Married Life In Taiwan Didn't Turn Out As Hoped

In her dreams, she imagined a long courtship. Instead, the betrothal of 22-year-old Tran Thi Dieu Hien was set the instant her suitor laid eyes upon her.

But it wasn't love at first sight.

``He said he chose me because I didn't dare look straight at him in the eyes,'' Tran said. ``I thought I was very lucky then.''

Tran's marriage with the Taiwanese man was a financial transaction, arranged through a Vietnamese matchmaker. Such marriages between Taiwanese men and young Vietnamese women from poor, rural areas have become increasingly common. The women see it as a way out of poverty while many of the men are less-desirable bachelors, mostly older, lower-class, divorced or disabled.

Many of the unions turn sour. Physical, sexual and emotional abuse of the young brides, either by their husbands or in-laws, is common, say social workers in Taiwan. Some are tricked and sold into brothels.

From 2004 to 2006, nearly 22,000 Vietnamese brides went to Taiwan, according to the island's Ministry of Interior. Among marriages between Vietnamese and foreigners, Taiwanese grooms top the list, according to the Vietnamese government. Taiwan also happens to be the largest business investor in Vietnam.

Typically, the men fly into Ho Chi Minh City and are taken to mini-hotels to meet prospective brides. Sometimes, dowries are paid to the women's families. Within months, the brides are in Taiwan, with little ability to communicate with their husbands in Mandarin.

Tran, whose family in Vietnam lives in a house with bare floors and walls made from palm leaves, hoped for a kind groom who would help her send $100 a month home. He had given her parents $125 for her hand.

It wasn't until she arrived in Taiwan in February that she discovered her husband was divorced and had custody of four children. She worked 16-hour days cooking, cleaning, taking care of the children and helping in the family's tofu shop.

``It was very clear that he was not looking for a wife or mother for his children,'' said Tran, who has a teenager's face and shy smile. ``I was a servant.''

The husband and mother-in-law beat her. When she became pregnant, they tried to force her to have an abortion. She refused, so her mother-in-law repeatedly kicked her in the belly. Desperate, she tried to hang herself in the shower.

A Vietnamese friend, who is happily married to a Taiwanese man, arranged for her to get to the shelter, Vietnamese Migrant Workers & Brides Office. She took the family to civil court, and they offered her a $625 payment.

She's now in Ho Chi Minh City, renting a street-front shack with thatched walls that she shares with four other adults. The shelter and other donors gave her a few hundred dollars, which she used to start a small business selling breakfast and dinner to factory workers nearby.

She rises at 3 a.m. to cook a big pot of porridge or pho beef noodles. Customers are served inside the shack, equipped with two plastic tables and some chairs.

She recently received good news. The baby in her belly is a healthy girl, due next spring.

``I'm back to where I started -- with nothing,'' she said matter-of-factly. Then she smiled. ``Now I have two futures to think about.''