VietNamNet Bridge – Ho Quang Thai has never been able to stray
far from his parents even though he is 18-years-old as he is paralysed. He is
an ‘indirect' victim of Agent Orange/dioxin, a deadly toxin that was used by
the US during the war.
Thai is the second son of Ho Minh
Quang, who lives near the Bien Hoa airport area in southern Dong Nai Province.
The war ended four decades ago
but the suffering continues for Quang and his family. Quang said that though he
had not joined resistance forces, he had still been exposed to the toxin.
"When I was a child, I often
played at Bien Hoa airport but I did not know what Agent Orange was," he
said sadly. When his two children were born with severe deformities, he
realised that he had been contaminated with the toxin.
Nguyen Thi Thuy, a resident of
Tan Phong Ward in the province's Bien Hoa City said that since 2009, the number
of AO victims in her neighbourhood had seemingly been increasing.
Some people came from other
parts, were young and had never taken part in any war, but their children still
suffered from birth defects, Thuy said.
Four of Nguyen Dang Ninh's six
children are blind from birth and have six fingers and six toes.
Ninh, who lives in Ho Nai Ward,
said he was really in a tough situation. He did not think that his children
could become infected by the chemicals, and he blamed the tragedy on destiny.
Now, he is very worried about his two healthy children, concerned that they too
could be affected by the toxin without warning.
"Even our future generations
may not be safe," said Ninh.
Dao Nguyen, chairwoman of the
province's Association for Victims of Agent Orange, said there were more than
13,000 AO victims in the province with 62 per cent of the total being long-time
residents. Nearly one fourth of these AO victims are under 16 years of age.
The five neighbouring wards
around Bien Hoa airport were the most severely affected areas, with the number
of victims increasing year by year.
Nguyen said that during the
anti-American war of resistance, US armed forces kept more than 98,000 tankers
of Agent Orange and other kinds of toxic chemicals in the area. They also
sprayed toxins over 50 per cent of the province.
"Companies supplying the
toxin must take responsibility," she stressed.
Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen
Van Rinh, Chairman of the Vietnamese Association for Victims of Agent Orange
(VAVA) which represents more than three million Vietnamese AO victims, said
that the airport area was expected to be the second dioxin contaminated
"hot spot" to be cleaned using the thermal remediation technique.
The new technology uses heat to
treat contaminated soil, and was first applied at Da Nang Airport in central
Viet Nam. The work at Bien Hoa Airport started yesterday, Aug 9.
Efforts by the Vietnamese
Government, people and international opinion on appealing a judgement that
cleared the chemicals companies of responsibility have brought initial positive
results.
"However, the companies must
take responsibility for not only cleaning the environment but also providing
health care services for the disabled," he told Viet Nam News.
The association would continue
pushing for justice for Vietnamese AO victims while mobilising assistance from
foreign and domestic organisations and individuals to ensure AO victims have a
better life.
During the first six months of
the year, foreign and domestic groups and individuals contributed to more than
VND68 billion (US$3.2 million) in funds to the association, bringing the total
sum of support received to VND440 billion ($20.9 million).
The money will be used to build
houses, provide health care services and supply financial support for AO
victims' families.
VietNamNet/Viet Nam News
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