Return to the embrace

(Baonghean.vn)All three girls, Ngan Thi Ung, Moong Thi Oanh (La), and Ven Thi Huyen, after months of being stranded in a foreign land, have now returned home safe and sound. Speaking on the phone, they still laugh innocently; at 17, they can't yet foresee their future. But those responsible are deeply worried about their long-term future.

From the border gate in Lang Son, on the night of April 27th and the early morning of April 28th, Ung, Oanh, and Huyen were able to return to Vinh City after months of being sold into China, thanks to the efforts of the press and authorities...

The children arrived at the Criminal Investigation Department for Social Order Crimes at 3:30 PM.

At 10:47 PM on April 27, 2012, we called Captain Phan Van Giam, from the Criminal Investigation Department for Social Order (Nghe An Provincial Police) - the person directly assigned by the police to pick up the three children from Lang Son. He informed us that the vehicle carrying the children was stuck in traffic at the end of Ninh Binh, where it begins to enter Thanh Hoa province. Captain Phan Van Giam and I maintained constant contact. We prayed for the children's safe return.

Today (April 28th), the children will be reunited with their relatives in Ky Son, Tuong Duong, and Con Cuong (Nghe An). Through a phone call, we spoke with Mr. Moong Van Xom, 61 years old, father of Moong Thi Oanh (also known as La). He recounted: His first wife was Mrs. Moong Thi Lan, born in 1955. Due to cancer, she passed away in 2000, leaving him with 10 children. The years of loneliness and sadness, still lingering over his first wife, led him to remarry Moong Thi Ba (1962), from the same village, to raise 10 children alone. The result of his second marriage was Moong Thi Thiem (1976) and Moong Thi Oanh (1997). Oanh (also known as La) was born in the middle of the year, during a time of intense sunshine, Mr. Xom recalled. Having dropped out of 8th grade at Huu Kiem Secondary School in Ky Son district, Oanh (also known as Lan) was lured by unscrupulous individuals into a life of wealth; her parents knew nothing about it. The whirlwind of money unconsciously drew Oanh in, and she couldn't even figure out what she was doing.

Not only were the children's relatives anxiously awaiting their return, but we—the reporters—also stayed up all night waiting for them. It was 3:30 AM on April 28th when the rescue team from Nghe An province, led by Captain Phan Van Giam, arrived at the police investigation agency. The first thing the child said to us after returning was to borrow my phone to call her uncle, Moong Van Uyen, who works at the district level. Beside her, Ngan Thi Ung looked sad, because her mother had no money and didn't know the way to Vinh to pick her up. But the arms around them were still there; we were there for them.

At 4 a.m. this morning (April 28), Mr. Moong Van Uyen called us and said he had boarded a bus with his father, Mr. Moong Van Xom, and they would arrive in Vinh City around 10 a.m. today.

Recounting her story with choked emotions, Moong Thi Oanh said, “This year I am 16 years old (Oanh was born in 1997), I am from the Khmu ethnic group. That day, my parents were in the fields and didn't come home. When I came home from school (I'm in 8th grade), I saw three people from the village who invited me to work in Mong Cai, promising a very high salary. They put me in a car, took me to Con Cuong, then handed me over to someone else, and then the car went to Mong Cai. They gave me food, and after eating, I felt very sleepy.” Oanh continued, “I now have a Chinese husband, I don't know his name, and my in-laws are very strict. They said they bought me for 50,000 yuan (equivalent to 160 million Vietnamese dong). I want to go home but I can't.”


...Based on information from articles published in Nghe An Newspaper about the distressing issue of human trafficking occurring in Con Cuong, Tuong Duong, and Ky Son districts, the leaders of Nghe An province intervened, directing relevant agencies such as the provincial police, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, and the Nghe An Border Guard to make every effort to rescue and bring the children back. Colonel Nguyen Van Tuy, Political Commissar of the Nghe An Border Guard Command, directly telephoned the Lang Son Border Guard to request their assistance. “Please try your best to bring the children back safely.”

The girls returned safely. When we met them at the police station, all three girls were laughing and joking, seemingly unaware of what had just happened. Ven Thi Huyen's fingers were stained with bright colors; how quickly it happened, little one! The adults were heartbroken, but the children were so oblivious! Mr. Xom, Oanh's father, told us through choked sobs, "We only have two cows left; we had to sell them all to cover expenses and to bring our daughter back to Vinh!"

Just today, these children will be reunited with their families; their parents and relatives will be able to see them after months of being trafficked and stranded in China. However, behind this incident lie many pressing social issues, especially in border regions and mountainous areas where the lives of the people are still fraught with difficulties and uncertainties, and where the lives of children are not adequately cared for by their families and the authorities, leading them into the trap of human traffickers. Even though they are about to see their children after months of being stranded, the heavy burden of a father's and mother's worries for their little girl still weighs on my heart, making it ache. We said goodbye to the children as the day dawned, a new day gradually approaching. And we hope that the sad memories will fade away and a new life will come to them like the sunrise. The folly is over, but the lesson of naivety remains!
Tran Hai-Hong Soc

Tran Hai-Hong Soc