Efforts to ease the pain of Agent Orange

PV. Sir, currently in the province there are many victims infected with Agent Orange/dioxin, they still have to face the pain caused by this poison every day. To ease the pain of Agent Orange victims, we have had many programs and large campaigns. So could you tell us the results of these campaigns?

Mr. Hoang Dang Hoe:The war has long gone, but in today's life, we still have to witness the pain of Agent Orange. In our life, there are still many people who are mentally and physically disabled because of Agent Orange/dioxin. Many families fall into financial and spiritual exhaustion when their children are all victims of Agent Orange/dioxin. Many families even have third and fourth generations whose bodies and minds are disabled because of this evil poison.

Nghe An province previously had more than 30,000 people participating in combat and serving in combat on battlefields exposed to toxic chemicals used by the US during the Vietnam War. In 2014, the province resolved the chemical toxic regime for 18,973 people. Up to now, due to death, relocation and some being cut by inspectors because of incorrect records and procedures, there are 13,690 people left, of which 8,911 are direct victims and 4,779 are indirect victims. In addition, there are more than 500 people in the third generation who have not yet received the Agent Orange victim regime. The latest survey found 5 people in the fourth group affected by this toxic substance. The subjects infected with chemical toxic chemicals are mainly those who directly participated in the resistance war and are currently 70 years old or older, most of them are elderly, weak, and sick. Their children are deformed, have neurological or mental illnesses, are paralyzed, and are unable to work. Their main source of income is from chemical subsidies, so their lives are difficult.

In order to help alleviate the pain, over the years, our Party and State have issued many policies and guidelines, and at the same time allocated large funds to subsidize, provide health care, and rehabilitate victims, and support areas severely affected by Agent Orange. Action movements for Agent Orange victims have been deployed on a large scale, attracting the participation of many people.

Implementing the direction of the Central Committee for Mass Mobilization, recently, the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin launched the "Action Month for Victims of Agent Orange" to call on all levels, sectors, organizations and individuals at home and abroad to support resources to care for and help victims of Agent Orange. Currently, Party committees and authorities from the central to local levels have been leading and directing all levels of Associations of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin to organize effective and practical activities, striving to achieve and exceed the targets set in the action month.

Along with that, the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin coordinated with the Standing Office of Steering Committee 701 to promote the implementation of the Coordination Program for the period 2021-2026, directly do a good job of propaganda work on the occasion of the 63rd anniversary of the Agent Orange disaster in Vietnam and promote activities in the "Action Month for Victims of Agent Orange" in 2024.

With the attention of the Party, State, Party Committees, Government, Fatherland Front, departments, branches, and organizations at all levels of Nghe An province, many policies have been issued for people with meritorious services and victims of Agent Orange; with the close attention and direction of the Central Association; along with the efforts of the Association at all levels, philanthropists and the people for policy beneficiaries both materially and spiritually, including victims of Agent Orange/dioxin, the difficulties have been somewhat alleviated. In particular, on the occasion of holidays and Tet, members have received attention, visits, encouragement, and gifts.

On the occasion of the 2024 Lunar New Year, the Provincial Association and all levels of the Association mobilized units and individuals in the area to support 4,225 gifts, worth 1,610 million VND. The Standing Committee of the Provincial Association and all levels of the Association visited each victim's family and presented gifts worth 60 million VND to distribute 200 gifts, each worth 300,000 VND; District and city associations also mobilized organizations and individuals in the area to support 4,005 gifts, worth 1,550 million VND. In addition, Agent Orange victims also received attention from authorities, organizations at all levels and philanthropists to visit, present gifts and subsidies to families of victims with especially difficult family circumstances, provide free medicine... worth hundreds of millions of VND, contributing to both material and spiritual encouragement for the victims.

PV: Despite the attention of the Party, the State and the whole society, Agent Orange victims and their families still have a very difficult life. With the small subsidy, many families do not have enough to eat, let alone medicine and hospital fees. So, do we still have concerns about Agent Orange victims?

Mr. Hoang Dang Hoe:Currently, most of the Agent Orange victims are facing extremely difficult lives. According to a survey, the whole province has 346 victims in extremely difficult situations. The most difficult is still group 2, when most of the victims in this group are severely affected. Most of them are not independent in their daily lives, so most of the families with children infected with Agent Orange are in difficult and miserable circumstances, facing poverty despite receiving support from the State at the level of 900,000 - 1,200,000 VND/month/person.

We have been to families in a very pitiful situation with 3 children now aged 20-40 but still sitting like naive children in a crib, they cannot eat, clean themselves and cannot walk. Meanwhile, the parents are old, many families only have the mother, or only the father, the father or mother is suffering from a serious illness. Or there are families who have to chain their children to the foot of the bed, the children scream and smash things all day long, making their relatives unable to eat or sleep. Their wish is to be able to build a room for the children to live in by themselves; when the parents pass away, there will be a nursing center to take care of them until the end of their lives.

Speaking of building a center for Agent Orange victims, although it has been proposed many times, Nghe An has not yet been approved, while Ha Tinh, Thanh Hoa, Quang Binh, and Quang Tri provinces all have one. However, the construction of a center for Agent Orange victims still has concerns, because it is difficult to get the policy and funding to build it, and it is even more difficult to "feed" it. Because in reality, the Center must have operational segments such as a place to train victims to be able to work, a place to take care of medicine and detoxify victims in severe cases. However, most centers in the provinces only operate well in care and detoxification. That said, building a center to care for Agent Orange victims is very difficult. Therefore, the work of caring for Agent Orange victims when there are no relatives to care for them is still a difficult problem.

In addition, it was not until June 20, 2024 that we received the policy on resource mobilization from the Provincial People's Committee, so the fund for support work is still very difficult. Along with that, the province's area is large, the terrain is complex, and travel is difficult, affecting the association's activities, especially in remote areas.

PV: Sir, to continue to accompany and share with victims of Agent Orange/dioxin, what are our upcoming action plans and goals?

Mr. Hoang Dang Hoe:To continue accompanying the victims of Agent Orange/dioxin, the Association at all levels will continue to coordinate with agencies, organizations, and media agencies to widely propagate to all classes of people, organizations, agencies, and units in each locality about the serious and long-term harm and consequences of Agent Orange/dioxin used by the US during the war of aggression against our country on the ecological environment and human health, especially victims who participated in combat, served in combat, and their children who were exposed to Agent Orange/dioxin at birth.

Continue to thoroughly grasp and implement Directive 43/CT-TW dated May 14, 2015 of the Party Central Committee Secretariat and Official Dispatch No. 4534/CV-TU dated August 7, 2015 of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee on strengthening the Party's leadership in handling the consequences of toxic chemicals used by the US during the war in Vietnam.

Honoring typical examples of caring for and helping victims, overcoming difficulties to do good business, association officials devoted to victims and philanthropists accompanying victims...

Continue to propose the Provincial Party Committee to advocate for the establishment of the Agent Orange Victims Fund and organize its effective implementation when there is a policy from competent authorities. Coordinate well with the Fatherland Front Committees at all levels to continue to propagate and mobilize organizations, individuals, and philanthropists to contribute to and establish the Agent Orange Victims Fund at all levels. Manage and use the fund effectively and in accordance with regulations.

Actively coordinate with the Fatherland Front Committee, agencies, departments, branches at the same level and other Association organizations in the area to care for the lives of victims of Agent Orange/dioxin, organize well the work of supporting, visiting and encouraging families and victims in difficult circumstances, especially on holidays and Tet.

Continue to direct the implementation of emulation movements "For Agent Orange victims" with appropriate forms and measures, associated with the action movement "For Agent Orange victims" launched by the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and the Central Association... Organize meetings to honor association officials, members, philanthropists, and outstanding caregivers of victims on the occasion of the Day for Agent Orange victims (August 10) and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam People's Army.

PV:Thank you for the conversation!