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During a trip to find
materials for our articles on Agent Orange/Dioxin, which was organized
from March 7-26, 2005 jointly by the Professional Fostering Centre of
Vietnam Journalists’ Association and Lille Journalist University, France,
and the Hanoi-based Embassy, we traveled to many places nationwide to
collect information and record images of serious impacts of Agent Orange/
Dioxin on Vietnamese people and environment. Here, we would like to
present some unfortunate lots with a view to rousing human conscience for
a concerned voice to protect protecting justice and help victims overcome
their misfortunes.nbsp;
Ha
Thi Hai at the
functional rehabilitaion Centre in Thai Binh
Province. | I will try to
live
“Many times I wish I
were blind, dumb and deaf or unable of being aware of anything so that I
would not have to witness the sufferings caused by Agent Orange/Dioxin to
my family,” said Ha Thi Hai.
Born in 1976 in Dong Hoa
Commune, Thai Binh Province, Ha Thi Hai is the second of four children and
the only one in her family to be able to go to school. Her father, Ha Van
Cong, a soldier who fought at Quang Tri battle front, was exposed to the
Agent Orange/Dioxin and his children now bear the genetic scars of that
exposure. Hai and her younger brothers and sisters suffer from geriatric
marrow that causes myatrophy and paralysis of their arms and
legs.
With much love for her parents,
siblings and not wanting to become a burden on them plus deeply grieving
for her younger brothers and sister, Hai had attempted suicide. Yet, with
the encouragement and assistance from her family, friends and relatives,
she now tries to live and learn well.
Pham
Viet Truong
winning second prize
at Tien Phuoc District's
chess competition. |
I wish to have a motorbike so that my father could take
me to school everyday
With an
enlarged and bald head and black and white whiskers, Pham Viet Truong in
Tien Cam, Tien Phuong, Quang Nam looks older than his age of 16. He has
been affected by the Agent Orange/ Dioxin from his father who was exposed
to the toxic chemical in the white-belt area of Son Cam Ha. A fifth grader
now, Truong is studying together with healthy pupils at Nguyen Ba Ngoc
School. Last year, he won second prize in his district’s chess
competition. Though trying hard as he could, Truong finds it difficult to
go to school everyday because he can’t walk but jumps like a frog. He
dreams of having a motorbike so that his father can take him to school
everyday.
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Truong Thi An
taking
care of her daughter,
Nguyen Thi Tra Giang.nbsp;
Thuy spending muchnbsp;time with her children.
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Wishing to hear
our children calling “dad and mom”
Visiting the house of an old couple, Nguyen Van Hai, 52, and Truong
Thi An, in Cam Dong Village, Tien Cam Commune, Tien Phuoc District, Quang
Nam Province, we met their 13 year-old daughter, Nguyen Thi Tra Giang, who
was curled up in bed and occasionally howled. She has suffered from a
disabilitating disease known as hydrocephalus which has rendered her
unable to cognize everything and to speak. “We only wish she could sit,
walk and call out ‘dad and mom’. That would be a great happiness for us,
let alone talking about her future. We also don’t know whether she will
die before or after us,” said An, whose face has been deformed by Napan
bombs.
As for Thuy in Hoi Lam Village, Tien Chau
Commune, Tien Phuoc District, she has never dreamed of unattainable things
but a simple one: “We only wish they were healthy and understood us
because we don’t want to give birth to deaf, dumb and paralysed children
like that. Everyone wishes to have healthy and pretty children but how can
we do this because of the circumstances in this area”.
Nearly 40 years have elapsed since the US
troops sprayed toxic chemicals over this area, the green has returned to
Tien Phuoc but certainly hundreds of Agent Orange/Dioxin- affected
children born in this land will never have such a green in their
life.
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The handicapped
children of Le
Van Binh.
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They continue
existing
Le Van Binh in Hung Nhuong
Village 10, Vu Hoi Commune, Vu Thu District, Thai Binh Province is the
father of nine children.nbsp; Five of them have died and four are
handicapped. They all were inherently affected by their father who fought
in the Central Highlands battle front and was exposed to the Agent
Orange/Dioxin. To earn a living and feed the family, he has to drive a
cyclo and his wife collects scrap-iron. Talking about his children, Binh
couldn’t hold back his tear: “Now we are still healthy and can earn money
to take care of them, but how can they live on when we get old and
die”.
Hieu attending
a garment making
class. |
Lua was taught
by
her father. |
Lien earning money to
feed her family by
collecting old newspappers. |
Allnbsp;members of the
family having dinner together. |
nbsp;By Hoang
Ha |