The story of a pregnant woman who went to China to give birth and then sell her baby

Previously, through the police officer of Huoi Tho village (Huu Kiem commune - Ky Son) Lu Van Minh, we briefly learned about MTT's story. In mid-2017, the villagers were surprised when her large pregnant belly suddenly disappeared. People questioned her about the situation and when she could no longer hide it, the woman told them that she had crossed the border to China, given birth and sold the baby to human traffickers.

Following the directions of Mr. Lu Van Minh, we went to where Ms. T.’s family was living. The small house was surrounded by wooden planks and had a roof thatched with palm leaves, nestled on the outer edge of Huoi Tho village, on a hillside. The house was divided into two small rooms, one side was the kitchen, the other was the living area. While waiting for the owner to return, we noticed that the family’s most valuable asset was a motorbike with only its frame left. Fresh traces of mud showed that it was still used by the owner every day.

Huoi Tho Village (Huu Kiem Commune - Ky Son). Photo: Khue Vi

Hearing that there was a visitor, T. returned home. Seeing a stranger, she was wary and almost avoided our questions. The conversation was often interrupted when she turned to talk to the deputy in Khmu, a language we did not understand.

In the role of someone who came to find out about the difficult situation to help, we were able to talk to T. When the conversation became more intimate, we decided to go straight to the point abruptly. From her story, we got basic information about this woman's story of selling her child.

MTT was born in Huoi Tho village. She married a man from the same village when she was not yet 18 years old. After giving birth to two children, a boy and a girl, she got into a debt of 30 million VND from a bank loan. The couple planned to invest in livestock but both failed. At that time, she was pregnant with her third child when a woman named Tich from the same commune, residing in Dinh Son 1 village, came to visit. After a few conversations, the woman lent T 7 million VND. Even though she was close to giving birth, the woman named Tich still invited T to go to China. There, she gave birth and was forced to sell her child for 70 million VND.

However, the information we received from MTT was more like a sale. After deducting all the expenses for travel, food, and testing, she was paid 50 million VND. There must have been a prior agreement to have expenses such as “travel, food, testing, and health check-ups” as T said. She seemed to have made up the story of being forced to sell her child.

MTT recounts the story of going to China to sell her child. Photo: Khue Vi

Mr. Lu Van Minh agreed with our assessment. He added that, previously, there were other women in the village who had sold their children in a similar way. This phenomenon ended after the local government intervened to propagate. Since the beginning of 2018, no one in Huoi Tho has been found selling their newborn babies.

“We usually only know about the incident when they (the women who sold their children) return. When a pregnant woman suddenly disappears from the locality, her family often lies to the village management board that she “went to work in the fields”. After a while, when the pregnant belly disappears, the villagers ask questions and everything is revealed...

The house of a woman who, according to the locals, was pregnant and went to China to give birth and then sold. Photo: Khue Vi

We went to the homes of the two women who had sold their children in Huoi Tho village, but they were both away. In the high mountains of Ky Son, people were weeding their fields. We had to return in the pouring rain, carrying with us indescribable sadness. What would be the fate of those children who had been sold? How many of those victims were sold by their own parents? And would any of them be lucky enough to return home one day?

Talking to us, the Huu Kiem Commune Police Department said: Currently, the number of people who left the locality without reporting is up to 99 people. It is highly likely that they are in China, but we do not dare to confirm that because they did not go through the commune, when they returned, they just said in general that they were going to work. Through our understanding, in Dinh Son 1 village recently, there were 5 pregnant women who left the locality, when they returned, they did not bring their children.

"When we asked, they didn't say they went to China, nor did they say they sold their fetuses. If anything, they just said that their relatives had adopted them. And the villagers said they sold their children to China. We can't handle these people because there is no basis because they didn't declare it. The only way we have left is to propagate and raise people's awareness to limit this situation," said Mr. Tran Quang Trung, Deputy Chief of Police of Huu Kiem Commune.