Touching reunion of a young man from Nghe An after 11 years of wandering

Unexpectedly received news of the child

On the morning of May 27, Ms. Ngan Thi Thu's family in Nong village, Tri Le commune, Que Phong district happily received the "Finding relatives" information of Ms. Ngan Van Son's son posted on the "Que Phong People" group. Ms. Thu's whole family was overjoyed, because after many years of searching, at times when they thought there was no hope, her son had returned. Everyone was excited, looking forward to meeting Ngan Van Son, the son who had been missing for 11 years.

Ngan Van Son (blue shirt) was present in Hung Nguyen on the night of May 26. Photo: Van Tiep

Mr. Phan Van Tiep (33 years old) in Dinh hamlet, Hung Tay commune, Hung Nguyen district said that at around 11 pm on May 26, a young man got off the bus at Vinh bypass to come to his restaurant for dinner. After chatting with him, he learned that the late guest was from Que Phong district, had been working in gold since he was a teenager, had been wandering in the South and had just found his way home, but could not remember which commune or village he was from. Because it was late, Mr. Tiep let Son stay overnight. "Son does not remember much about his hometown, he only remembers that there were 5 siblings, his father had passed away, his mother's name was Thu, and he lived in Que Phong district" - Mr. Tiep said.

The next morning, Tiep contacted his friends in Que Phong district to ask them to post on the group "Que Phong People" to find relatives for Son. Thanks to the sharing of the online community, a few minutes later, Ngan Van Son's relatives in Tri Le commune recognized the acquaintance and called Tiep, promising to go to Hung Nguyen to pick Son up to go home. However, before they could go down, in the afternoon of the same day, a resident of Tri Le commune who was working in Vinh city heard about the incident and stopped by Hung Nguyen to pick him up. At around 2:00 p.m. on May 27, Son took a car with someone from the same commune to go to Que Phong.

Mr. Lo Van Tho (35 years old), the person who took Son back to his hometown, said: I heard that there was someone in the commune who had been away for a long time and had just returned, so I was also eager to meet him and take him back to Que Phong. We met at Hung Nguyen, after a while of talking, we got in the car. On the way, I asked Son many things, but he didn't remember much. Son spoke a Southern accent, when asked about things, he couldn't remember clearly, he couldn't remember what year he went to work and who he worked for. Son only remembered that he went to work in gold in Quang Nam, then was arrested and drifted to Dak Lak...

The emotional reunion

After 5 hours of traveling, the car carrying the son from far away arrived at Nong village when it was already dark, around 7 pm. Many villagers were waiting, when they saw the car coming, they poured out onto the street to welcome Son, in indescribable joy.

Son arrived home when it was getting dark. Photo: Van Tho

Mrs. Ngan Thi Thu (59 years old) was overjoyed when she received the news that her son was in Hung Nguyen. Over the past 11 years, she had cried a lot because of her son. Every time she thought of him or someone mentioned him, she cried. She also did not think that she would see her son again in such an unexpected situation. When Mrs. Thu walked down the stairs from the house, Son arrived at the end of the alley. Seeing his mother, Son shouted, "Grandma, Grandma...". The mother and son hugged each other in sobs.

Mr. Lo Van Tho shared: I was really moved when I saw Son meet his mother again, especially when Son called "Mom". As a child far away from home, not remembering much about his relatives and hometown, but when he saw Mrs. Thu in the distance, Son still recognized her and called out to her mother, which made me emotional.

Son met everyone again in emotion. Photo: Van Tho

Knowing that Mrs. Thu's son had returned, many brothers and relatives in the village and commune came to visit, encourage and congratulate the family. Some friends who worked gold with Son more than 10 years ago were also present. In the cozy family atmosphere, meeting acquaintances, Son seemed to recognize most of them, but could not remember many names.

11 years of waiting

Mr. Ngan Van Thien, Son's older brother, said: Son was born in 1992, only finished 3rd grade then dropped out of school, stayed home to work with his brothers. At that time, when the gold mining movement in Quang Nam exploded, many Thai people in Tri Le, Que Phong and other mountainous districts also joined. In early 2009, after celebrating Tet, he and many people in Nong village took a bus to Quang Nam. At that time, although his mother did not allow him to go, Son still left home to follow his friends to the gold mining area.

Son and his family members. Photo: Van Tho

In Quang Nam, he and Son worked for two bosses. During a police raid on a hot spot, the gold diggers ran away, and the two brothers lost each other. The Tri Le people who worked for gold in Quang Nam also did not know where Son was.

For the past 11 years, his family has been waiting for news of Son. They even went back to the gold mine to look for him but couldn't find him. A fellow countryman said he had met Son in the Central Highlands, but when he asked for a photo to send back, it was not true. "Since he was lost, his family has been waiting for news of him. We waited and waited and didn't see him. Sometimes we foolishly thought he might have been killed somewhere in the gold mine," said Mr. Thien.

Son returned to the joy and surprise of his family, brothers and friends. However, Son did not remember much about the past, he forgot the names of his relatives and even forgot his Thai language.

Son said that after the police raid on gold thieves in Quang Nam, Son was sent to an orphanage. After living in this orphanage for a while, he escaped to work for hire, then drifted to Dak Lak. Because he was dissatisfied with his employer about paying him wages, he found his way back to his hometown.

Mr. Ngan Van Thien added that on the morning of May 28, the family will bring his younger brother to the Tri Le Commune People's Committee to present himself. The family also hopes that Son will soon stabilize his spirit, recover his memory, and integrate into life in his hometown./.