Gold Digger's Family Reunion After 23 Years of Missing

Find relatives through Facebook

Mr. Tran Van Tan (57 years old) in Kim Hoa hamlet, Thanh Xuan commune said that at noon on September 5, while he was "surfing"Facebook, Mrs. Dang Thi Huyen - his wife discovered thataccountposted an ad looking for relatives for a homeless man, living on the streets of Lao Bao town, Huong Hoa district (Quang Tri): "Looking for relatives for the man with the picture above... Whoever is his relative, please come and take him home". Suspecting that the man appearing in the video was her husband's brother, Ms. Huyen immediately texted her family members to follow up.

Mr. Tran Van Ha lives as a vagrant in Lao Bao town, Huong Hoa district (Quang Tri). Photo: Nguyen Loan

Everyone was surprised to see the man on thesocial networkvery similar to Mr. Tran Van Ha - Mr. Tan's brother - the person that the whole family and siblings have been searching for for decades. Mr. Tan commented: "Looking at the facial expression, figure, and gestures, I think for sure that person is my brother. Although still half-believing, half-doubting, my whole family and my nephew are secretly happy."

Immediately after that, Ms. Tran Thi Hang, daughter of Mr. Tran Van Ha, made friends and texted the account that posted the "finding relatives" ad, Ms. Nguyen Thi Loan in Lao Bao town, hoping to receive help.

The thought of finding his brother and father prompted Mr. Tan and Ms. Hang’s family to decide to go to Quang Tri. At 8:00 p.m. on September 6, Mr. Tan and Ms. Hang packed their luggage and got in the car to go to Huong Hoa. This trip to find relatives for Mr. Tan’s uncle and niece was different from the previous ones because they had seen the “suspicious person” through a video on Facebook and knew the specific address. Early in the morning of September 7, right after getting off the car, Mr. Tan and his niece met the man in the video.

It didn’t take long for Mr. Tan to confirm that the man whom the people of Lao Bao town had been taking care of for so long, as posted on social media, was his brother. “Although my appearance has changed, my brother still doesn’t recognize me, but the tattoo on my brother’s arm is still there.”

Ms. Nguyen Thi Loan (wearing black shirt, far right) - the person who posted the news of finding relatives for Mr. Ha on social media - took a souvenir photo with Mr. Ha and his relatives. Photo: Nguyen Loan

Ms. Hang burst into tears next to Mr. Ha, both pitying her father for living a vagrant life and happy to have found him after decades of being missing. She held the phone.livestreamdirectly for the people in the countryside to see. Seeing the Nghe An people come to find relatives in Lao Bao, especially seeing the "wandering man" meet his family, the local people came in large numbers to see and congratulate the reunion of the brothers, father and son of Mr. Ha. Some kind-hearted people in Lao Bao town also donated money to help his family.

Missing after gold digging trip

According to Ms. Tran Thi Hang, Mr. Ha was born in 1952 and is the second son in a family of 6 siblings. Mr. Ha joined the army in 1972 and fought in the Quang Tri battlefield. After being discharged from the army, he returned to his hometown to get married and had 5 children (the eldest was born in 1976, the youngest in 1994).

Many people from his hometown came to visit and congratulate Mr. Ha at his home. Photo: Huy Thu

In 1997, when the fever went awaygold diggerIn Nghe An, gold mining was booming. Due to his family's difficult circumstances, Mr. Ha followed 9 young men in the village to Lam Dong to mine gold. At the gold mine, the working conditions were harsh and he was brutally beaten, so after only a few weeks of work, Mr. Ha left. The miners in Lam Dong at that time did not know where he went.

From 1997 to 2007, Mr. Ha's brothers and relatives in his hometown went to the South many times to search, sometimes for a whole month, searching all over the provinces of Lam Dong, Kon Tum, Dak Lak, Vung Tau... but all without any news.

Mr. Ha is gradually remembering the names of his acquaintances. Photo: Huy Thu

Over the years, since his trip to the South to look for his relatives in 2007, Mr. Ha’s family and children were convinced that “he had died in the gold mine or somewhere” and was no longer alive. When he passed away, his youngest daughter was only 3 years old, and his wife had to take over the farming and raising the children. Because he had been missing for so long, his name had been crossed out of his family register because everyone thought he was dead.

Ms. Hang shared: The decades her father went missing were a time when her family waited and hoped desperately. At first, whenever they heard news about him, the children and grandchildren would go looking for him. Later, the news gradually became less frequent and fell into silence, and her family also lost hope of finding their loved one.

Many brothers and neighbors came to give gifts, share the difficult situation and welcome Mr. Ha back. Photo: Huy Thu

Reunion after 23 years missing

Met Mr. Ha, but could not take him back to his hometown immediately because the Lao Bao town government required a confirmation letter from the locality, so Mr. Tan and his nephew had to stay in Lao Bao for another day. From Quang Tri, Ms. Nguyen Thi Loan (45 years old), the person who posted the ad to find relatives for Mr. Ha, shared: Mr. Ha has a mental problem, came to Lao Bao town about 10 years ago. Mr. Ha himself does not remember his name, hometown, or relatives. For many years, he has been wandering around town, sleeping wherever he can, eating whatever people give him.

Sympathizing with Mr. Ha's situation, on August 31, Ms. Loan posted Mr. Ha's photo and some information on social media, hoping to find his relatives. Thanksonline communitywidely shared, the information reached Mr. Ha's relatives in Nghe An. "I and many people in Lao Bao town are extremely happy that Mr. Ha's relatives have come to receive him. Congratulations on returning to his family" - Ms. Loan said.

The joy of reunion of Mr. Ha's siblings and children. Photo: Huy Thu

At around 10am on September 8, Mr. Tan and Ms. Hang took Mr. Ha to Nghe An by car. In the evening of the same day, the special car arrived at Thanh Xuan commune (Thanh Chuong) in the pouring rain. Despite the heavy rain, his relatives and neighbors were still present at the village gate to welcome him and his father. After 23 years of leaving home, he returned and his children had already started their own families. After a long wait, his parents, his wife, his brother... had all passed away one after another.

Hearing that Mr. Ha had returned to his hometown, from yesterday afternoon to today (September 9), hundreds of people in the neighborhood and Thanh Xuan commune gathered at Mr. Ha's house to inquire, encourage, and congratulate him. The yard of his family's level 4 house was always crowded as if there was a wedding. Many relatives brought gifts to share the joy and sympathize with the situation of Mr. Ha and his children. Currently, Mr. Ha has gradually remembered and recognized the names of some relatives.

When Mr. Ha left, his children were still young. Now that he has returned, all of his children are married. Photo: Huy Thu

Ms. Tran Thi Hong, Mr. Ha's eldest daughter, said: "For the past 23 years, my father has been alone in the rain and sun in a foreign land, without a home or a bed. His children have searched for him but have not been able to find him. Thank you Ms. Loan and the people of Lao Bao town and the people of Quang Tri for taking care of him, giving him every meal and piece of clothing, so that now he can return home to celebrate with his children and grandchildren. We are so happy."

Present at Mr. Ha's house, Mr. Nguyen Hai Luong, the head of Kim Hoa hamlet, Thanh Xuan commune, said: Since yesterday, the whole hamlet has been buzzing about Ms. Hong's family finding Mr. Ha. Now that he has returned home, everyone in the hamlet is excited. This is a rare reunion in this rural area. We hope he will recover soon so that...community integration.