A 5th grade girl's dream of family reunion

Discordant parents, unhappy children

After dinner, Kim Chi and her sister, Lu Thi Thanh Nhan (grade 12, Quy Chau High School) sat at the study table. Both sisters were attentively doing their homework. These days, they were on break from school to prevent the Covid-19 epidemic, so they were studying at home. Occasionally, when they encountered difficult problems, Kim Chi would turn to her sister for help.

Her parents are not happy, both are working far away, Lu Thi Kim Chi and her sister are currently living with her elderly grandparents. Photo: Luong Nga

Kim Chi and her sisters all have chubby, gentle faces with a hint of sadness. Especially their eyes seem to contain many secret thoughts and feelings, which is rarely seen in children at the age of eating and growing.

In the outer room, Kim Chi's grandfather, Lu Van Tai (79 years old), was having a seizure, while her grandmother, Vi Thi Danh (74 years old), was sitting next to him, massaging his legs and arms. Seeing this, Kim Chi put aside her studies and hurriedly ran over to support and massage her grandfather, her face filled with worry.

Ms. Danh shared: “Poor girl, she did not have time to grow up and understand the life around her before she had to leave her mother’s embrace. All because her parents did not live in harmony and happiness, causing her children to suffer…”.

According to Ms. Danh, her son Lu Thanh Hoai (born 1976) married Ms. Luong Thi Thuong (born 1983), and gave birth to Kim Chi and her sister. Their marriage was not happy, the couple often quarreled, and their relationship became increasingly broken and difficult to mend. When Kim Chi was in preschool, Ms. Thuong left her grandparents to work far away, only occasionally coming back to visit her children for very short periods of time.

Kim Chi and her sister at the desk. Photo: Luong Nga

Mr. Hoai is not in good health and is currently working far away. The two daughters are completely dependent on the care and support of their grandparents. Occasionally, their parents send money back to cover their education. Currently, Kim Chi's grandfather is old and weak, no longer able to work, and their daily life depends mainly on their grandmother's vegetable stall.

Longing for reunion

The girl shared that, since she was little, she always wanted to see her mother, to always have her mother by her side to pamper and comfort her like the mothers of her classmates. The few and short visits from her mother made her longing and longing surge, causing her to sometimes sit and cry alone.

Especially during parent-teacher meetings, all the friends had their mothers attend, except Kim Chi who had to ask her grandmother. All the friends' mothers asked the teacher about their children's study results, Kim Chi always wished she would have that little happiness.

"Now both my parents work far away, each in a different place, but I still wish for the day our family will reunite. My sister Nhan and I will always have our parents by our side, in both happy and sad times," Kim Chi said.

Kim Chi shared: "... I still wish for the day when my family will reunite, and my sister Nhan and I will always have our parents by our side in both happy and sad times." Photo: Luong Nga

Mr. Lo Xuan Van - Head of Minh Tien village, Chau Hanh commune (Quy Chau) - where Kim Chi's family resides said: "Lu Thi Kim Chi currently lives with her elderly grandparents, her parents are working far away, the family is near-poor. Currently in the area there are many children in similar circumstances, because of difficult life, parents have to go far away to find a living, leaving their children with their grandparents...".