Mentally-ill women locked by elderly mother to be sent to rehabilitation centre
Authorities in Quang Binh Province are preparing to send two mentally-ill women who have been locked in rooms by their elderly mother for 10 years to a local social protection centre following a report from Dantri/Dtinews Newspaper.
Two mentally-ill women are locked in rooms by their mother in Quang Binh Province.
Deputy Director of the Quang Binh Provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Ho Tan Canh, said that the two women are getting monthly allowances of VND800 (USD35) each.
“At present, the Quang Binh Provincial Mental Disease Healthcare and Rehabilitation Centre does not have rooms for female patients," Canh said. "We are building rooms for them which are expected to be completed at the end of December."
The two women are daughters of 70-year-old Duong Thi Hue from Vo Thuan 3 Village, Tay Trach Commune.
Hue said she has eight children but four of them have mental illnesses. Hue and her husband both were in the army. She is an Agent Orange victim and it affected her children. Hue's husband died long ago, leaving her to raise the children alone.
The two daughters, Duong Thanh Binh, 30, and Duong Thi Hong Thanh, 28, were diagnosed with schizophrenia. After birth, both Binh and Thanh already showed unusual signs and their conditions have worsened since 2008. They are afraid of light, strangers and often mumble to themselves, scream and destroy the furniture.
In 2010, the mother had to buy a chain to keep her children at home. Then with help from the neighbours, she built a small house with two rooms to lock them in.
"I have to be careful and look for a time when they are not in a fit to clean the room or feed them. I can only leave the food at the window. I'm afraid if I open the door, they'll leave," she said.
Another child of Hue, Duong Viet Thanh has also suffered from worsening health. The other children either also have mental illnesses or left home to find work in other provinces so can't help.
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