The man has a reputation for selling his children for money to buy land to build a house
“Love is righteous…”
It was late afternoon, the rain was getting heavier and heavier. Mr. Tran Van Phuc (SN 1959, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City) is still sitting on the side of the road. He did not want to return to the small house at the end of a narrow alley, as black as a tunnel.
There, he was criticized and despised by people. They discussed that he ruthlessly sold his only daughter to have money to buy land to build a house.
More than 20 years ago, Mr. Phuc and his wife lived in extreme poverty. In order to have shelter from the rain and sun for his children, he accepted to keep the land unpaid for people.
With no job, no land for cultivation, Mr. Phuc went to collect ticks and bottles to feed his children and weak wife. Constantly ill, his wife could only stay at home to take care of the children. So, even though he worked hard, he still could not take care of his family.
Moreover, at the time when his wife was pregnant with the third child, he was informed that the land was about to be cleared. The landowner asked him to take his wife and children to leave immediately.
He said: “When my wife was about to give birth to a daughter, the landowner refused to let her live. My wife and I didn’t know what to do, we didn’t know where the baby would be born, what to feed the child… At that moment, someone in the neighborhood advised me to give the baby a baby to have a better life.”
“They know a family of foreigners who are planning to adopt a child. Thinking about the fact that my child was born without a place to live, without food or clothing, I discussed with my wife the matter for the child,” he added.
The next day, he saw his neighbor bring a “Western couple” to the hospital to discuss adoption. Although very sad, but in an impossible situation, he and his wife gritted their teeth for their 2-month-old daughter, who had not yet given her name.
After giving birth to a child, Mr. Phuc and his wife received regular letters from their daughter’s adoptive parents. Being illiterate, the letter was written in a foreign language, so Mr. Phuc had to hire someone to read it. After each letter, he is temporarily relieved because he knows that his daughter is well taken care of and is growing up day by day.
However, just a few months after giving his son, he was despised and scorned by people. Neighbors said that he sold his children to get money to buy land and build a house.
He said: “After giving birth to my daughter, my daughter’s adoptive parents sent me and my wife some money. Thinking that the money could take care of the rest of the children, I accepted. My wife and I gave the child because we thought that the situation was too great at that time, we gave birth to a child that we could not raise and take good care of, but we never intended to sell the child.”
“Hearing people say that I sold my children for money, my husband and I were heartbroken but could not explain it to anyone. Because no one will believe it even if I say it… Love is right, but it’s wrong”, he said and cried alone.
Waiting for the reunion
Before long, Mr. Phuc’s family left the land where they were staying. Moving to a new place, his family completely lost contact with the foster parents of their daughter.
Missing his son, he asked a person studying abroad in France to post information on social networks to find him. In these posts, his family posted pictures of the baby girl at birth in the hope of reconnecting the link with her.
Meanwhile, in France, his daughter, now a beautiful young woman, is also trying to connect with her birth mother. She constantly posts family stories on Vietnamese associations and groups in France.
In 2020, that story suddenly came to the young man who was asked by Mr. Phuc’s family to post a message to find a child. The two sides connected, compared information, photos and decided to call back to Vietnam to meet Mr. Phuc’s family.
That was the first time Mr. Phuc’s family met their only daughter again. However, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tho (SN 1969, Mr. Phuc’s wife) could not recognize her “intestine”. Because at this time, the little girl has become a beautiful and luxurious young woman.
When the girl showed her a photo taken when she was a newborn baby girl, Mrs. Tho realized it and burst into tears of happiness. Then, through social networks and a volunteer interpreter, Mr. Phuc’s family had the first conversation with their daughter after more than 20 years of separation.
During this meeting, the girl in turn recognized her relatives and said that she was named Julie Calès by her adoptive parents. However, the whole family of Mr. Phuc was illiterate, so he temporarily called the girl by the intimate name “Baby So Ri”. After that, the girl often sent letters and pictures of herself to Mr. Phuc and his wife.
Mr. Tran Van Tuan (SN 1993, son of Mr. Phuc) said: “Meeting him, my family is very happy, especially my mother. But just a few days later, my parents heard the bad news again. It is rumored that my parents contacted their children abroad just to ask for money.”
At the same time, the rumor that Phuc and his wife sold their children to France for money was suddenly “digged” by the public. The story was posted on social networks, was discussed and criticized by some people around him.
Such information was like a raging wave that swept away the joy of reunion, causing his family to struggle. Although he missed his son so much, he and his wife did not dare to call or talk to “baby Sori”.
Whenever he misses his son, he goes out into the street, looking at the horizon, where he thinks it is France, the country where his daughter is growing up day by day. Meanwhile, Mrs. Tho was like a lost soul. She is always looking at her phone or holding the pictures sent by her daughter in her hand.
Then with the unresolved injustice, Mrs. Tho suddenly passed away forever because of a traffic accident. Mr. Tuan said: “When I was alive, my mother only wanted to see “baby Sori” once. When they both found each other and were about to reunite, she left again.”
“During her mother’s funeral, she called back and said if it weren’t for the epidemic, she would have gone back to visit her parents last year. She advised her father to reduce his grief and promised to return to Vietnam as soon as possible. So, my father is about to meet you. I only love my mother, I have to leave without seeing the baby,” he said sadly.
Hearing his son’s confiding, Mr. Phuc burst into tears. Although he wished for his daughter to return every day, he was still afraid of malicious rumors. Until now, his mind is still torn by the sayings “sell children for money”, “contact the daughter you once sold to ask for money”.
He said: “Every time ‘baby Sori’ calls, I cry. I am afraid of being told that I have sold my child and now I am going to ask for money for him to live even though in the calls back, he has never once complained to his family. In the first conversation, the child said: “I thank my parents for giving me such a good life now”.
Articles, photos: Ha Nguyen
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vietnamnet.vn – Read the original article here