious significance to calm the spirits
3 - 4. You can observe in this cemetery, almost every tomb has an
unique shape. No two tombs are of the same design.
The Controversial Monument
Many monuments that commemorates Vietnamese boat people are
erected on the island. There is one, nevertheless, controversial.
In June 2005, a large stone plague erected by former Vietnamese
refugees at their one-time camp on Galang was removed. The removal
stirred up much emotional disturbance to the Vietnamese
communities especially those who had a sentimental attachment to
the life in Galang Camp.
The monument was dismantled at the request of the Vietnamese
president on the grounds that it was offensive to Vietnam. The
Vietnamese government took the view that the wording on the plaque
denigrated the dignity of Vietnam.
Meanwhile, the 3 x 1 meter tall concrete frame in which of the
stone plaque was embedded is still standing. The marble tiles at
the base have been removed, however.
The wording read as follows:
In commemoration of
the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people who perished on the
way to freedom (1975-1996). Though they died of hunger or thirst,
or being raped, or exhaustion or any other causes, we pray that
they may now enjoy lasting peace. Their sacrifice will never be
forgotten. - OVERSEAS VIETNAMESE COMMUNITIES 2005.
The reverse side of the plaque read:
In appreciation of
the efforts of UNHCR, the Red Cross and the Indonesian Red
Crescent Society and other world relief organizations, the
Indonesian government and people, as well as all countries of
first asylum and resettlement. We also express our gratitude to
the thousands of individuals who worked hard in helping the
Vietnamese refugees. - OVERSEAS VIETNAMESE COMMUNITIES 2005.
SPI has located the stone monument at
the Galang Camp as shown in the photos. The centre piece that once
carried the controversial inscribed wording was chiseled off.
Click here for the full story
of "Vietnam boat people's plaque torn down".
1. The controversial stone
monument with reference to a human height; 2. The front view; 3.
The close up
4. The back view which you can see that it used to have an old
plague chiseled off, and now got cemented back.
The Impact After Visiting the Camp
After visiting the Galang Camp that is haunted by so much tragic
memories, one would ponder the lives of the thousands of people
who felt driven to literally cast their fates to the wind, not
knowing whether Galang Camp will be their first stop on the road
to freedom, or their last.
The refugees who survived, all have relatives, or someone that
they know, vanished in the South sea. Many boats capsized, many
other drifted aimlessly until food and water ran out. How many
died of hunger, of thirst, or found themselves lost somewhere in
the myriad of archipelagos in the vast ocean? How many were
slaughtered by pirates?
Many of the boat people who survived believe they were reborn
after such a trip. That's why this place is a second birth place
because it gave birth to their second life, life with freedom and
dignity. But that is only of a minority. Sadly, many people who
could not make it perished at sea and at this very Galang Camp.
Galang Camp will be forever engraved in the history of mankind as
a powerful testament to the force of humanity, where the innocent
victims of a most cruel tyranny finally were offered solace in the
caring hands of the world community.
Like all of us, these boat people were once our companions in the
common human quest for freedom, for human decency. Unlike all of
us, they were unlucky. We cannot forget them, we cannot forsake
them for the second time to oblivion, we cannot let them become
just a number, a statistic in the pages of history. For these
deceased boat people did exist.
Click here for a life
testimony of a Vietnamese man who lived in Galang Camp.
Click
here for a life testimony from an article called "Sad stories
from Galang and Bidong - Come Hell or High Water" (PDF file of
size 151Kb)
Currently SPI is organizing educational tours from Singapore to
Galang Camp. The objective to teach the young Singaporeans about
life is not always of luxury. There are many heart-touching
lessons to learn, many provisions in modern world now we shall not
take for granted.
1. The camp now has a number
of authentic wooden boats that were used by the Vietnamese to flee
for freedom
2 & 3. The boat has two decks. Total of more than 200 refugees
were cramped in this boat
4. The back view of the boat, showing a little propeller
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Pictorial Tour |
Answering
Mysteries