In the trip to Vietnam recently, Lysiane Danìele Josette, 26, met her grandmother and her relatives in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau who helped to connect to her father who is still living in France. 

Lysiane (middle) met her relatives in Vung Tau

Lysiane said that just some months after she was born, her parents divorced and since then her mother has kept all information about her father as a secret. Lysiane even did not know exactly his name is Le Van Thanh or Nguyen Van Thanh.

During childhood, she always wondered about her father as her mother did not want to tell her anything about him. This really made her sad, as why couldn't a child have the right to know about her father. 

The photos in which Lysiane's father was carrying her

Then she nurtured the intention to look for the father. She sought help from different agencies in France, however, no information about the man was discovered.

“My father is part of my life so I couldn’t give up my efforts for the search,” she said.

With the financial support from a relative in France, she could afford the tour to Vietnam to look for her father, bringing along with her photos about him. 

Lysiane and her grandmother

In Vietnam, Lysiane got the assistance from a group named Ba Ria Youth which shared her information about the dad. Just 24 hours after the information disseminated, Le Kim Chi from Long Son Commune in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau’s Vung Tau City recognised the man in the photos was her older brother.

Chi also posted a photo in which his brother was carrying his daughter 26 years ago as a reply to Lysiane’s search for information.

Looking at the photo posted by Chi, Lysiane burst into tears, saying that the man was his father and the baby was her. Right after that she and members from Ba Ria Youth travelled to Long Son Commune to meet her relatives. On the way to there, the French girl continuously cried due to happiness.

Lysiane’s grandmother who is now 77 years old hugged her tightly in tears.

Since when she knew the information about the niece, she always looked forward to seeing her. The grandmother gave Lysiane a Vietnamese named called Le Ngoc Yen Nga.

Everyone in the family felt moved when meeting Lysiane. 

The French girl's family in Vung Tau City

“I’m so happy. Now I have a beloved family, which seems to be a dream for me,” the French girl said. 

Then Lysiane was connected to speak to her father Le Van Thanh, 54, on the phone. Their talk was continuously interrupted by tears.

Lysiane’s grandmother said Thanh is her first child. He left Vietnam for France in 1989 and until 2014, he returned to visit the family in Vung Tau. During the stay in France, Thanh sent the family the only photo in which he was carrying his little daughter, but not any other information about the girl.

After the divorce, Thanh spent much time and effort to look for Lysiane, but he failed. In 2004, he decided to get married for the second time and his eldest daughter with the second wife is also named Lysiane. This was the way he wanted to show his love for the missing daughter.

In Vung Tau, Lysiane had a chance to enjoy meals with her family which consisted of Vietnamese traditional dishes.  

She enjoyed a Vietnamese meal 

Lysiane is scheduled to visit her father on January 18 and she also wants to move to live with her father.

She also expressed her great thanks to the support of Vung Tau Youth group. Lysiane wants to learn Vietnamese to understand more about the country.