Strangers run around to help single mother and 4 children no longer be 'anonymous'

Ms. Miep combs her children's hair - Photo: DOAN CUONG

Single mother of 4 children

Under the blazing sun, the small, dark rented room of single mother Thi Miep and her four children in Hoa Minh ward (Lien Chieu district, Da Nang) is sweltering hot.

Seeing four children (oldest 12 years old, youngest 4 years old) lying on the floor made everyone feel sad.

"The children have not gone to school yet, and someone was afraid they would run around on the street, so someone bought a TV and some furniture for them to play with while their mother went to work," said lawyer Mai Quoc Viet.

Children waiting for their mother to come home from work - Photo: DOAN CUONG

It was past noon when Ms. Miep returned.

One eye is damaged, hard life has made her look older than her 36 years.

Miep was from the border area of ​​Binh Phuoc province. Her family life was not happy, so she took her children to Da Nang. The first days were extremely difficult because of the strange land and strange people. "Without any papers and illiterate, I went to look for a job but no one accepted me" - Ms. Miep recalled.

Amidst those hardships, the mother and her five children received help from neighbors and strangers.

She was also introduced to a dishwashing job by a "stranger" - using that as a source of income to support her children.

Many times her eyes hurt but she still tried to go to work. "If I don't go to work, my children won't have anything to eat. Thinking about my children, I have to go" - Ms. Miep said.

In the middle of the story, there were times when Ms. Miep paused for a long time before continuing. Ms. Miep said that one day someone came to take her to get an ID card. "They helped me but I didn't know their names. They asked for my phone number but I couldn't read or remember the number" - she honestly said.

The journey to help 5 mothers and children no longer be "anonymous"

Ms. D. - a native of Da Nang - lives near the place where Miep and her mother are staying, so she knows about their difficult situation and has helped with food, supplies...

But what Ms. D. worries about most is that the mother and her five children do not have any identification papers. Especially the children, they need to go to school. They still have a future. "Without papers, the mother and children are like anonymous people" - Ms. D. confided.

Ms. D. discussed with lawyer Mai Quoc Viet and his wife (Da Nang Bar Association) to join hands.

5 mother and children in a small rented room - Photo: DOAN CUONG

Ms. D. allowed Ms. Miep to join her family so that they could have a place to live. Lawyer Viet and his wife helped write the relevant papers and took Ms. Miep to get her ID card. "The police knew about this case so they helped her get it done very quickly," said Mr. Viet.

After Ms. Miep had her citizen ID card, lawyer Viet and his wife hurried to the ward to get birth certificates for the children.

However, only birth certificates can be made for two children (issued in January 2024) because they have birth certificates.

There are two children who have not been able to do so because one child does not have a birth certificate, and the other child's birth certificate has the wrong mother's name.

Mr. Viet was instructed to return to Binh Phuoc to find two witnesses to confirm that he witnessed Ms. Miep giving birth, and to contact the place of birth to complete the procedures to reissue the correct information...

"In this situation of 5 mother and children, with no money, Ms. Miep sometimes remembers and sometimes forgets, so going back to her hometown is almost impossible" - lawyer Viet said and he wrote a petition to the authorities.

Accordingly, in September 2023, Mr. Viet provided free legal advice to Ms. Miep to carry out the procedures for registering birth certificates for her children.

Ms. Miep was born and raised in a remote hamlet in Binh Phuoc; she belongs to the ethnic minority group - Xtieng. She herself cannot read or write, can only see out of one eye, and has no stable job.

Ms. Miep has 4 children, but because they do not have birth certificates, they have not been able to go to school.

Thanks to the care and help of neighbors in Hoa Minh area and the support of the ward police, Ms. Miep was able to have a legal residence and get a citizen identification card.

Once she had the ID card, the procedure to issue birth certificates for Ms. Miep's children encountered problems with the child born in 2012 and the child born in 2018...

At the same time, lawyer Viet also sent a document to Ms. Miep's hometown to verify whether birth certificates had been issued for the children.

For nearly a year, the Vietnamese lawyer couple has been running around to help Ms. Miep and her five children - Photo: DOAN CUONG

Recently, Vietnamese lawyers received guidance documents from the department.

"According to the document, it is still possible to make birth certificates for the children, but there must be a witness. My wife and I will continue to go to the ward to sign as witnesses," said lawyer Viet.

Neighborhood Dream

Mr. Nguyen Huy Dung - head of the residential group - shared: "Now my biggest wish is for my four children to go to school."

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nguoi-dung-chay-don-chay-dao-giup-nguoi-me-don-than-va-4-con-khong-con-vo-danh-20240612153031966.htm