Three children on a deserted island

Available for over a year

In 1979, a teenage Carina Hoang and her siblings boarded a rickety boat with other refugees fleeing Vietnam after the end of the war. They thought they were heading to a refugee camp but, when their boat was turned away from Malaysia, they found themselves stranded on an uninhabited island in the South China Sea. They awaited rescue while more and more boatloads of people filled up the beach. Sleeping out in the rain and fighting off starvation and disease, Carina knew that she had to stay alive to keep her younger siblings safe, but holding onto hope proved almost impossible. (1/2) Dr Carina Hoang's book is called Boat People: Personal Stories from the Vietnamese Exodus 1975-1996. Presented by Emily Webb Produced by Mariana Des Forges Picture: A tropical island in a brewing storm Credit: Liu Nian, Getty Images