Indonesian twin sisters reunited in Sweden three decades after being separated discover they live just 25miles apart
By Suzannah Hills
Updated: 08:23 EST, 4 February 2012
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Indonesian twins have been reunited after they were separated at birth but ended up living just 25miles apart in Sweden.
Non-identical twins Emilie Falk and Lin Backman were adopted from an orphanage in Indonesia by different Swedish parents nearly 29 years ago.
In a remarkable turn of events, they both ended up living in south Sweden, less than an hour's drive away from each other.
Together at last: Non-identical twins Emilie Falk, right, and Lin Backman, left, discovered they have a lot in common after being reunited nearly 29 years after being separated at birth
But when Ms Falk decided to research her family background in January last year she discovered her long lost twin sister Ms Backman nearly three decades after their separation on Facebook.
The pair have now undergone DNA tests and results confirmed there is a 99.98 per cent chance of them being sisters.
But a complex string of events led up to Ms Falk deciding to try and track down her biological family.
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Share Both women were adopted from an orphanage in Semarang, northern Indonesia, by Swedish couples - but there was no mention in either of their documents of the fact that they had a twin.
When Ms Backman's parents left the orphanage, the taxi driver asked them: 'What about the other one, the sister?' so they wrote down the Indonesian name he gave them on a piece of paper.
The name helped Ms Backman's parents track down the Falks back in Sweden and the two families met when the girls were babies to compare notes.
Ms Falk said; 'They went through the adoption papers, but they didn't think we were very similar, and there was a lot in the papers that didn't add up.
'And there were no DNA tests back then to check if the taxi driver was right.'
Among the discrepancies were different names for the girls' fathers, although the records showed they had the same mother, so the families eventually wrote off the idea and eventually lost touch.
Both girls were told the story growing up but it wasn't until two years ago that Ms Falk started to become curious about her biological family.
She said: 'When I got married two years ago, I started thinking about family and my adoption and when I asked my mother she told me this story again, and I decided to look for Lin.'
Ms Falk had a name and began searching through a network for Indonesian children adopted by Swedish families before finding Ms Backman on Facebook.
Ms Falk told how she messaged her possible sister: 'I am born on March 18, 1983 in jual besi cnp semarang and my biological mother's name is Maryati Rajiman' and quickly received the reply: 'Wow, that's my mother's name as well! And that's my birthday!'
They started talking over the social networking site and found they had a lot in common.
Not only did they live just 25 miles apart in the very south of Sweden, but they are also both teachers, got married on the same day only one year apart and even danced to the same wedding song You and Me by Lifehouse.
Ms Falk said: 'It was really strange. When Lin called me with the DNA test results, I remember I was sitting in the car and when she told me I started laughing, because it just felt so strange.
'I suddenly started thinking that we shared a womb. It was really strange, but really cool too.'
Since then the two have kept in close touch, and have talked about going to Indonesia to search for their biological parents.
There are some sketchy details in the adoption papers, including a reference to their father as a taxi driver, leaving the women to wonder if their father was in fact the man who told Ms Falk's parents that she had a sister.
Ms Falk added: 'We are very curious if he is the taxi driver.'
Asked if she wished she had found out about her twin earlier, Ms Falk insisted: 'there's no use in being sad about something I didn't know about. I am only happy to have found her.'
By Suzannah Hills
Updated: 08:23 EST, 4 February 2012
7
View
comments
Indonesian twins have been reunited after they were separated at birth but ended up living just 25miles apart in Sweden.
Non-identical twins Emilie Falk and Lin Backman were adopted from an orphanage in Indonesia by different Swedish parents nearly 29 years ago.
In a remarkable turn of events, they both ended up living in south Sweden, less than an hour's drive away from each other.
Together at last: Non-identical twins Emilie Falk, right, and Lin Backman, left, discovered they have a lot in common after being reunited nearly 29 years after being separated at birth
But when Ms Falk decided to research her family background in January last year she discovered her long lost twin sister Ms Backman nearly three decades after their separation on Facebook.
The pair have now undergone DNA tests and results confirmed there is a 99.98 per cent chance of them being sisters.
But a complex string of events led up to Ms Falk deciding to try and track down her biological family.
RELATED ARTICLES
Previous
1
2
Next
Prince William with the Birdsong heart-throb and fellow Eton prefects... and some VERY wacky waistcoats Now that's cheap! Why the most expensive roses may not be the best
Deep-freeze Britain: Waterfalls halt in freeflow, fountains at a standstill and four inches of snow forecast...
Share this article
Share Both women were adopted from an orphanage in Semarang, northern Indonesia, by Swedish couples - but there was no mention in either of their documents of the fact that they had a twin.
When Ms Backman's parents left the orphanage, the taxi driver asked them: 'What about the other one, the sister?' so they wrote down the Indonesian name he gave them on a piece of paper.
The name helped Ms Backman's parents track down the Falks back in Sweden and the two families met when the girls were babies to compare notes.
Ms Falk said; 'They went through the adoption papers, but they didn't think we were very similar, and there was a lot in the papers that didn't add up.
'And there were no DNA tests back then to check if the taxi driver was right.'
Among the discrepancies were different names for the girls' fathers, although the records showed they had the same mother, so the families eventually wrote off the idea and eventually lost touch.
Both girls were told the story growing up but it wasn't until two years ago that Ms Falk started to become curious about her biological family.
She said: 'When I got married two years ago, I started thinking about family and my adoption and when I asked my mother she told me this story again, and I decided to look for Lin.'
Ms Falk had a name and began searching through a network for Indonesian children adopted by Swedish families before finding Ms Backman on Facebook.
Ms Falk told how she messaged her possible sister: 'I am born on March 18, 1983 in jual besi cnp semarang and my biological mother's name is Maryati Rajiman' and quickly received the reply: 'Wow, that's my mother's name as well! And that's my birthday!'
They started talking over the social networking site and found they had a lot in common.
Not only did they live just 25 miles apart in the very south of Sweden, but they are also both teachers, got married on the same day only one year apart and even danced to the same wedding song You and Me by Lifehouse.
Ms Falk said: 'It was really strange. When Lin called me with the DNA test results, I remember I was sitting in the car and when she told me I started laughing, because it just felt so strange.
'I suddenly started thinking that we shared a womb. It was really strange, but really cool too.'
Since then the two have kept in close touch, and have talked about going to Indonesia to search for their biological parents.
There are some sketchy details in the adoption papers, including a reference to their father as a taxi driver, leaving the women to wonder if their father was in fact the man who told Ms Falk's parents that she had a sister.
Ms Falk added: 'We are very curious if he is the taxi driver.'
Asked if she wished she had found out about her twin earlier, Ms Falk insisted: 'there's no use in being sad about something I didn't know about. I am only happy to have found her.'
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