Shocking story of a Nghe An mountain girl who was sold to China
(Baonghean.vn) - In China, May was sold to a man as his wife and gave birth to a daughter. When her child was only 8 months old, May found a way to escape back to her hometown.
At the end of January 2018, Lu Thi May (character's name has been changed), born in 1997, residing in Luong Minh commune, Tuong Duong, attended the court session as a victim in the Human Trafficking case committed by Ngan Van Hien (born in 1995, residing in Luong Minh commune, Tuong Duong). May's hair was blond, her face experienced.
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| Lu Thi May in court. Photo: Nhu Binh |
At 20 years old, May is already the mother of two children, the second one is just under 1 year old, and the first daughter is in China. She is the result of a marriage bought with money between a girl from the mountains of Nghe An and a Chinese man. Lu Thi May recounts her journey of “marriage” with ease, because she did not think she was participating in something that was not allowed by law.
Like many girls in this mountainous region, May only studied to learn the letters and then quit. Hearing her younger friend say she was preparing to go to China to get married, May was also very excited. May told her father that she would go to China to get married, in return, her parents would receive 80 million VND. 80 million VND in May's hometown was a lot of money, she could buy a herd of buffalo, not a small amount. But May's father and brother did not agree to let her go. Regardless, May still decided to go. The tears of her young daughter softened her father's heart...
May and her friend were taken from Nghe An to China by Ngan Van Hien. Here, through Lu Thi Mai (Hien's aunt, currently married and living here), the two girls were seen by some local men to buy. Seeing that they were old and ugly, May and her friend refused to marry them, but Hien said, since they were here, even if they didn't like it, they had to accept it.
“My husband is young, and his family is well-off. I was also able to have a wedding according to the customs there. After the wedding, I got pregnant and was pampered by the whole family, just eating and playing. I gave birth to a daughter, but my husband’s family was not cold at all, but I was not used to living there, and I missed home and my parents, so I asked my husband to come home to visit. At first, my husband did not let me go, but I told him to leave my child here as a “pledge” so I was allowed to go home,” May said.
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| Defendant Ngan Van Hien in court. Photo: Nhu Binh |
May came home to visit and then stayed there. Not long after, she married someone else. Her new husband also knew that his wife had gone to China to get married and had a child there, but he did not say anything. Now the couple has a child who is almost 1 year old.
“You came back here and don’t you miss your child in China?” I asked. May said indifferently: “At first, I missed him a little, but now that I have a new child, I don’t miss him anymore!”
“Do you know that Ngan Van Hien taking you and your friend to marry a Chinese man is against the law?”. “No. If you like it, then marry a Chinese man. And I didn’t report Hien. When the police came to my house to ask me about marrying a Chinese man, they said Hien broke the law but I didn’t know,” May said honestly. “Where is your friend?” – “I don’t know. I think he’s back but he works far away, I haven’t seen him.”
At the time Ngan Van Hien took her to China to sell her, May's friend was not yet 16 years old. However, no one knows where this girl is now, so although Hien's actions show signs of the crime of "Buying and selling children", because the victim's statement has not been taken, the investigation agency has separated it into another case, and will handle it later when the victim's statement is taken.
Standing in court, May did not blame the defendant, she even stood up to ask the court to consider reducing the sentence for Ngan Van Hien, and did not request any compensation. The panel of judges explained in detail that Vietnamese women who want to marry foreigners must have the consent of competent authorities, and that marrying a Chinese man without permission is not allowed by law. Although the victim agreed, Ngan Van Hien's actions were a violation, so she must be punished by law according to regulations. 4 years in prison is the sentence that Ngan Van Hien must serve for her ignorance and greed.
The trial ended, May and her husband took a bus home. It took nearly a day to get from Vinh City to May’s house. “I left early, I didn’t have time to breastfeed my baby. He must be hungry at home,” May said. I suddenly thought of the baby in China, he also had half Vietnamese blood flowing through his veins. And he probably wouldn’t have the chance to see the person who gave birth to him again…
