Out of place for more than half a century
After 55 years of wandering, Ms. Phan Thi Thuy (67 years old) returned to her hometown in Thuong Xa village (Hai Thuong commune, Hai Lang district, Quang Tri) in the happy arms of her family and the villagers.
In recent days, the fourth-room house of Mr. Phan Van Nguu (60 years old, Mrs. Thuy's younger brother) has been filled with laughter and tears of solidarity. More than half a century ago, Mrs. Thuy was a 5-6 year old girl living with her grandparents. In 1969, Mrs. Thuy followed her aunt to Quy Nhon to work for hire.
Life at that time was difficult, the war devastated many places, but Ms. Thuy was un literate and had no personal documents. When her aunt returned to Quang Tri, Mrs. Thuy was left alone in a strange land, not knowing the way home. After a period of wandering, she followed the flow of people to the South to make a living. In the new land, she works for hire in all kinds of jobs to make a living, from housework, farming to workers in factories. She always looked forward to returning to her hometown and meeting her relatives, but had to endure because there were no leads.
With no one to help, nor knowing how to return to her hometown, Mrs. Thuy had to accept her fate, she got married in Binh Duong, gave birth to a son Nguyen Hoang Lan (now 42 years old). Life continued to be difficult, her husband passed away early, and the mother and daughter depended on each other. However, she still longs to remember her hometown with few memories: a bamboo bridge, a train road and a small house behind the plot.
Many years have passed, the desire to return to her old hometown has never gone away in her heart. However, she had no means, no identification documents, and did not know the exact address of her hometown, all hopes seemed to have gone out.
Happiness when returning to her hometown
The opportunity came to Ms. Thuy in December 2024, when a member of the volunteer group "Right Heart" in Binh Duong learned about her story. They contacted Mr. Le Chi Phi (Head of the Vietnam - Quang Tri Volunteer Community) to share information on social networks. Unexpectedly, after only 4 days, Mrs. Thuy's family in Quang Tri recognized her through the photos, everyone was overwhelmed with emotion when they heard that she was still alive.
Although they have not met for half a century, relatives still see Mrs. Thuy because of the large scar between her nose and upper lip.
On February 16, after many years apart, Mrs. Thuy and her children returned to their hometown to the warm welcome of their family and relatives. The hugs and tears of happiness make those who witness them unable to hold back their hearts. Ms. Thieu (74 years old), the neighbor burst into tears when meeting Ms. Thuy again: "I thought I had been dead for a long time, who would have thought I would see her again today".
"I know my family has searched for me a lot but to no avail. Now I am home, have relatives, have a hometown, that is the happiest thing in my life" - Ms. Thuy shared.
After the reunion, Ms. Thuy's family is actively helping her re-make her identification documents to ensure legal rights.
Mr. Tran Van Kinh - Chairman of Hai Thuong Commune People's Committee said that the local government will provide maximum support so that she can soon complete administrative procedures. In addition, neighbors also joined hands to help and encourage her so that she could stabilize her life after a long period of wandering.
