Some of you stole our lives

“Some of You Stoles Our Lives” is a photographic attempt to shed light on the human trafficking issue in Vietnam.

The first chapter explores the bewilderment and hope of H’mong’s parents Dà and Mị as they search for their missing daughter, Dính. It focuses on how the family members reshape her absence and disappearance through their narratives, emphasizing the fragile connection with their missing daughter. 

In January 2021, Dà and Mị allowed their 16-year-old daughter, Dính, to go to China with her uncle and cousin to find employment in a doll factory. During their journey, they got into an altercation with strangers, leading to the uncle's imprisonment and leaving the two girls abandoned in an unfamiliar country.

Weeks later, Dính and her cousin were separated by men who took them to work as domestic servants for different Chinese families. While the cousin was asked to leave the household she was sold to because they didn't see her as a beautiful girl, allowing her to return to Vietnam, no one heard about Dính's whereabouts.

Human trafficking has been a persistent issue in Vietnam for the past 15 years. In 2021, the Blue Dragon Children's Foundation, a non-governmental organization, estimated that about 60% of the victims and traffickers belong to Vietnamese minority groups of which, the H'mong people are the most vunerable due to residing in remote villages bordering China, lack of education and financial stability. Many young H’mong girls are disappearing from their homes and turning up across the border in the hope of searching for a better future then kidnapped and sold as wives as cheap commodities. Some have never returned home. 

In May 2023, the organization issued an emergency appeal after receiving more calls for help from victims.