‘Hoa’ is from an ethnic minority community in northern Viet Nam. She was in grade 10 when she fell in love with a young man on Facebook who claimed to be a border guard. They messaged for some time before he invited Hoa out on a date. The young girl quickly accepted.
Following his instructions, Hoa left her family secretly and traveled to the border, without any suspicion that she might be falling into a trap. When Hoa arrived at her boy friend’s home on the Chinese side of the border, the man didn’t look like the person she saw on Facebook. He locked Hoa into a room and said that she must choose between marrying a stranger or being sold into a brothel. Fearing for her life, she accepted to be sold as a bride.
Hoa was just 15 years old.
Several months after being sold, Hoa was allowed to use a mobile phone. She knew that this was her chance to escape, so she contacted her family for help. Blue Dragon traced where she was and brought her home this week.
Only at the moment of falling into her mother’s arms could Hoa finally believe that her ordeal was over.
