A young French woman has just found her Vietnamese family after 25 years thanks to support online.
Emma Kiener, 26, comes from Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. Her French parents have told her that they adopted her from Vietnam and shared lots of stories about Vietnam with her.
Emma Kiener (left) and her Vietnamese sister Tran Thi Thanh Loan
According to papers given by her adopted parents, Emma Kiener was registered as Truong Thi Thanh Hanh, born on October 5, 1996, at Tu Du Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Her mother, whose name was Truong Thi Thanh, was noted as residing at 103 Thu Duc Town, Ho Chi Minh City, left her at the hospital right after birth. She was then sent to Tam Binh Orphanage and was adopted and brought to France on October 22 of the same year.
Through some social websites, Emma discovered a man named Do Hong Phuc, 27, in Ho Chi Minh City, who has helped find families for many Vietnamese people living abroad. She sent a message to Phuc in March asking for support. Phuc came to the address she gave but the area had changed. He also shared Emma's information on various social sites to seek support in the search.
Emma and her adopted parents arrived in Vietnam on July 10 with the hopes of finding her relatives. Phuc arrived at the airport and helped them as a guide.
On July 12, Emma shared her information on a Facebook status and just four hours later, she received a message from someone who said that Emma might be her younger sister.
The photos Emma shares on her Facebook
The owner of that Facebook account was Tran Thi Thanh Loan, 35, who lives in Thu Duc City. Loan said that all the information Emma gave coincided with the information about her family.
According to Loan, after her father died in 1996, her mother Truong Thi Thanh sent her to live with her grandparents and then remarried. She visited her sometimes and told her that she had given birth to a baby girl in late 1996 but had to leave the baby at the hospital due to financial difficulties. She earned her living by selling lotto tickets in Thu Duc and she died in November 2015.
Loan and Emma decided to take a DNA test on July 19 and the results showed that they were sisters. They were very happy to have found each other.
Talking about their mother, Loan said that she hoped that Emma would understand their mum's situation at that time.
"She gave birth to us and I know she loved us all," Loan said. "To me she was the best mum. She used to treat me well and she also shared how how much she suffered after having to leave her small baby at the hospital."
Loan also said that she was very happy to see that Emma had such wonderful adopted parents who had always loved her and created the best condition for her to look for her Vietnamese family.
Emma said that she felt sorry for her mother after hearing about her story.
"I'm sorry I didn't find her sooner," she said.
Emma's adopted parents also met with Loan's family and visited the pagoda which keeps the remains of her mother.
Emma and her adopted parents having a meal with her sister's family in HCM City
The adopted parents left Vietnam on July 22 while Emma will stay and go on a tour in the country with her sister.
"Now I've found the answer for my existence in this life," Emma wrote on her Facebook account. "I now know who I am and why I was abandoned. I'm feeling really relieved."