The "difficult" car and the dinner of 3 mothers and children
One day in early March, we visited Ms. Huyen's small home. In a colorful set of workers' clothes and a "difficult" motorbike, Ms. Huyen took us to the market to cook for the family after work.
It is already 7pm but Sang Trang market (next to Tra Noc Industrial Park) is still lit up. While meticulously choosing the foods, Ms. Huyen confided: "These are all dishes that my children like, my husband and I can eat anything. On days when I receive a salary or a bonus, I also buy some cakes and snacks for the children.
After buying the food, we moved to the rented house where Ms. Huyen's family was living in Phuoc Thoi ward (O Mon district, Can Tho city), about 3km from Tra Noc Industrial Park. Unlike the tired look after work, Ms. Huyen smiled brightly when her son and daughter welcomed her home.
After struggling for about 20 minutes, Ms. Huyen and her daughter finished a simple meal. Gathering around the meal tray with her two children, the female worker began to confide in us about her life in a foreign land.
Hope to return home once to celebrate Tet
In 2007, Ms. Huyen left her hometown of Quang Binh to work in Dong Nai as a worker in Bien Hoa Industrial Park. Here, she met and married Mr. Tho (Ms. Huyen's husband, from Hau Giang) in 2010. In 2013, Ms. Huyen's family moved to Can Tho where they have lived ever since.
Talking about one of her days, Ms. Huyen shared that she often wakes up at 4:30 to prepare breakfast for her family. Depending on the overtime day or not, the time to go home can be in the afternoon or evening. Ms. Huyen's husband - with a security guard job - has somewhat erratic working hours, so the family usually has only 3 mothers and children in the evening.
After dinner, Ms. Huyen spends time with her children to study. While her eldest daughter is in 8th grade and diligently reads the note for the next day, Ms. Huyen kindly needs to hold her kindergarten son's hand and read each letter. For Ms. Huyen, this is both a joy and a hope for a better future.
For me, cooking or teaching my children is a joy. After more than 8 hours of work, seeing the children eat well, study hard, all fatigue is dispelled, the female worker shared.
Without relatives, both parents live far away, with a total income ranging from 12 - 14 million VND/month, Ms. Huyen and her husband have to take care of each other to make ends meet. Both of them did not dare to use it for themselves, all the money she used for daily expenses and to pay for her children's education.
"My hope is to hope that my children will study well, have a stable job in the future, and have a less difficult life than their parents. The eldest daughter understands that in addition to taking her to help her mother, she took the opportunity to pick up scrap metal after school to save money to buy school supplies. Seeing my child like that, I feel both sorry and saddened and motivated to try harder, Ms. Huyen confided.
After nearly 15 years of marriage, Ms. Huyen and her husband have only returned to their hometown to visit Quang Binh twice and never once during Tet because the cost of each trip is more than the month's salary of the female worker.
"Foreign houses in remote areas. The eldest child was allowed to visit his maternal hometown with his parents once, while the youngest son had not yet. I just hope this year, with a smooth job and a stable income, we can send our children to Quang Binh to celebrate Tet and celebrate their grandparents like many other children, the female worker expressed.
The wish to return home once to celebrate Tet has also ended our conversation with Ms. Huyen. Although the time was short, we have gradually understood more about the joy and sadness of workers abroad. Perhaps, despite all the worries, this small home has given the female worker great motivation to try every day...
