“I have been wandering … never truly having a place to stay.”
I am Mai. I am Mỹ Lai and I live in Vietnam. I’m glad that I have the opportunity to tell everyone my life story. I am one of the [many] Mỹ Lai children who was abandoned when I was born. My biological parents left me, but I was very fortunate because my adoptive parents took me in and cared for me. Despite how fortunate I was to find a family, my adoptive parents had very little money so we lived very poorly and I thought I had no future. During my childhood, I faced endless discrimination. At school, my peers would laugh and call me “Mỹ Lai 12 lỗ đít.” At that time, I allowed it to get to me. I was so sad that I didn’t have anyone to share my feelings and hardship with.
When I got married and started a family, my situation felt even more miserable. I married my husband, but like my parents, he is poor. For 18 years, my two children, my husband, and I have been wandering from hotel to hotel, never truly having a place to stay. We do not have a home or any stable way support ourselves. I am happy that I got this chance to tell you about my past and present life I am sorry that I cannot send in photos of my childhood. Growing up, my parents could not afford a camera, so I have no photos from that time. Thank you for listening to my story. I urge you all to reach out in your communities and other communities to see how you can help people in situations similar to mine.
