The mysteries of her family's origins have haunted Fanny Pierre's mind (43 years old) for decades. Then, from old Vietnamese documents stained with time, the woman in Le Mans, far away France, began her journey to find her grandmother who lived in Gia Dinh in the old days...
Last hope
"I am writing to you because about 2-3 years ago, I learned that you helped a young girl find her biological family in Vietnam. Of course, I really need your help, if you accept! You are my last hope to clear up some (or all) of these mysteries, which have remained unsolved because I am completely lost and they have haunted me for many years".
That is the opening paragraph of the letter that Ms. Fanny sent to Mr. Do Hong Phuc (30 years old), an architect in Ho Chi Minh City, famous for supporting foreigners to find relatives for free for many years.
Fanny with her father and family in France when she was young. Her father, Jacques Pierre, has passed away.
PHOTO: NVCC
From here, the woman's journey to find her Vietnamese roots, which is also the journey to decode the "mysterious records" originating from Vietnam and France in the past about her father and grandfather, received the support of many kind-hearted Vietnamese people.
Looking through the documents of her late father - Mr. Jacques Pierre that are still preserved, Ms. Fanny said that he was born on August 29, 1949 in Phu Nhuan (Gia Dinh). In the records, there is a mention of Mr. Jacques's mother's name, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Cuc (year of birth unknown) and his father's name, Mr. Yvon Raymond Pierre (born in 1925 in France).
In the 1949 extract from Jacques' birth certificate, it is clearly stated that Yvon worked as a radio technician at the Indochina Railway General Department (Saigon during the French colonial period).
Time-stained records about her father are clues for her to find her grandmother in Gia Dinh in the past.
PHOTO: NVCC
Mr. Jacques in his youth and in his old age
PHOTO: NVCC
Fanny said her father was then sent to FOEFI, but she did not know when or for how long. He was then sent to an orphanage in Mayenne, France. After investigating, she learned that the orphanage closed in 1972. After being brought to France, Jacques lived a new life without his biological parents.
According to the reporter's research, FOEFI is the abbreviation of the Association of French Children of Indochinese origin. This is a school system that accepts tens of thousands of mixed-race children in Indochina, whose fathers - French soldiers - do not acknowledge them, and whose mothers may have died or had to sign a commitment letter for their children. FOEFI was established in 1938, initially with the purpose of training a class of "native French" to continue to govern Indochina, but after the Dien Bien Phu campaign, this plan no longer had a reason to be implemented.
Clues at the church of Saint Jeanne d'Arc today
According to information obtained by Mrs. Fanny, her father was baptized on December 5, 1955 at the Saint Jeanne d'Arc Church in Saigon. Based on that clue, we went to this church, now located in District 5 (HCMC) to find out and learned some new information.
The information kept by the church matches the information provided by Fanny when Jacques was baptized in 1955. However, the church records only list the mother, Nguyen Thi Cuc, and do not include information about the father. In that record, there is also an important detail about the name of the witness at that time, a Frenchman named "Jean Leguc", a university student.
Saint Jeanne d'Arc Church is located in District 5 (HCMC)
PHOTO: CAO AN BIEN
The Church of Saint Jeanne d'Arc holds the baptismal records of Jacques in 1955.
PHOTO: DO HONG PHUC
"This is my father's godfather and I can't decipher his name. I've never heard of him! Is he a student at the university? What connection does he have with my father's family? It's really not easy!", so many questions haunted Mrs. Fanny from this name.
At the age of 20, Fanny began researching her family tree to find her French grandfather. Along the way, she found her father's half-brothers.
According to their sharing as well as the documents found, Ms. Fanny learned that Mr. Yvon married another Vietnamese woman and had a daughter born in Tourane in 1956. It is known that from 1888 until the end of the French colonial period, Tourane was the official name of Da Nang , Vietnam.
Fanny said her father was then sent to FOEFI, but she did not know when or for how long. He was then placed in an orphanage in Mayenne (France).
PHOTO: NVCC
Later, Mr. Yvon and his wife had a son born in Germany in 1958, now living in France. Mr. Yvon died in 2000. However, none of them had any clue about Ms. Nguyen Thi Cuc, who was believed to be Mr. Jacques' biological mother.
Decoding life's big questions
"I really want to learn about my origins and piece together all the clues of this puzzle, to know my father's story, which in turn is also my own story and that of my children," Ms. Fannny emotionally shared.
Deep down, she really wanted to know her father's roots from her grandmother's side in Vietnam. This, she understood, was not easy when she knew absolutely nothing about her grandmother, not even her date of birth.
"Why did my grandmother leave her son?", "Is she married?", "Does she have other children?", "How old was she when she gave birth to my father?", "What were my grandmother's parents like?"... countless questions about her in her mind, but the French woman did not have a single answer.
Mr. Do Hong Phuc supports Mrs. Fanny on this journey.
PHOTO: CAO AN BIEN/NVCC
Fanny and her husband Frédéric are currently living happily in France with their two children, Héloïse, 10 years old, and Alexandre, who is about to turn 7. She hopes that one day she will visit Vietnam to learn about the country where her father was born. How wonderful it would be if the French woman could solve the mystery of her father's records and find answers to questions about her grandmother in Gia Dinh.
"If anyone knows her, that would be great, please speak up for me, because maybe my grandmother is gone. If there is information about her, maybe I can close this chapter of my life and move on. Because this story touches and saddens me deep in my soul, deep in my heart. I am missing a part of my life story," she shared.
Mr. Do Hong Phuc said that with the information in the file provided, he is doing his best to search for effective clues. If anyone has any information related to Ms. Nguyen Thi Cuc as in the file, please contact the phone number: 0979.283.523 (contact Mr. Phuc). The French woman is extremely grateful!
Thanhnien.vn
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nguoi-phu-nu-phap-tim-ba-noi-viet-nam-manh-moi-tu-mot-nha-tho-o-tphcm-185250603113822844.htm
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