Longing to find biological parents

Nearly 50 years ago, Le Quang Lich (born around 1967) decided to run away after being threatened with a beating by his father. He did not expect that this departure would cause him to lose his family for over half a lifetime.

He was born into a poor family in a rural area of Thanh Hoa province. His father was hot-tempered and frequently beat and scolded his children. Once, Lich hid at his maternal grandmother's house for 5-6 consecutive days.

When his father came to find him, he followed him back. On the way home, while passing a train station, his father threatened to beat him that evening.

While his father was not paying attention, he boarded a train and ended up lost in Lang Son province. There, he wandered and was taken in by several families. However, he only stayed with these families for a few months.

Finally, he was adopted by the family of Vi Thanh Tam and given a new name, Vi Van Cot. His adoptive father loved Lich dearly and sent him to school until the 3rd grade. Later, Tam even gave him 4 "sao" of land (1 sao = 360 sqm) to farm until now.

His adoptive siblings also loved Lich like their own blood. In their youth, they loved him so much. They feared that if he found his biological parents, he would leave their adoptive parents. It was not until later that his adoptive siblings understood and hoped he could find his birth parents.

Despite being loved by Tam's family, Lich never ceased longing to find his original family. In 1986, when his adoptive father gave him VND300, Lich immediately walked to Lang Son station and boarded a train to Thanh Hoa.

There, he wandered around the Ham Rong bridge area (formerly Hoang Hoa district, Thanh Hoa province) - the place where he was previously lost - for an entire month to find his family, but with no results.

Returning home, hearing his adoptive father say he had "lost his roots" and could not find his birth parents, he felt self-pity and could only find a secluded spot to sit and cry. After marrying later, he did not receive the sympathy or understanding of his partner.

His wife repeatedly mentioned that he did not need to find his birth parents anymore, which caused Lich pain and frustration. Consequently, their marital affection gradually faded.

In 1996, Lich returned to Thanh Hoa once again to search for his family. This time, he stayed there for 3-4 months. During the night, he worked as a porter and dishwasher to earn money for food; during the day, he roamed Nghia Trang station and Ham Rong bridge looking for his parents.

An emotional reunion

Unable to find his family, in 2013 Lich wrote to the program “Nhu chua he co cuoc chia ly” (As If There Had Never Been a Separation) asking for help. In the letter, he said his father’s name was Du, but he could not remember his mother’s name. He recalled having brothers named Su and Nghia, and another younger sibling whose name he could not remember.

After years of searching and verification, the program located his biological relatives: Le Quang Su (born 1970), Le Quang Nghia (born 1971), and Le Quang Vu, who were living in Thanh Hoa province.

However, when contacted, the family initially refused to conduct a DNA test with Lich because they believed they had already found their long-lost brother five years earlier.

That man was Hoang Xuan Ha, who was living in Dak Lak province and had a similar story of losing contact with his family.

After repeated persuasion from the program, Su eventually agreed to take a DNA test with Lich. The results confirmed that Le Quang Lich and Le Quang Su share a biological relationship.

When the three brothers finally met on the program, they ran toward each other and embraced tightly, overwhelmed with emotion. All three broke down in tears and could barely speak.

Ha was later confirmed not to share a blood relationship with Lich, Nghia, Su, and Vu. However, both families said they would continue to maintain their close relationship and consider each other brothers.

Thanh Minh