A dedication to Vietnamese victims of agent orange

I made this blog with the only wish to help international friends gain a better understanding of the physical and social consequences of agent orange in Vietnam today. I am sorry if the images in my website cause you any emotional disturb, but let them evoke empathy and compassion from your heart. I am thankful for your visit and your comments. If you have any question, please mail to me at haituansv@yahoo.com

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

 

CRAWLING CHILDREN

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• SOME OF WHOM YOU CAN HELP
• HOW TO HELP THEM
• OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF VAVA VIETNAM
• MY FRIENDS' SITE
• MY FRIENDS' SITE AND RESOURCES
• PHOTOS BY JUSTIN MOTT

archives

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• A sad Grand Father
• HOW DO THEY STRIKE YOU?
• The legacy of Agent Orange

QUICK FACT

Agent Orange, name given to the most effective chemical herbicide, or plant killer, sprayed by United States armed forces in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War (1959-1975). It was created from an equal combination of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. It was called Agent Orange because of the color of the barrel in which it was shipped. Agent Orange contained extremely toxic byproducts known as dioxins. Exposure to dioxins has been associated with severe birth defects and certain rare cancers in humans. More than 19 million gallons of herbicides were sprayed in South Vietnam between 1961 and 1970. About 12 percent of South Vietnam was stripped of foliage, and tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers and innumerable Vietnamese were exposed to dioxins. Toxins that leaked into croplands and rivers around the sprayed areas also had long-term effects on the food supply of the country as a whole. Around 3 million Vietnamese were exposed to Agent Orange, many of whom died while many others learned of the consequences only once they had children. Most of these victims are living in difficulties with serious illnesses. Many families have four or five disabled children. Much worse, there are families in which all the children were born with deformities. These children are suffering from polio and mental retardation (27 percent); visual and hearing impairment (27 percent), immobility (19 percent) and other deformities. The number of disabled children who cannot take care of themselves accounts for 40.8 percent of the total. From the Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2002 and VNA