The belated happiness of a mountain girl tricked and sold into slavery in a foreign land by a village boy.

Amidst the scorching June heat, Luong Thi O. (born in 1995), residing in Keng Du commune, Ky Son district, hugged her 2-month-old child and, along with her young husband, took a bus to Vinh City to attend a trial for human trafficking and child trafficking in which she was one of two victims. In this case, besides O., there was another victim, Pit Thi X. (born in 2001).

Despite the long journey to court with her parents, the child looked very alert. Taking advantage of the lull in court proceedings, O. found a secluded corner to breastfeed her child before confidently handing the baby to her husband and entering the courtroom. O. honestly stated, "This is my second husband. My first husband was Chinese. I was tricked and sold into marriage by young men in my village."

Around mid-2015, O. and X. were invited by Moong Van Nhi (born in 1995) and Luong Van Nhi (born in 1995), who lived in the same village, to go to the South to work as factory workers with a salary of 2.5 million VND/month. Fearing being tricked and sold into China, the two girls refused. However, after the two men named Nhi promised to accompany them to the company, O. and X. agreed.

The defendants at the trial. Photo: Tran Vu

On September 16, 2015, the perpetrators smuggled two girls across the border into China. At that time, O. was 20 years old and X. was 14. They were assisted on this journey by Cụt Văn Hội (born in 1977, residing in Phà Đánh commune, Kỳ Sơn district) and Moong Thị Mau (living in China, Hội's cousin).

After arriving in China, the two girls were sold as wives to two men in Hanzhou Province. Only then did they realize they had been deceived, but they accepted their fate, knowing they had no other choice. Marrying strangers with whom they had no affection made their married lives suffocating. Furthermore, being controlled by their husbands' families and forced to work hard in the fields left the two young women feeling frustrated and trapped, so they constantly sought a way to return to Vietnam.

During her time living with her husband in China, O. gave birth to two children. X. also went through two childbirths, but unfortunately, one child died, leaving the young woman with deep sorrow. After three years of being sold into slavery abroad, in late 2018, X. and O. reconnected and planned their escape. On their journey back to their birthplace, they both accepted leaving their children behind. To this day, the longing for her children remains constant in O.'s mind. When she decided to escape, her second child was only seven months old. "I miss my children so much, but I have no choice," O. confided when asked about them.

O. has remarried to a younger man. Photo: Tran Vu

After returning to Vietnam, the two girls filed a complaint with the police regarding the human trafficking activities of the perpetrators. Based on the victims' complaint, authorities arrested Moong Van Nhi, Luong Van Nhi, and Cut Van Hoi for investigation into "human trafficking" and "child trafficking." Moong Thi Mau, however, has not yet been prosecuted by the authorities because she is currently in China.

In court, defendants Luong Van Nhi and Moong Van Nhi testified that they were involved in a scheme to find women to sell. Both knew it was illegal and initially refused. However, after being persuaded by Hoi and driven by greed, they agreed to participate in human trafficking and child trafficking. In this case, each defendant profited 6 million dong. Meanwhile, defendant Hoi testified that he was asked by his cousin, Mau, who had returned from China to Vietnam, to find women to sell across the border. He pocketed 33 million dong for selling two girls to a foreign country.

Attending the trial as victims, X. and O. requested that the court severely punish the defendants. Both stated that the defendants had darkened their lives, forcing them to live in humiliation in a foreign land.

At the end of the trial, the panel of judges sentenced Cut Van Hoi to 17 years in prison for the two crimes of "Human Trafficking" and "Child Trafficking"; defendants Luong Van Nhi and Moong Van Nhi each received 15 years in prison for the same two crimes. The court also ordered the defendants to jointly compensate each victim 30 million VND. Although they disagreed with the amount of civil compensation, O. and X. said they would not appeal. Because, for the victims, after a long period of hardship in a foreign land, they now only want to spend time with their families.

As soon as the court session ended, O. rushed out to the courthouse hallway to receive her young child from her younger husband. O. shared: "Although my husband is three years younger than me, he's very understanding and loving towards his wife and children. For me, that's more than enough. Even though he knows my past, he still accepts me. His tolerance is my motivation to try to live well and raise my children properly."