These images were drawn by a volunteer illustrator to protect the identity of Hung and his family.
The offer
The job offer came from a family member who Hung trusted. The work itself would be hard and he’d be a long way home, but it would earn him just enough money to send a steady income back to his family.
Hung had no safety net. His parents and siblings moved far away, leaving him to provide for his grandmother, wife and two children alone. He worked cleaning jobs, construction jobs and spent years as a school bus driver. It was never enough.
If Hung continued like this, he would never be able to afford to send his children to school, and their family would most likely be trapped in poverty for at least another generation.
So when Hung accepted the job offer from a trusted relative, he believed he was changing his family’s future, and set off for Laos full of hope.
Hung receiving the job offer.
Into the forest
In Laos, Hung met up with a large group of other Vietnamese people all travelling for the same job offer. There, a group of men from the company they’d be working for led them into Myanmar, where they stayed the night at a hotel.
When they woke up the next day, those men led them into a forest.
They travelled all day and night through the jungle, until finally they arrived at their destination: a huge complex of buildings with shuttered windows, perimeter walls topped with barbed wire, and armed guards watching every way in and out.
Hung’s heart sank as he realised he’d been tricked. This was no job, it was slavery.
The criminals running the compound took away Hung’s phone and gave him a new one to use for work. All day, every day, Hung was locked in small rooms and forced to scam other people online. Anyone who refused to work or who failed to meet their captor’s daily targets was beaten and tortured with electric prods – which Hung experienced more than once.
Hung’s dreams of providing for his family would have to wait. Now there was just one thing on his mind: escape.
Hung being led into the forest.
The scam compound where Hung was enslaved.
Hung looking out the window.
Back into the forest
Together with a group of other enslaved people, Hung began to formulate an escape plan. They ran through different distraction methods and discussed the best routes out of the building. Finally, they decided to jump from the fourth floor, climb the barbed wire-lined fence and run into the forest.
Some of his friends were injured in the fall, others were tackled to the ground and dragged back inside. All around him, his friends fell away as he scrambled over the fence and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Bullets whistled past, more people fell, and finally he and a few others made it into the trees.
Hung and the others who made it out were now trapped in the forest with the traffickers chasing them. They lay low for five days, setting up a makeshift camp in some long grass and surviving off wild sugar cane. But what really saved them was that Hung had managed to keep hold of the work phone given to him when he first arrived in the compound. He used it to reach out to his family, who put him in touch with Blue Dragon.
Hung was initially suspicious of Blue Dragon’s motives, but he had little choice except to trust us. “I was constantly anxious and afraid,” he shares.
Blue Dragon met Hung and his friends at their makeshift camp in the forest, and began leading them to safety. Unfortunately, the traffickers were close behind.
Gunfire rang through the air as Hung and his friends followed Blue Dragon towards the international border where the authorities could protect them. After another intense escape, they finally made it to safety.
The journey to a better life could finally begin.
Hung used the phone he had been given by his captors.
Hung made it safely back to the international border.
Safe to thrive
After arriving back in Vietnam, Hung spent a few days recovering at Blue Dragon’s safe accommodation in Hanoi while he worked with the police. There, he received medical care, legal advice and psychological assistance while joining social activities with other people returning from slavery. When he felt ready, we accompanied him home to his loving family.
After spending some time getting used to life back home, Hung let Blue Dragon know that he was ready to rebuild his life with a new job. As he no longer felt comfortable travelling, we made a plan for him to earn a steady income from his own home with a new pig pen.
While Hung already had experience building pig pens, his trauma deeply affected his confidence to carry out tasks that he used to do easily. With a little help from Blue Dragon, he soon rediscovered his abilities and had the pen ready to house two piglets.
Now, Hung and his family are running a small farm from their own home, giving them a steady income long into the future. Hung drives the school bus for additional income, and his plan is to keep expanding his farm and provide the best life possible for his wife and children.
Blue Dragon is giving Hung the support he needs to heal.
Hung with his pigs.
Spirit
While Hung believes he is lucky to have escaped slavery and returned to such a loving family, his social worker sees it a little differently.
“Hung’s return was not about luck. It reflects his courage and determination – his refusal to give up even while facing fear, uncertainty and horrific cruelty.”
Blue Dragon now pays Hung regular visits, catching up and checking what other support we can offer as he lifts his family into the life he has long dreamed of giving them. He loves talking about his life, his hopes and the love he has for his family, becoming more open and brighter as he works on coming to terms with his traumas.
“When recalling the difficult experiences he went through, Hung faced them very openly,” shares his social worker. “He did not treat them as something to fear or avoid but rather accepted them as part of his story and used them as motivation to care for his family and work toward a better life. Above all, Hung carries a sense of positivity and hope for the future, believing in his ability to move forward and refusing to let fears of the past define him.”
Every time Blue Dragon enables someone like Hung to define their own futures, we get another step closer to a world free from trafficking and exploitation.
Hung with his loving family.
