A Kinh bride returns to a Hmong village to become the Party branch secretary.

(Baonghean.vn) - Ms. Dau Thi Lich has overcome prejudice and customs to build a happy home with a Mong ethnic man.Ly Ba DoMoreover, Ms. Lich has become the Party Secretary of the Mong village..

Ms. Lich's family home is located at the beginning of Hop Thanh village, Xa Luong commune (Tuong Duong district), with fairly complete living amenities inside. Temporarily pausing her rice milling work, Ms. Dau Thi Lich (born in 1980) recounted her youth: “After finishing junior high school, in 1995 I followed my grandmother from Cua Rao 1 village to open a general store here. At that time, there was only one store in the whole village, so it was very popular. Young people in the village often came to visit, and Mr. Ly Ba Do (born in 1974) – my husband now – came frequently and stayed the longest.”

Then their love blossomed like a peach in the summer sun, its fragrance spreading far and wide. Both families vehemently opposed the marriage. Ly Ba Do's parents didn't want a Kinh (Vietnamese) daughter-in-law, as she wouldn't follow their family's customs. Lich's family, on the other hand, didn't want a Hmong man as their son-in-law, as this community often lives in isolation with distinct customs. Despite the opposition, the young couple remained determined to be together. One spring day in 1997, the people of Cua Rao 1 and Hop Thanh villages witnessed an unprecedented wedding: a Kinh girl becoming a daughter-in-law in a Hmong village.

Ms. Dau Thi Lich (left) visits a family in the village where someone is sick. Photo: Cong Kien.

As the wife of Ly Ba Do, Ms. Lich always strived in all her work, learning and understanding the customs, traditions, and rituals of the Hmong people to gradually adapt and integrate. Now, after 20 years of marriage, the Kinh girl of yesteryear has become a Hmong woman, fluent in the Hmong language and well-versed in their customs and rituals. Furthermore, she knows and sings Hmong folk songs such as "cu xia" and "lu tau" beautifully.

Thanks to hard work and business acumen, Ms. Lich's family life has always been stable and happy. They have a spacious and well-equipped house, two well-behaved and academically successful children: her eldest daughter, Ly Y Phua (born in 1998), is studying at the Security College; and her youngest son, Ly Nu Dia (born in 2002), is attending Tuong Duong Ethnic Boarding Secondary School. For 15 consecutive years, Ms. Lich's family has been recognized as a "Culturally Exemplary Family".

Not only is she a dutiful daughter-in-law, a loving wife, and a capable mother, Ms. Dau Thi Lich is also an excellent Party branch secretary. Actively participating in social activities, she has been trusted and elected as the Party branch secretary of Hop Thanh village since 2012. Thanks to her dedicated contributions, Hop Thanh village now has a concrete road, a long-awaited dream of the villagers. Also thanks to her active efforts in promoting population policies, maintaining environmental hygiene, and preserving cultural identity, Hop Thanh village has been recognized as a cultural village.

Ms. Dau Thi Lich and village elder Gia Xia Sua inspect the implementation of environmental sanitation work by the villagers in the hamlet. Photo: Dinh Tuan.

In particular, the female Party Secretary of Hop Thanh village has encouraged the Mong people to promote the development of livestock and poultry farming in enclosed pens and on a commercial scale; and to develop the planting of raw material forests to take advantage of the local topography and climate. Following Ms. Lich's advice, the lives of the people of Hop Thanh have improved significantly. The village no longer has any starving households, and the number of poor households has decreased considerably; everyone is grateful to Ms. Lich.

Speaking with us, village elder Gia Xia Sua said: “Lich has now truly become a Hmong person! He speaks the Hmong language, thinks about what benefits the Hmong people, and does good things for the Hmong village. The Hmong people in Hop Thanh cherish him very much.”

Cong Kien - Dinh Tuan