On a Sunday morning in mid-November, sunlight gently covered the small village of Da Nhinh village, Da Tong commune, Dam Rong district, Lam Dong province. People slowly walked on the village road, heading towards the chapel together to attend the "Prevention of Human Trafficking" media session organized by Caritas Da Lat.
After the first 15 minutes, the chapel was filled with more than 60 participants. Even though it was the busy rice harvest season, people still tried to make time to be present, creating a vibrant and cozy atmosphere.
The highlight of today's media session is a short play by a group of young people in the village, recreating a true story about human trafficking through sweet promises, bringing a practical, emotional lesson to everyone.
Light glimmers from a promise
The story began a few years ago, when three children in Da Nhinh who had just finished 9th grade had to drop out of school because of difficult family circumstances. Unable to bear seeing their parents struggling, the children decided to go to Da Lat to work in the flower garden.
Even though the work is hard, their lives still pass peacefully. Then one day while they were working - a stranger approached and invited them: "The work here is so hard, do you want to do light work with high salary? Up to 10 - 20 million/month, accommodation included!". The promise of a high salary is like a glimmer of light in the midst of hard days. The three quickly packed their things and boarded an unfamiliar bus with the dream of changing their lives.
But reality is a nightmare. The car took the children to a strange hotel, where they were kept under house arrest with meager meals and the promise to "wait more." As time passes without any promised jobs, fear is evident in their eyes: "Where will I be taken? How will I get out?"
Human hearts in the midst of darkness
Fortunately, the hotel owner noticed something unusual and felt that the children were being illegally detained. Without hesitation, she immediately reported to the ward police. Thanks to the quick intervention of local authorities, police, village chiefs, and village elders coordinated to investigate the identities and rescue the children before the traffickers transported them to another place farther away. During the investigation, the police determined that the children were lured and handed over to a human trafficking ring in Ho Chi Minh City.
The story ends in gratitude and relief, but also leaves a strong warning: if you don't meet the smart and kind hotel owner, where will your fate go?
Lessons from the media session
Ms. Lieng Hot L'Nghiu, older sister of one of the three victims, shared this story. She hopes her sister's story will be a valuable lesson for people in the village, especially parents who need to be vigilant, regularly inform and care for their children more.
The media session ended with Caritas Da Lat's call: "Always be alert! Don't easily believe in sweet but unfounded promises. Before each important decision, notify and discuss carefully with your family. When you suspect that you have fallen into a human trafficking ring, stay calm and find every way to contact your family, trusted people, authorities or ask for help from people around you who you can contact."
Above all, prevention before an incident occurs is always the optimal and most important step. Understanding fraud tricks is not only necessary but also needs to be widely shared with everyone, everywhere. We hope that people will always be vigilant and unanimously contribute to the prevention of human trafficking in their own localities.
