While the subjects were having dinner, Ly and some other Vietnamese people fled. “That night, it was pouring rain. We had to crawl on the corrugated iron roof, so it was very slippery, with no grip. If we stumbled, we would have no chance of returning. I crawled on my knees, not daring to breathe, so I crawled to the ground.” Exhausted, I crawled until my head hit the wall without feeling any pain.” Ly said.
After 5 hours of straining in the rain, climbing onto the roof, the entire team inside and out coordinated smoothly, the Vietnamese group escaped “hell on earth”.
By October 2022, after a month of dangerous struggles in a foreign land, Ly returned to the country in a state of exhaustion and had to be hospitalized in the emergency room due to overexertion.
Even when she returned to Vietnam, the young girl was still haunted by the sounds of Vietnamese people being electrocuted and whipped in the middle of the night. After a while, Ly recovered both physically and mentally.
Ly shared her journey on her personal page to warn people against ‘sweet’ words about high-paying light jobs. (Photo: NVCC)
Inspirational life journey
To overcome those difficulties, Nong Thao Ly said she must be grateful for her difficult childhood. As a Tay ethnic girl, born in a particularly difficult remote district of Cao Bang province, Ly trained herself to become a resilient and courageous girl.
Thanks to her efforts during 9 years of studying at Can Yen High School – a school in the remote area 135 on the border, Thao Ly achieved many high achievements and was fortunate to be accepted into Huu Nghi School T78 (Viet Laos).
At the age of 15, she had never stepped out of the province and had to temporarily leave her village and family, traveling nearly 300km, moving 3 times by car, nearly 12 hours to Hanoi to study high school.
“Because I left home from a young age, I am more independent than my peers. The difficulties of living alone help me grow up strong,” Ly confided.
After finishing high school, Thao Ly did not go to university and decided to work in Hanoi. Taking a year off from school, going through many jobs, some manual jobs, some sitting in an office computer, then Ly realized: “Learning is really important. I think only going to school can change the environment in which I live and help me pursue my passion…”
In 2019, Ly was admitted to the Department of Television Journalism of the Television College (VTV college), and was trusted by the whole class and the homeroom teacher to be elected class president. Every semester, the girl from Cao Bang receives a scholarship.
In 2021, Ly graduated with Honors with excellent training scores. From here, the path to journalism opened up, and at the same time created a predestined opportunity for the young girl to engage in the “Trap” of documentary filming.
Studying television helped Ly meet experienced journalists, who were also the ones who brought Ly to the special project called “Trap”. They are all brave young people, dedicating themselves to valuable works that serve the audience.
After nearly a year of production, the 1-hour documentary “Trap” will be broadcast at the end of 2022 in a special VTV program. The documentary was quickly shared and commented on by everyone, becoming a hot topic at that time. The film warns and orients the alarming context of online fraud and cross-border human trafficking, creating many emotions for viewers.
The documentary with the participation of a Tay ethnic girl won many major awards such as the Gold Award of the 41st National Television Festival, the National Press A Award in 2022. In particular, the work was honored in the category of Outstanding Documentary Film Golden Kite 2023.
After the rain of awards, Thao Ly created a Tiktok channel to share about the journey of creating a lifetime’s work. “I only posted on Tiktok with the purpose of preserving memories and lessons after the trip, but I didn’t think I would receive so much love from everyone,” Ly said.
Every clip Thao Ly posts about her journey to Cambodia on duty receives a huge amount of interaction. She became an inspiration to young people. Besides the thanks and compliments, the girl born in 2000 also received some negative comments saying that she went for money and career.
Ly shared: “Reading comments like that makes me very sad. The day I left, I only thought of one thing, how can I save my people from the ‘traps’ on the other side of the world. If I think about money and fame, Maybe I wouldn’t have gone, because no one would dare to risk their health and life for that.”
After Ly’s clips went viral, many people became more aware of scams about so-called “high-paying light jobs”. Many young people are inspired to study and work honestly to have a better life instead of giving their lives into the hands of others.
Currently, the Tay ethnic girl turns to media because she wants to discover new things about herself. However, the young girl’s passion for journalism is always present. When given the opportunity, she is still willing to collaborate on projects and reports with colleagues working at many press agencies across the country. .
