'Agent Orange has given me a death sentence'

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/12/vietnam-weaponstechnology

Guardian Weekly, Monday 12 April 2010 09.00 BST

During the Vietnam war, the US army sprayed 18 million gallons of the toxic chemical Agent Orange over Vietnam to destroy food sources and defoliate hiding places of the Viet Cong. Thirty years after the war, three million Vietnamese are still suffering from the effects of the poison, which can cause birth defects and cancer, has had a devastating impact on the environment and is now affecting a third generation of victims. Vietnamese victims have yet to receive any compensation. Dang Hong Nhut was 29 years old when she joined the resistance forces against the US army and was heavily exposed to Agent Orange. She works with The Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange and The Vietnam Agent Orange Campaign to lobby for compensation for the victims

---------------------------------------------------

I was born in 1936, in the Cho Gao district of Vietnam, close to the Mekong Delta. Life was very hard when I was a child. The French had colonised Vietnam and there was a resistance war, and a lot of fighting in our village.

I remember one time when I was just six years old, French soldiers came to our house and told us to leave, they thought something political had been going on and wanted to burn the house. My Grandmother stood her ground and bravely refused. It was this event that politicised me. I realised then, at this young age, what was right and wrong.

I got married in 1959 and gave birth to a baby boy. In 1965 I was living in Saigon, working as a dress maker. The city was peaceful at this point, although the US had invaded and there was conflict in the areas surrounding Saigon. At this time, there was a huge uprising of the peasants and a growing Buddhist movement against the US invasion. I felt passionately about equality and joined the resistance called 'the long haired army'.

I didn't take up arms during the war, our role was to raise funds, demonstrate against the invasion as well as helping young men to avoid conscription. My husband was also involved in the resistance and it was when I visited the area around Chu Chi to see him that I was sprayed with Agent Orange. I saw the planes coming and hid in a shelter. After they had gone, there was white dust everywhere. I didn't realise anything was wrong for a long time – I had very itchy skin, scabies and diarrhoea, but had no idea why.

I was arrested in 1966 by the US-supported government. A woman from the resistance had been tortured and gave my name to the authorities and I was imprisoned. I spent six years and nine months incarcerated. I was taken to the infamous Con Son Island prison and was shackled underground in a barbed wire tiger cage for nine months. snip

I have a burning anger in my heart. The US government has paid compensation to US soldiers affected by Agent Orange, but Vietnamese victims have received nothing. The chemical manufacturers of Agent Orange, Dow Chemical and Monsanto, have also never taken any responsibility for the suffering they have caused. They all have an obligation to take responsibility and compensate us, for the devastating impact of Agent Orange and we won't give up until we get justice.

[Angry Dragon]

1. This country needs to stop being a warring country and

live up to what they say we are.

We are told that we are a democracy and we need to hold ourselves up as an example to the rest of the world
to show how people can live together. How can you do that when all you do is kill people around the world and fight them for their resources??

We need to get out of the war economy.

[JCMach1]

2. One of my father's friends was an agent orange victim... it was horrible

when it would affect him.

[Dystopian]

3. KandR

peace~

[joe black]

4. 50% of Vietnam veteran claims are turned down.

You are not alone. Peace and comfort to you. I also suffer.

[roguevalley]

5. My cousin Ross died of bone cancer from Agent Orange poisoning.

[Heidi]

6. Recommended.

:kick:

[G_j]

7. Dioxins

way too many of them around. Do not ever trust weapons designers, chemical manufacturers, and the like, not to kill you.