50 years - too long for “Agent Orange” pain
The US Government and US chemical companies must face the truth and bravely take responsibility.
Over the past 50 years since US forces sprayed Agent Orange in Vietnam, there have been serious consequences to overcome. Not only was the environment and ecosystem seriously damaged, but millions of Vietnamese people have continued from extreme sickness, poverty, despair and misery. The harmful effects of AO caused the deaths of thousands of babies, many still in the wombs of their mothers. With every passing day, AO victims have to witness their children and grandchildren in pain; some of whom are slowly dying of the dioxin chemical.
“Fifty years is too long for those who bear the scars of AO on their body and for the land laid waste by ecocide to be healed”, said Jeanne Mirer, co-coordinator of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign (USA). “The time for justice for AO victims is now”.
She added that there is a growing understanding of the need for justice for AO victims. Millions of people are calling for the US Government, which is liable for the spraying of AO in Vietnam, to accept responsibility for cleaning up the areas where AO still lies and to care for the victims who live with health problems. Those who made such obscene profits from the manufacture of AO - particularly the chemical company giants, Down and Monsanto - will not escape public censure and protest until they invest in compensating their victims.
Over the past years, the Party and State have issued various policies to help AO victims improve their living conditions. Annually, the Government allocates around US$50 million for the fund from which about one million people have benefited.
With the help of certain foreign non-governmental organisations, Vietnam has built 17 nursing and rehabilitation centres for victims across the country known as the Peace Village, Friendship Village or Orange Village and certain boarding facilities as well as dozens of other nursing centres to provide care for victims.
The assistance of the State, Vietnamese people and international friends is very important; however, this effort is still far from meeting the victims’ expectations. The US spraying of toxic chemicals 50 years ago destroyed over 3 million hectares of forests and affected 4.8 million Vietnamese people, of whom around 3 million have become its victims.
The consequences of the US war have been very severe and prolonged. For humans, the AO/dioxin poison has caused a number of serious diseases - severe and trans-generational (possibly 5 or more generations) - meaning many families have completely disappeared.
Recently, the US Government has taken initial steps toward evaluating and dealing with some of the consequences of AO in Vietnam. However, their spending could never repair or replace the untold damages which have been felt. Every year, the US spends billions and billions of US dollars to subsidise American victims, while advocating only one million dollars for Vietnamese victims at the Danang hotspot.
Tran Xuan Thu, Vice President and Secretary General of VAVA, said each Vietnamese victim receives just US$1 of US support, a paltry amount which is clearly far too small compared to the misery that the victims are suffering. Therefore, we request the US authorities and chemical companies to shoulder their responsibility for AO victims, especially for Vietnamese ones who have suffered greater, more serious and more prolonged consequences.
235 years ago, the US Declaration of Independence announced that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. However, the AO chemical that the US army sprayed over Vietnam took the lives of millions of Vietnamese people.
At a meeting to mark the 50th anniversary of the AO disaster in Vietnam, Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan emphasised that the pain of AO victims in Vietnam has been a concern of people all over the planet. It’ a common pain felt by the whole humanity. She asked the US Government to take responsibility for the serious damages they had caused to the environment and human health in Vietnam.
Jeanne Mirer said that it’s time to have a comprehensive commitment to providing care for AO victims and to cleaning up all of the toxic hot spots. We should build solidarity to support Vietnamese friends. This is a struggle we must win, Mirer added.
50 years is too long for the pain of Vietnamese AO victims. The US Government and US chemical companies must face the truth and bravely shoulder their responsibility to relieve the pain of millions of AO victims in Vietnam and across the world. This can only be done if the US Declaration of Independence is proved to be meaningful and is acknowledged by humankind.