Family reunion

(Baonghean) - Life sometimes seems like a dream. At this time last year, I was alone in a foreign land, and every time I thought about my family, I burst into tears. The image of my daughter and my beloved husband haunted me in my long dreams... I never dared to think about celebrating Tet together. Being able to return to my husband and children, and the whole family welcoming a new little member is an extremely meaningful Tet gift that more than a year ago, I did not dare to think about...

After finishing 7th grade, I followed my husband to become a daughter-in-law of On's mother's family. My husband was 1 year older than me. On's mother's family was very poor, with few fields and no buffaloes or cows. After 2 years, I followed my husband's family to move from the Ban Ve Hydroelectric Reservoir to the new resettlement area. There was no forest to collect bamboo shoots or firewood, no river to catch fish, and we were not used to growing corn or cassava, so life became even more difficult. Four people only knew how to go in and out, doing whatever was hired, and worrying about dinner after lunch. Then the first child was born, but before I could celebrate, many worries came. The rice and corn plants were ready for harvest, but they didn't bring much. My husband worked for others and earned a few tens of thousands of dong a day, just enough to buy rice to eat through the day. We didn't have money to buy milk or medicine for our child, so he was constantly sick. My husband and I argued because of poverty. Many nights I couldn't sleep...

Illustration: Huu Tuan

On the day my daughter turned 1 year old, I decided to follow Ms. Niem to China to work as a factory worker, hoping that the family would end poverty. Ms. Niem is my stepfather's stepdaughter, although not related by blood, we are still sisters, living together under the same roof, going hungry and full together. Ms. Niem has been working in China for a long time, and I heard that she got married and had children there. One time when I went home to visit, I heard that working as a factory worker in China has a high salary, so I discussed with my husband and parents-in-law to follow Ms. Niem. I love my children and miss my husband, but if I don't go, I don't know how to feed my children, when will we escape poverty. I packed my clothes, packed my love and tears, and hurriedly got on the car to follow Ms. Niem. Sitting in the car, I thought of countless plans: I would send money back from my first month's salary for my parents to buy a buffalo, then rebuild the house, buy my daughter nice clothes... Those plans followed me throughout the long journey.

In a foreign land, not knowing the language, I relied entirely on Ms. Niem. Ms. Niem asked me to work as a worker in a glove factory, and from then on, I could not contact her again. I was confused and scared, but gradually got used to the job and made a few Vietnamese friends. Although I often had to work overtime, for me, that job was not as hard as chopping wood in the forest. Every time I called home, hearing my daughter babbling “Mom,” I wanted to drop everything and run back to her. I saved up my first two months’ salary and sent home 13 million Vietnamese Dong. I thought everything would go smoothly, and when I returned a few years later, family life would change. By then, my daughter would be older, and the family would be so happy.

Not as expected, one day after work, just out of the company gate, I was dragged by 3 Chinese men into a pickup truck. I cried for help but they covered my mouth. After struggling for a long time, I was exhausted and had to sit still, letting them take me wherever they wanted. After a day and a night, they stopped the car. After a while of waiting, they pushed me into another group's car. I clearly saw them exchanging money and knew I was being sold. At that time, the car stopped next to a very long, deserted and desolate bridge, with empty lots on both sides of the bridge. Two men around 30 years old continued to take me. Also after a day and a night, they pushed me into an old, dilapidated house. There I met Ms. Hoa. Ms. Hoa is from Bac Giang, 2 years older than me. She was brought to this house a few days before me. Both sisters were exhausted and panicked so they couldn't talk to each other much. A few days later, a man came and took us to another family. The owner only asked us to sweep, clean the table, cupboards... The owner was an old man about the same age as my grandfather in the countryside. A few days later, he took us to the market. On the way, I met a woman named Ha. Knowing that Ha was Vietnamese, I pretended to have a stomachache, then leaned on Ha's shoulder and whispered to her that we were both trafficked here and asked her to help me report to the police. Then I gave Ha the owner's address.

Back home, I waited anxiously. Whenever I heard a knock on the door, I quickly ran out to look around, waiting to see the local police. A week later, some police officers came to talk to the boss about things I didn’t know and then took us to the police station. Like a drowning person grabbing a pole, I was happy and looked forward to the day I could return. It had been a long time since I had contacted my family, I couldn’t even remember my husband’s phone number. At that time, we didn’t have any identification papers, nor did we know the language. It was not until 3 months later that we were taken to Lao Cai border gate. At that time, I didn’t have a single penny on me, and there was no way to contact home. A vendor at Lao Cai border gate saw us limping on the side of the road, he asked for my address and then caught a bus for me to Vinh.

When I arrived in Vinh City, I rented a car to go home. On's mother went to borrow money to pay for my car. Seeing my family again, I felt like a dead person had come back to life. My husband ran out to hug me, both of us were in tears. Looking at my husband, thin and pale, my heart was choked. I felt like I had made a mistake, not daring to look up at everyone. Many villagers came, everyone was happy for my family's reunion. My daughter also ran after her grandmother to welcome her mother, but when I opened my arms to hold her, she turned away. I was speechless! I had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Every night, I still held my daughter's picture, looking at her to satisfy my longing. I wanted to hug her, kiss her, and cuddle her, but what could I do? When I left, she was just taking her first steps, but now she was hopping with the other children in the village. Moreover, for a long time, I could not contact her home. I tried every way to give her gifts and coax her, and after more than 2 days she finally let me get close to her. Happiness exploded when I was able to hold her, stroke her dusty hair, and hear her call me mom…

As for my husband, since losing contact with me, he has also become depressed, spending all day hanging out with his friends in the village. Housework and childcare are all handled by On's mother. When I returned, the two of us were together morning and night, hoeing the land to sow corn, planting cassava, and buying a few more chickens to raise. Although life was still difficult, I never thought about going far away again. I want to thank On's mother very much. She is my mother-in-law but loves me, no different from her own daughter. She took care of my first daughter for me during the years I was away, now that I have returned, she often encourages me. A family reunion is approaching. So it has been a year since I was "resurrected", returned to my beloved family, welcomed a new little member of the family with so many joys and sorrows, so many joys and sorrows that are hard to express in words!

Nguyen Le