Rơ Ô H’Tuynh (left) was one of those who lost their family in the spring of 1975. Photo thanhnien.vn

GIA LAI Hundreds of children lost their parents in the spring of 1975 as they migrated along Road No 7, now called Highway No 25.

At that time, thousands of residents moved from the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai to Phú Yên along Road No 7 to avoid the consequences of the severe resistance war.

More than 40 years later, many of those children have been reunited with their real families, but for others the idea is just a dream, Thanh Niên reports.

Long road

Rơ Ô H’Tuynh, 49, was one of the girls who lost their parents that year. Now she lives in Biah Village in Ia Tul Commune, Gia Lai Province.

H’Tuynh remembers that her father worked as a driver before 1975, and suddenly went missing in March that year. Her mother led the four children to safety in search of her father.

H’Tuynh lost her mother while fleeing along Road No 7. Several soldiers found her and gave her to an ethnic Jarai minority woman. And that was the start of her journey.

The woman agreed to raise the lost girl because she did not have a daughter. She named her H’Tuynh, which means 'lost' in the Jarai language.

H’Tuynh’s adoptive mother loves her, but was unable to afford her schooling. She worked on the fields and grazed oxen all day, and is therefore illiterate.

One day, H’Tuynh asked her adoptive mother why her name meant 'lost'. Her mother told her the real story and H’Tuynh’s memories started to come back, but she did not know how to find her real parents.

When she had children of her own, H’Tuynh told them her story. The children sent her story to the television programme “Như chưa hề có cuộc chia ly” (Like there was no separation).

After the programme was broadcast, dozens of people came to meet H’Tuynh, but none of them turned out to be family...that is until March 2016, when two women arrived and burst into tears after realising that H’Tuynh was their younger sister.

Her real name is Hồ Thị Nga. She has been with her older sisters to visit her hometown in Gia Lai several times, but it doesn't feel like home anymore.

“I’ve lived with the Jarai people for a long time and am familiar with the local customs. I do not want to change,” she said.

Glimmering dream

Rơ Ô Sông lives not far from H’Tuynh’s house, but he has been unable to find his family.

Sông also lost his family in March 1975 on Road No 7 when he was five years old. He was brought up by a kind Jarai woman.

He no longer remembers his real name or parents. Over the years, he has tried various ways of locating his family, but with no results.

“Many nights I dream about my mother. Her image is an illusion. I try to hold on to her and cry loudly, but she does not come back," he said. — VNS