Australian mother mourns twin girls killed in Bali
Australian mother mourns twin girls killed in Bali
Dean Yates, Reuters, Bali
Reading the messages of love and grief pasted on a fence outside where the Sari Club once stood, Australian June Corteen struggles to cope with her loss.
Corteen's twin daughters -- Jane and Jenny -- were either in or just outside the club on Bali island one year ago when Indonesian Muslim militants detonated a massive car bomb, killing 202 people, including her daughters. They were 39 years old. Unexpectedly, Corteen finds a card stuck on the fence from a close friend in Australia. How it got there she doesn't know, but that show of support for her is too much.
"It's the surprise of seeing something like that which gets you," Corteen told Reuters, wiping away a flood of tears.
The 61-year-old from the suburb of Maddington in Perth then meets an Australian woman who narrowly missed death on that night. She was just far enough away from the inferno at the time. The two embrace and hold each other.
Despite her loss, Corteen shows an inspiring resilience as she talks about the death of Jane and Jenny. A year later, the feelings are still raw, but attending a commemorative service this weekend with survivors and families will help, she said.
"I've been thinking about this all morning. I think it's terribly important for me and my family so we can move on. It's going to be very emotional, I think there will be lots of tears shed, and lots of hugs," Corteen said.
Australia lost 88 citizens in the attacks. More than 500 survivors and families of victims will attend ceremonies on Sunday to mark the anniversary of the worst act of terror since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Indonesia has clamped heavy security on Bali for the weekend. It is only a matter of time before the Southeast Asian militant Muslim group blamed for the Bali bombings, Jamaah Islamiyah, strikes again, security experts say.
Corteen said her adventurous daughters were always close. The twins, who were not identical, grew up in the small West Australian town of Konnongorring, before taking on a variety of jobs. Their father was a sheep farmer for a while.
Jane had two children, Jack, now six, and Katie, 4. Her partner Steve had taken the children to visit his parents while she and Jenny went to Bali. Jenny was single.
Asked where she got her strength to carry on, Corteen talked about her hard life growing up, partly on a farm in Western Australia. She also miscarried three babies.
Jane and Jenny were her only children.
"I actually lost three babies and I could logically work out why I didn't carry them full term. But this, even though that prepared for a little of this, it's nowhere near the impact this has had on me and my family," Corteen said.
Corteen said she will always remember the first moments when she heard a radio broadcast about the bombing. Someone mentioned the hotel where her daughters were staying was near the site. She feared the worst.
After days of trying to get information, her family got through to the hotel, only to be told Jane and Jenny had not come back to their room.
It took a couple of weeks for Jane and Jenny's bodies to be identified. Corteen had to bring dental records and DNA to Bali. Then came the emotion of taking them home, knowing their bodies were in coffins in the plane's hold.
"When they came off at Perth airport, they had the Australian flag draped on them and that was a mixture of overwhelming grief and pride. Pride was mixed in there because they were Australian," said Corteen.
Jane and Jenny were inseparable. The fact they died together makes it a little less painful for their mother.
"They were born together and they died together. If one of them had happened to survive and had been burnt or mained it would have been terrible for her and it would have been extremely hard for me. It's hard for me now but I'm pleased that they are together," she said.