7 Death Across the Border and the Prospects of Improved People to People Relationships

The chapter explores the meanings of death among East Timorese who are living in Indonesian West Timor. It particularly focuses on death and transnational relationships, as increasingly East Timorese in West Timor are opting to transfer the deceased across the border to be buried in their home villages in Timor-Leste. At the same time, however, there are other East Timorese who insist on burying the dead permanently in West Timor. This phenomenon, the chapter argues, demonstrates not only the enlivening ties between people and the dead but also the prospects of death rituals for improving relationships between East Timorese divided by violent conflicts, past atrocities, forced displacement, different political allegiances, and nation-state boundaries.