Lesson 1: Heaven or Hell?

Believing in the enticements and sweet promises of bad guys about a happy life in the “promised land”, some ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands illegally crossed the border to Cambodia, Thailand… only to be disillusioned with regret. The tricks used by the bad guys are not new, but they hit the psychology so many people still fall into the “trap” and when they realize that there is no place like home, their village…

With the trick of promising to “change their lives” when illegally crossing the border to Thailand, the exiled FULRO reactionary organizations have exploited the blind faith and ignorance of some ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands, turning them into victims of fraud… When they arrived, they abandoned them, leaving many people living in helpless, miserable, and deprived circumstances…

Disillusioned in a foreign land

Many years ago, Dang village, Ea Hleo commune, Dak Lak province used to be a "hot spot" for illegal border crossings. Many people here lost their way, neglected their fields and gardens, broke up their families, and children could not go to school... But now, Dang village has completely changed, with straight concrete roads, lush green fruit and coffee gardens, and children laughing loudly in the schoolyard during recess.

Ea Hleo commune police visited and encouraged a family who had illegally crossed the border to return to their hometown in the area.

The day that Mr. Kpa Xuyen (born in 1980) and his wife Ro Au Hhra (born in 1989, residing in Dang village, Ea Hleo commune) and their 3 children happily received the gift of a house of gratitude from the Dak Lak Provincial Police will probably never be forgotten by his extended family. After more than 7 years of living in exile in a foreign land, enduring all humiliation and hardship, his family was welcomed back by the people and the government in the arms of love, care and created conditions to rebuild the best life possible.

Confiding in us, Mr. Kpa Xuyen is still quite shy and ashamed of his misguided days. For nearly 7 years, he lived in illusion, like a wild animal wandering in the forest, only because he listened to the instigation of reactionaries and extremists in exile, he had to pay a very high price. Then, together with his wife and children, he had to endure a miserable and humiliating life in a foreign land. “In mid-June 2018, just because we believed the sweet words of exiled FULRO reactionaries, my whole family sold our garden and house to illegally cross the border to Thailand with the hope of settling in a third country and having a happy life. However, when we arrived in Thailand, the family was abandoned by the scammers, and all the money and personal documents we brought with us were taken away. With no place to live, no personal documents, no job, I had to work for hire, live in hiding, and was exploited for my labor. To have food for the whole family, I had to do hard work or rely on charity,” Kpa Xuyen recalled.

Just like Mr. Kpa Xuyen's family, after more than 3 months of living abroad, Ms. Siu HPlut (born in 1986, residing in Breng 1 village, Ia Der commune, Gia Lai province) was welcomed by local authorities and relatives to reunite with her family after listening to bad people and illegally crossing the border.

Visiting Siu HPlut's family today, the road leading to Breng 1 village is paved with straight asphalt. Nestled in a garden with many flowers, fruit trees, and lush coffee trees that have been harvested is the quite spacious house of Siu HPlut and Pui Git's family. However, just because of a small conflict between husband and wife, in mid-December 2024, Siu HPlut listened to the sweet enticement of Ksor Wan (from the same village, currently living in Thailand) to find a way to illegally cross the border. To prepare for the trip, Siu HPlut hid from her husband and brought with her more than 10 million VND, the family's savings. To get to Cambodia and then to Thailand, Siu HPlut had to pay the guide more than 3.5 million VND.

When she arrived in Thailand, she had to live in hiding with Ksor Wan and Ksor Wan's son in a cramped, cramped rented room. Every day, apart from paying for living expenses, buying food and drinks, Siu HPlut did not dare to go out for fear of being arrested by the Thai police for illegal immigration. With no job and no one to help, she had to run around every day to earn a living when the money she brought with her was exhausted. With no other choice, Siu HPlut had to call her husband and sister to ask for help and send money.

“It was very hard there, I had to buy everything, even drinking water every day. I only dared to hide in my rented room because I was afraid of being caught because my identity papers were stolen by them. Not only that, when relatives sent money to other people's bank accounts, they had to give them a percentage, so the money I received was not enough to spend. Knowing that I was a married woman, some men there still texted and called to entice me into a relationship, which made me very upset and scared. Many times I wanted to return to my hometown, but because I had no money or papers, I had to accept it,” Siu HPlut recalled.

It is a joy to return home!

That is the affirmation of most people who once "lost their way" after illegally crossing the border and returned to their homeland and village when they contacted us. As proof of that statement, Ms. Ro Au Hhra said that returning to their homeland and village, even if they are hungry or full, still has the affection of everyone. "The affection of the village and the affection of the homeland is much warmer even though there are many difficulties and hardships ahead. Being able to return to my homeland and village after more than 7 years of wandering and suffering in a foreign land is like being reborn for the second time", Ms. Ro Au Hhra shared.

Sharing the same sentiment, Ms. Siu HPlut said that if her husband had not forgiven her mistakes and had not helped her, she herself would not know what would happen to her today. “My mistake was believing the bad guys and then regretting it too late. All the illusions and life in “paradise” were just lies. Today, returning home, returning to my homeland is the greatest happiness for me. Only the love for my homeland, my relatives, my neighbors… is real. Although the government, my relatives, and my village have forgiven me, the bitter and humiliating time in Thailand will be a sad memory that I will never forget,” Ms. Siu HPlut said.

Colonel Le Huu Tuan, Deputy Director of Dak Lak Provincial Police, said that from 2024 to now, there have been more than 40 cases of illegal border crossing in the province, who were mobilized and helped by the police and authorities to return to their villages. Most of these cases were just because they were gullible and had vague perceptions, so they listened to bad guys who incited them to illegally cross the border. After they returned, the provincial police as well as local authorities analyzed and pointed out that their actions had negatively affected security and order in the area as well as the lives of themselves and their families.

Over the years, the Dak Lak provincial government has always created all conditions to help people returning from Cambodia and Thailand quickly stabilize their lives and reintegrate into the community. According to statistics from the authorities, most of these cases have actively worked and stabilized their lives. Among them, many people in difficult economic circumstances have been given favorable conditions by the government to borrow capital from the Social Policy Bank, support with plant varieties, livestock, food, and charity houses, etc. to help people confidently rebuild their new lives.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/Xa-hoi/bai-1-thien-duong-hay-dia-nguc--i775662/