The burning desire of parents reunion

There are stories that deeply touch the heart and soul of their readers, there is pain that pierce through the heart, and there are orphaned children who are longing to find their biological parents at social welfare centers. The past of many of these children is an unsolved mystery through vague childhood memories. As they grow older and gain understanding, the burning desire to find the warmth of their biological parents intensifies.

Just like any other children, the desire to reunite with his parents always burns fiercely within Nguyen Van Dien

The broken life fates

We return to Binh Duong rovincial Center for Protection and Social Work at An Thanh Ward in Thuan An City this time not to bring gifts to the children, but to listen to their heartfelt stories. The majority of orphans and vulnerable children wish to be featured in the news in the hope that somewhere their parents would catch the information and come to bring them back into the loving embrace of their families. To satisfy the longing to reunite with biological parents or simply loved ones of these fragile souls, we pick up the words in the article with a heart always filled with anticipation, hoping for the day when they can be reunited.

The vehicle stops in front of the central gate, the scenery remains unchanged after so many years, but we easily notice the orphans and vulnerable children growing up and changing every day. What could be more heartbreaking than children losing the caring hands of their fathers and the nurturing guidance of their mothers? It is astonishing that there are already such 56 orphaned children, abandoned and deprived of the loving embrace of their parents, at the center. Among these children, Nguyen Van Dien, born in 2006, has left an incredibly profound impression as he harbors the heartfelt desire to reunite with his biological parents.

Dien got to the center when he was still a child about 8 - 9 years old of dark-skinned, shabby clothes, nameless, ageless, and birth certificateless. The file of him besides the information received from the local police also had the line of "wandering child, nowhere to lean on." The name Nguyen Van Dien is given to him by the officials and employees on the day he arrived to seek refuge at the center. Dien is obedient, polite but he always hides tears inside to grow up, become a person.

Dien is now a young man with strong physical abilities, tall stature, fair skin, and quite handsome. In addition to studying and training according to the center's schedule, he also works as a kitchen assistant for the cafeteria staff. The various tasks in the kitchen make Dien agile and quick. Looking at his hands, whether dividing food or picking vegetables, or washing dishes, no one would notice the evident that he is filled with thoughts.

We stood on the kitchen porch as the rain began to pour. The sudden downpour only added to the chilling effect on the souls of the children. In the center room, reflecting on the past, tears welled up in their eyes, though they did not flow. A series of questions kept appearing in his mind, choking him into silence. And then his tears started to flow. He tried to calm himself down and not cry, but the lingering sorrow and resentment in his soul continued to surge. Never before has Dien desired to find his parents and relatives so intensely as now.

Mrs. Hua Thi Thu Tam, Head of Emergency and Long-term Care Department at the provincial Center for Protection and Social Work, spoke with a heavy heart, saying: "Our children are like this. Every child has been abandoned by their parents and families. Who can't feel sorry for them?"  During the day, life is bustling with laughter and conversation, but as night falls, orphaned children live with their own emotions, silently shedding tears and enduring sleepless nights, gnawing on the sadness of their solitude. We, the officers and staff of the center, understand these children deeply, always respecting their moments of privacy and empowering them to rise above their fate.”

The desire and vague memories

Birds are always longing for getting back to the nests, then whoever would not long for a day of being original? Life flourishes with the best colors but we would not always get whatever we want; there are still things against our will. Hard as the find is, the center staff still nurture their hope on daily basis that some day the parents would be found. The growing hope sometimes hurts as one child may see his peers enjoying the peaceful life with parents.

We sympathize with the faint, fragmented memories of Dien as he recounted the nameless streets with closely packed establishments, sometimes the sleep on the sidewalks, sometimes selling lottery tickets to support himself, and sometimes staying with a few police officers. He could recollect that: His parents lived separately as his mother took him and other two siblings (one older brother and one older sister) to live with our grandmother. Their grandmother's house was made of wood, and occasionally she would buy roasted chicken and they would all eat it in the kitchen. He still vividly remembers the rays of afternoon sunlight streaming through the door into the kitchen. One day, he took his grandmother's bicycle and rode away, and he haven't returned since. He did not know how his grandmother was doing, or how his mother was, or where his older brother and sister were, or what they were doing for a living.

“Back then, I used to wonder if my family would ever think about me. So, I blamed my mother and my grandmother for not looking for me. Now, I no longer blame them. I only hope that anyone who has information about me will contact the staff at the center so that I can go home.” With that, Dien suddenly burst into tears like a lost child from the past.

Every day at the provincial Center for Protection and Social Work, they still see the staff occasionally conducting archival research, and daily they plan visits to local and out-of-province areas to verify and gather information related to the children that the center receives. Ms. Tran Thi Be, Head of the Department of Social Work and Community Development at the Provincial Center for Protection and Social Work, shared: "The work of verifying and searching for information about the family and relatives of orphaned and abandoned children is of special concern to the center. Whether it is a name, an address, or just images in the faint memories of the children, all are carefully received and thoroughly searched by the officials and staff. However, the cases of finding relatives can be counted on the fingers, but that does not mean losing hope. The search work is still persistently carried out by the center. The officials and staff of the center continue to diligently verify with the greatest desire that the children will soon be reunited with their families.”

Leaving the center and saying goodbye to the children here, in our minds echo the lyrics like a knife cutting into the heart: "Father, where are you? Mother, where are you?” The rain falls, oh it's so cold. The wind freezes with every gust. I lie alone, dreaming of a home. With a mother and a father." The past of these children, the orphans, the unfortunate ones at the Provincial Center for Protection and Social Work, is still an unsolved mystery, with no explanation for their constant longing to find and nurture the hope of meeting their biological parents. If you, the reader now, have any information related to Mr. Nguyen Van Dien and those unfortunate children, please contact the center!

Reported by Kim Ha – Translated by Vi Bao