Editor’s note: The following was translated and edited from an article that appeared on the Chinese news portal Sohu.com. It concerns a young woman who was kidnapped, sold and taken far away from her home in Yunnan as an 11-year-old girl. 20 years and three “husbands” later, the woman was recently reunited with her family.

Ying broke down in tears when she heard her family’s voice on the phone. 20 years ago, 11-year-old Ying was kidnapped from her home in Yunnan. She was caught repeatedly after multiple escape attempts, married to three “husbands” over two decades, but she never lost hope that she might one day find her family. In late November, Ying entered a police station in central Jiangsu Province and, with help from police officers, was finally reunited with her long-lost family.

Tricked and sold

20 years ago, Ying thought she was on her way to see a matchmaker, unaware that her life was about to be changed forever. After a few sips of water handed to her by the “matchmaker”, Ying blacked out. When she woke up, she was on a train to Henan Province. After arriving she was imprisoned in a dark room, forced to live with a mentally ill man for 6-7 years. She also gave birth to a child during this time, although she always dreamed of escaping. One night, seeing her chance to climb out the window, Ying made a break for it, clutching the small amount of money she’d amassed over the years. She managed to get all the way to Shandong, where she met her second husband, and lived with him there for 5-6 years before they moved together to Yangzhou to look for work. As soon as the man found himself with some money, however, he abandoned Ying. Later, with the help of her workmates, Ying met and married her current husband and moved to Jiangdu city to work. 

Hoping and searching

Having never attended a day of school in her life, Ying couldn’t clearly remember where her home was. She only knew that it was somewhere in Yunnan, with a name that sounded like “Laba”. Still, Ying never gave up hope that she might one day find her find her family. While under constant supervision in Henan, Ying had no way to find her family. Even after escaping to Shandong, Ying was ridiculed and intimidated by her second “husband” and others whenever she tried to search for her family, forcing her to give up the idea for the time being. After arriving in Jiangdu, with Ying’s husband working in the gravel pits, and her son attending preschool, Ying’s life was a bit more stable and thoughts of finding her family grew stronger.

Not long ago, Ying’s son became ill and was checked into People’s Hospital in Jiangdu. After doctors and nurses learned of Ying’s troubled economic situation, everyone pitched in to pay for the child’s immediate health care (about 2,000 RMB). Ying felt a sense of long-lost family in this warm gesture, and opened up to the doctors and nurses about her past. Ying’s sad story garnered sympathy from the staff, who encouraged her to seek help at the local police station. A kind-hearted nurse even accompanied her there.　

Lost and found　　

Though her tale was long and rambling, Jiangdu police understood the gravity of the situation. Seeing how much this small-statured woman had suffered in one lifetime, they immediately made it clear they were going to do everything they could to help her find her family.

Because of her lack of education, Ying was unable to write or speak the name of her hometown, or the names of her family members; she only knew she was a member of the “Lahu” ethnicity, which the police found out is concentrated around Lancang County in Yunnan Province. After communicating with Lancang police, members of the Jiangdu police eventually pinpointed a location matching the name “Laba”. Officers helped Ying make a video in which she described—using the dialect she dimly remembers—her parents’ names and appearances. Laba authorities used the tearful video to locate an old white-haired couple, who immediately recognized their long-lost daughter. With the help of police, Ying took a telephone call from her parents, her voice choked with emotion, barely able to speak at all for some time. One day later, Ying returned to the police station with a letter of thanks and, using the only way she could think of to express her gratitude, knelt before police and thanked them over and over. Ying’s heart will be warm this winter. Because, after 20 years, her dream of finding her family has finally come true.

Source: sohu.com
 

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