08:12, 04/08/2023
Being deceived and enticed by the temptation of “migrating abroad to enjoy a comfortable and leisurely life”, many ethnic minorities have left their villages and hamlets, illegally crossed the border, only to be “disillusioned” and suffer hardship in a foreign land. The tolerant motherland has welcomed them back, creating conditions for them to rebuild their lives. After making mistakes, many people have realized that: There is no place like home!
Part 1: Disillusionment with… “paradise”
Blinded by the visions of a foreign land painted as "paradise", many people left their villages and hamlets, only to be disillusioned!
Lost
Having a peaceful life in Jang village (Ea H'leo commune, Ea H'leo district), in 2015, listening to the temptation of bad people, Nay H'Dyeng (born in 1989, J'rai ethnic group) and her husband sold all their land and house to go find a happier life in a foreign land. She and her husband and two children (born in 2009 and 2011) took a bus to Ha Tinh, from there someone picked them up and took them to a covered car. After a few days of traveling at a cost of 40 million VND, the whole family set foot in Thailand.
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| Mr. Ro Cham Y Pin (Sam B village, Ea H'leo commune, Ea H'leo district) talks about his days of wandering in Thai land. Photo: H. Thuy |
Also with the desire to find the “promised land”, in 2015, when an acquaintance “painted” a beautiful vision in the West, Mr. Kpa Y Nek – commonly known as Ama Chem (Ede ethnic group, in Drai Diet village, Dliê Yang commune, Ea H’leo district) secretly hid his wife and children and crossed the border alone. Along with him were 7 adults and children from Drai Diet village and Drao village (Cu Ne commune, Krong Buk district). Following the instructions, Ama Chem and everyone went to the Eastern Bus Station (Ho Chi Minh City) to catch a bus through Moc Bai border gate (Tay Ninh) to Stungtreng (Cambodia) to wait… to go to America (!?).
In 2016, after hearing an acquaintance entice him that it was easy to work abroad and that the wages were higher than in his hometown, Mr. Ro Cham Y Pin (J'rai ethnic group, in Sam B hamlet, Ea H'leo commune, Ea H'leo district) was convinced and decided to go find the "promised land". Through an acquaintance's "connection" with a network specializing in smuggling people across the border, Y Pin sold his tractor and motorbike for 50 million VND as "travel expenses". Y Pin and his two nephews took a bus to Gia Lai, from where he was taken to a covered car that, according to him, "he didn't know where he was going". After spending 30 million VND and a few days "swaying" on the car, when the sun appeared, the three of them arrived in Thailand.
Migrating from Lao Cai province to Dak Lak in 1998, by 2015, Ma Van Quan and Thao Thi Sung (Mong ethnic group, in village 7, Cu Kroa commune, M'Drak district) had built a house and a farm. Then Quan traveled to Thailand, and heard from an acquaintance that working there would earn more money, so he returned with his wife and 6 children (the youngest is only 2 years old)... to Thailand.
Perhaps in the mind of this Mong man, going abroad is like migrating from Lao Cai to Dak Lak. Quan's family and his neighbor Thao A Pao's family (husband and wife, 6 children, 2 in-laws, 1 grandchild, a total of 11 people) took a bus to Ho Chi Minh City, then took a bus to Moc Bai border gate (Tay Ninh), took a bus to Cambodia and finally arrived in Bangkok (Thailand).
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| Cadres of the mass mobilization team of Cu Pong commune (Krong Buk district) encouraged villagers to feel secure in doing business and developing their family economy. Photo: N. Xuan |
“Heaven” or “hell”?
Eagerly leaving to find the "promised land", what awaited them ahead were days of hardship and bitterness in a foreign land, along with extreme fear.
Recalling the difficult days in a foreign land, Nay H'Dyeng could not hold back her tears: "It was like hell there, the whole family huddled in a cramped rented house, not knowing the language, the prices were expensive, life was very difficult. Looking at my two little daughters, I cried all the time, just wishing I hadn't made the wrong decision, wishing I could go home."
How could it not be hard when, as soon as they arrived in Thailand, the family was abandoned and had to find a house to rent and find work, while their money was running out. With young children, Nay H'Dyeng had to stay home to cook and take care of them, while everything fell on her husband, Mr. Ro Y Mang (born in 1990), who would take on any job that was hired. After 8 months of struggling to make a living in a foreign land, the couple was left empty-handed, and the future was increasingly bleak.
As for Ama Chem, when he was in Cambodia, he and nearly 50 others were locked in a two-story house. His desire to go abroad to find work and send money back to his wife and children had not yet been realized when he realized he had been tricked. Ama Chem recalled: “It was like being in prison, very miserable. Many families with small children suffered even more, they were sick and could not get medical treatment, some people died. During that time, I thought a lot and realized that I had been tricked. Going to America was not easy, and whether in America or anywhere else, you have to work to have food, you cannot have a comfortable life naturally.”
In a foreign land, with different languages and living habits, the three uncles and nephews Ro Cham Y Pin rented a small house for more than 1 million VND/month, living alone like mute people. The cost of living was high, there was no job, the money they brought with them was gone in a short time. Y Pin wandered around construction sites looking for work, earning an average of 350,000 VND/day, just enough to cover living expenses.
Sometimes, the employer even refused to pay the wages. Y Pin's only consolation and hope at that time was that his wife and children back home were still healthy and fortunately had not suffered the same hardship as him. Y Pin shared: "I called home and told my wife not to listen to bad people, if anyone came to ask to take her to be with her husband, don't listen because it's very hard here. I work for hire everywhere, but nowhere is happier than in the village, with brothers, relatives, family, and no hunger or thirst."
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| Provincial and Central leaders attended the Great Solidarity Festival with people of Ciet village, Ea Tieu commune, Cu Kuin district. Photo: Nguyen Xuan |
As for Ma Van Quan, now whenever someone mentions going abroad, he shakes his head and says: "Oh no, I'm too scared. No matter what life is like now, I'll just stay home, stay in Vietnam." Quan repeatedly mentions the two years of hardship in a foreign country: "It was so miserable, my tears filled two bottles of Coca-Cola."
When crossing the border to Thailand, Quan and Pao's family rented two rooms, only about 20 square meters each, for 2,000 baht/month (about 1.5 million VND) for each family of ten people, sleeping in layers like fish at night. Every day, Quan and his 18-year-old son wandered around looking for construction work, sometimes there was work, sometimes there wasn't, and sometimes they didn't get paid after finishing the job.
His wife, Thao Thi Sung, and their 16-year-old daughter had to apply for jobs as dishwashers in restaurants. Later, Sung became pregnant again and gave birth to another child; the birth also took place in that cramped, shabby rented room. The 30 million VND in a bag that he had brought from his homeland flew away in a flash, and then there was a situation of being hungry one day and full the next, not daring to go to the hospital when sick, having to live in hiding, avoiding the authorities of the host country.
(To be continued)
Part 2: Return
Van Lam - Hong Thuy - Nguyen Xuan
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