Vietnamese immigrant Tran Thi Hue (陳氏桂) won first prize at the sixth Taiwan Literature Award for Migrants for her work That Year, the Plum Blossom Bloomed, which tells the story of a Vietnamese woman who was abused by her Taiwanese husband and developed a mental illness.
The award was established to showcase the literary talents of immigrants and migrant workers, and the prizes were presented at the Alishan National Scenic Area on Sunday.
Tran, born in Vietnam in 1987, moved to Taiwan in 2015 after marrying a Taiwanese man.
It is difficult for Vietnamese women to integrate into Taiwanese society, Tran said, adding that she hopes her story will help more people to understand the plight of migrants and treat them with greater respect.
Her work tells the story of a friend who married a Taiwanese man, she said.
However, after moving to Taiwan, her friend was subjected to domestic violence and eventually developed a mental illness, Tran said.
Her friend was then forced to return to Vietnam and was separated from her one-year-old daughter, she added.
Tran said that her husband was working in the aquaculture industry in Vietnam when they met.
They moved to Taiwan following a downturn in the industry and now run a Vietnamese restaurant in Pingtung County, she said.
Over the past four years, Tran said she has heard many sad stories involving female migrants and they inspired her to write the story, in which she incorporated her own experience.
“With the story I wrote, I hope we can all learn to understand and tolerate each other, to take care of and help each other,” Tran said, expressing the hope that as Taiwanese society makes more efforts to help migrants feel at home, the sad experiences of her friend would not be repeated.
Tran received a trophy and NT$100,000 in prize money.
The award was organized by the Southeast Asia Educational, Scientific and Cultural Association and first held in 2014.
Taiwan Literature Award for Migrants convener Chang Cheng (張正) told the award ceremony that he organized the award to showcase migrants’ literary talents.
It is a difficult task, but he has long wanted to do something for migrants, Chang said.
The award received 680 entries this year, the most ever. Eight winners were chosen in nine categories, including the Teen Choice Award, Macau Special Award, Jury Award and the First Prize.
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