To alleviate the suffering caused by Agent Orange

Persistent pain

In 1967, like many other young men of his time, Nguyen Xuan Thanh (born in 1948 in Hamlet 3, Hung Thinh Commune, Hung Nguyen District) volunteered to enlist in the army and fight on the Tri-Thien battlefield.

After peace was restored, in early 1976, Mr. Thanh was discharged from the army, returned to his hometown, and married a woman from the same village. Having endured years of arduous fighting, facing the enemy and the constant threat of death, the happiness of a family life was multiplied when their first daughter was born at the end of 1976 and grew up perfectly healthy.

But that fleeting happiness lasted only about four years, when Mr. Thanh's three younger children, Nguyen Thi Le (born in 1980), Nguyen Thi Hoa (born in 1982), and Nguyen Van Hao (born in 1985), were born one after another and all showed signs of cerebral palsy after 1-3 years. Recalling the years fighting on the Khe Sanh battlefield, under the unusually leaf-shedding forest canopy, beside streams with reddish-brown water, Mr. Thanh went for a medical examination and was devastated to learn that he was infected.Agent Orange.The poison not only seeped deep into his body, but also afflicted his poor children, causing them to be stunted and frequently lose control of their behavior. He and his wife took their children everywhere for treatment, but ultimately, they were powerless.

Furthermore, more than 10 years ago, Mr. Thanh was diagnosed with heart disease and had to undergo surgery to implant a pacemaker and two coronary stents. Currently, he has to go to the hospital for treatment twice a month. Despite these difficulties, all the family's living expenses depend entirely on the Agent Orange victim benefits received by Mr. Thanh and his three children.

In addition, Mr. Thanh has six grandchildren, four of whom were born to his two daughters who were exposed to Agent Orange. Although they have not been diagnosed with any illness, they are stunted compared to their peers.

Besides Mr. Thanh's family situation, there are many other unfortunate cases in the province, facing suffering due to children with disabilities caused by the effects of Agent Orange. One such case is former soldier Phan Văn Minh (69 years old, residing in Hamlet 2, Diễn Kim Commune, Diễn Châu District), who was exposed to Agent Orange/dioxin while fighting in the Southern battlefields. He fathered four children, two of whom suffer from cerebral palsy and have since passed away; his two grandchildren are also struggling to survive due to the effects of their father and grandfather.

According to statistics from the Provincial Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, Nghe An is one of the three provinces nationwide (along with Thai Binh and Bac Giang) with the largest number of people exposed to Agent Orange/dioxin, exceeding 30,000. Of these, 13,690 people currently receive monthly allowances as stipulated by the State (including 8,911 directly affected and 4,779 indirectly affected), concentrated mainly in the districts of Thanh Chuong, Dien Chau, Hung Nguyen, Nghi Loc, and Vinh City.

Let's join hands to alleviate the suffering caused by Agent Orange.

To alleviate the suffering caused by Agent Orange, over the years, Nghe An province has focused on providing both material and spiritual support to families affected by Agent Orange/dioxin, helping them overcome life's difficulties.

The Provincial Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, established in 2008, has truly become a common home for its members. To date, 21 out of 21 districts, cities, and towns have established district-level associations, and 391 out of 460 communes, wards, and townships have established grassroots associations, with a total membership of over 14,000 people.

In 2022, the Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin at all levels in the province mobilized over 4.1 billion VND from agencies, businesses, and philanthropists both domestically and internationally to support the construction of 19 houses, donate dozens of wheelchairs, and provide thousands of gifts to families of Agent Orange victims.

In the first seven months of 2023, the Provincial Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin mobilized support from organizations and individuals in the province, providing 4,142 gifts worth nearly 2 billion VND to victim families. In addition to support and gifts from the Central Association and the province, district and commune-level associations proposed that their leaders and local authorities allocate local budgets to mobilize businesses and philanthropists to support and give gifts to victims during holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year), totaling over 1.4 billion VND; notably in the districts of Dien Chau, Nghi Loc, Quynh Luu, Vinh City, Do Luong, Tan Ky, and Thanh Chuong…

Thanks to societal support, many victims of Agent Orange/dioxin are still striving to overcome poverty, the stigma of illness, and maintain faith in life. A prime example is Mr. Nguyen Van Duc (born in 1954) in Hamlet 6, Dien Loi Commune (Dien Chau District). He joined the army in 1971 and served in the Central Highlands, being discharged in 1976. The effects of Agent Orange left him with deformed legs and arms, and his only son also suffers from birth defects. However, thanks to loans for production development from the District Association of Agent Orange Victims, he has developed a livestock farm with several hundred chickens and dozens of other animals, becoming a relatively well-off household in the area.

Additionally, there is the case of veteran Pham Ba Canh (born in 1953) in Hung Yen Bac commune (Hung Nguyen district), who has to raise three children with complete paralysis but has made efforts to develop his family's carpentry workshop, providing employment for 4-5 local workers.

Sixty-two years since the first day the US sprayed this deadly toxic chemical over Vietnam (August 10, 1961), the "Day for Victims of Agent Orange" is an opportunity to call on the whole society to join hands for the lives of Agent Orange victims. The collective efforts of society will help alleviate their suffering and give them more faith and motivation in life.