Read what shocked Luong, a member of the Legal Team in Blue Dragon when she brought 4 trafficked survivors home. In this interview, Luong shares how she started work in Blue Dragon and what gives her hope in her work.
How long have you been working with Blue Dragon, and what do you find fulfilling about your job?
I’ve worked with Blue Dragon for over 3 years. It is an interesting coincidence of how I heard about and started working with Blue Dragon. I went to a workshop about anti-trafficking and met Blue’s chief lawyer there. He shared about his work at Blue Dragon and how he rescues kids. At that time, the stories of rescues he told sounded alien to me, just like in an action movie. On that same day after the workshop, my friend sent me a job vacancy with a note that said it “really suits you”. That was for a position of project officer in Blue Dragon. Unluckily I failed to get the job! But 8 months later, I was offered work with the legal team, and I’ve been with Blue ever since.
The most fulfilling moments when I work here are when I know a kid we rescued has been returned to their families or a kid has obtained legal papers. I am happy to be part of the team and see how hard my team works to help the kids.
You have been involved with the anti-trafficking work of Blue Dragon for some time, has any particular case stayed with you?
It was the time I went to a rural province in central Vietnam to take 4 trafficked girls home. It took 1 hour to go there by boat, and I was so surprised when I realized that there was no electricity, roads or telephone connection in the area. The whole community was absolutely isolated from the outside world. I’d known before that there were still many poor areas in Vietnam, but this first-hand experience made it more real and shocking. I realize how vulnerable these communities are and how easy it is for them to be lured by the traffickers.
What gives you hope to keep working on these cases?
It is the fact that I am helping some kids to have a better life. Every single kid matters to me, and I want to help as many kids as possible. I realize while lack of awareness is one of the biggest problems, poverty is the root cause. It will take a lot of time to reduce poverty, but I never lose hope on that.
