Guest post by Trong Hong

I have chosen to be a Defender of children today because of my childhood experience. When I was only 9, I was placed on a life boat by my parents, trying to save me from all the horrors of abuse by the Vietnamese government at that time. After many treacherous days on the boat, I felt helpless and all alone. No one was there to defend us, and I remember wishing that somebody would just step in and rescue us.  I was so powerless because I was so little. All I wanted was somebody to protect and care for me.

Today, as a grown man in my thirties, I have an opportunity with the Defender Campaign to stand up for the lives of little ones.  I have a family of my own now and every time I see my precious children, how defenseless and vulnerable they are, I am willing to do anything in my power to protect them. There is such a need to stand in the gap for these innocent lives, for Defenders who will guard our children against the evils of the world. That is why I became a Defender with the Defender Campaign.

Trong’s Journey:

Trong was born in Vietnam. He grew up in a time of war and a political unrest. As a small child he remembers bombs and missiles flying right over his head, just missing him. At the time, Trong never imagined that the government planned to force him to be trained to fight as a child soldier, as so many other children his age were. Therefore, at the age of nine, Trong’s parents put him on a small ship to save him from the future that awaited him in Vietnam.

Trong was told he was going to his grandma’s house, which was only a one day boat trip. He started his journey by getting on a small boat that was packed with other men, women, and children. A few days came and went, but there was no sight of land. He saw nothing but vast, rumbling sky and the faces of scared, hungry refugees. Soon they ran out of food and water. Raw fish had become their only source of nourishment, but even that was difficult to catch and scarce. Trong can remember hearing other children whining for food while their parents sat there, helplessly, giving up hope. These innocent children did not know what was happening to them, why their parents would not give them food when they were so hungry, and why they had been put on this boat, never to see their home again.

These conditions were perfect for piracy. These pirates are not of the swashbuckling variety; rather they are common thugs and murderers on the high sea. They hurt people, almost casually, with women and children experiencing the worst of the violence. They were local fishermen who were poor and were looking for an easy means to supplement their income. These ruthless pirates, armed with guns knives and hammers, regularly attacked the Vietnamese people. Trong witnessed these criminals performing the worst of their crimes as his boat was attacked repeatedly by pirates. They would invade the boat, steal all the supplies and kidnap the young women to be sold to nearby brothel villages. An old man’s gold teeth were ripped out of his mouth with pliers, and a woman watch as the pirates threw her baby into the sea. Women and children were made to strip and line up. The choice ones were selected and taken on board a fishing boat. These attacks continued, and over the next three weeks little girls were repeatedly raped. Little Trong’s heart was broken for these women and little girls. He could not stand the site of all the abuse that he was forced to watch.

Many of the people were afraid to speak up or to fight back because the pirates who remained became increasingly brutal and ruthless, ensuring that no witnesses would dare identify them. Many times, when these pirates attacked a boat, they would simply use their weapons to kill everyone on the boat, including women and children, while some victims were dumped into the sea to die slowly. Those who survived on Trong’s boat counted themselves lucky. The way they killed these people, which has now been documented, was inconceivably barbarous. The torture that was endured was comparable to the more well-documented brutality of the Nazis or Pol Pot’s clans. None of these murderers were ever brought to face the weight of justice.

Because of all the damage the boat had sustained from storms and attacks, it was finally unable to continue its journey. In one short burst of fear and chaos, Trong found himself shipwrecked. When he woke up, he was on the shore of a small Island. The first thing he did was scramble to the nearest source of water, a small puddle, for the first drink of water he had tasted in several days. There were other survivors, but the pervading sentiment was every man for himself. Being only nine years old, Trong had to separate himself from the stronger adults, as they provided more danger for him than safety. He found himself a shelter, a place he could be alone, trying to escape from the pain of all he had suffered and witnessed. The cave he found was a perfect place of peace. He eventually made good friends in that cave. The island’s inhabitants, a community of monkeys, were welcoming neighbors, and they soon became Trong’s only companions.

After about two years of this life of struggling for survival, he was finally rescued. He was sent to a safe place in Seattle, WA. There he was able to rebuild his life once again. He suffered severe depression when he arrived but was thankful to be alive. One thing he knew for sure, one thing he carried with him through the horrors he had seen, through the hunger, pain, and loneliness he experienced, was that someday he was going to change the way his people were treated. He was going to do everything he could to build shelters for these victimized people. He would give them something he did not have: a place to rest, to get food and an education. A place to call home.

Trong and his wife Rani are the Founders of the Tronie Foundation which gives an opportunity for members of the Real Estate industry and others to make a difference in their communities. They share a passion to be a voice for victims of human trafficking and to provide them with resources for a fresh start. Trong and Rani have pushed for laws that curb human trafficking at the state and national level, including appearances at the World Conference on Human Trafficking.