Abandoned as a newborn, French woman Emeriau Laetitia has never felt resentment toward her Vietnamese birth parents. Instead, she sees the search for her origins as the most important mission of her life.

A search for roots

In recent days, since sharing her story online, Emeriau Laetitia (born 1998, currently living in Brussels, Belgium) has barely left her phone. She waits anxiously, full of hope, for any message, call, or email that could lead her to her biological parents in Vietnam.

On October 15, 1998, Laetitia was born at a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City and given the birth name Cao Thi Kim Ngan. Shortly afterward, her birth mother abandoned her. She was placed in the Tam Binh Child Protection Center in Thu Duc District (now Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City).

Four months later, she was adopted by a single French woman, who brought the baby to live in a town near Paris.

“Laetitia shared: 'My adoptive mother had previously adopted a baby boy in 1995. We grew up in her unconditional love. To us, she is an extraordinary woman.

She raised us as her own, making sure we lacked nothing. We never felt different for being adopted. From the bottom of our hearts, we have always considered her our real mother.'”

Laetitia's adoptive mother never hid their origins. As soon as Laetitia was old enough to understand, she was told about her Vietnamese heritage and adoption story.

Her adoptive relatives also treated her as family. From childhood to adulthood, despite no biological ties, Laetitia never felt like an outsider among her adoptive mother’s loved ones.

However, school was different. Laetitia was often teased and subjected to discrimination. She vividly remembers her kindergarten years, when classmates constantly questioned why she didn’t look like her mother.

In the schools she attended, there were only two or three other Asian students. Her physical features and background made her the subject of constant curiosity and ridicule.

“For the past 20 years, I’ve endured many taunts about my appearance. Only when I started working did it ease up - because Asians are often seen as hardworking and serious,” she explained.

The greatest goal in life

Although Laetitia grew up in a loving family, thoughts of her roots and biological parents never left her. She always wondered what they looked like and who she resembled more.

Yet she never felt anger or sadness toward them. Her adoptive mother explained that perhaps her birth parents lacked the means to raise her and wanted her to have a better life.

In 2016, Laetitia returned to Vietnam for the first time, hoping to learn more about her homeland - and to find any clues about her birth family.

She visited the Tam Binh Child Protection Center, where she had once lived. However, she found only limited information: her birth mother’s name was Cao Thi Roi (born 1970), and the person who registered her birth was Huynh Thi Kim Hai (born 1944), living at 130 Khiet Tam, Binh Chieu Ward.

She also located the abandonment report. It states that on October 17, 1998, police captain Nguyen Van Lam, health station chief Cao T. Ngoc Dung, midwife Pham Thi Ut, and physician Tran Quang Cua all witnessed the infant being abandoned.

Laetitia said: “Finding my birth family means everything to me. Before, I was too focused on my studies to dedicate time to the search.

But now, with a family and a child of my own, I’m more determined than ever to complete this journey. Reconnecting with my birth parents is the greatest goal of my life. I truly need to find them before I leave this world.

I’ve posted my story on Vietnamese social media platforms and received immense support. I even found a nun who used to care for me at the orphanage.

The reunion moved us both to tears. Still, I have few leads in the search for my parents.

All I want is for them to know that, no matter the circumstances, I’m deeply grateful. They gave me the chance to live a better life.

I will never blame or resent them. My biggest dream is simply to meet my biological family.

I don’t know how I’ll react if that dream comes true, but I’m sure it will be a moment filled with overwhelming emotion and tears of joy.”

Ha Nguyen