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Episode details

World Service,08 Oct 2019,53 mins

Pirates stole my son

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Howie Truong was fleeing Vietnam in the 1970s with his wife and baby son Kai, when pirates intercepted their boat and threw Howie into the sea. Not only did Howie have to swim for his life, but he had no idea if he would ever see his wife and son again. Fast forward over 30 years and there was an extraordinary reunion between father and son. Neal Razzell speaks to Howie and Kai to hear their story. Marie McCreadie moved to Australia from the UK as a young girl in the 1970s. It was the start of a new adventure for the whole family, but then one day when Marie was 13 she lost her voice, leaving her unable to make a sound for over a decade. Marie was ostracised, told she was cursed, and was put in a psychiatric unit. Then, in her twenties she discovered the astonishing cause of her condition. Marie has written a book about her life without speech. It’s called Voiceless. (Image: Howie and Kai Truong. Credit: Howie Truong)

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