Vietnam’s horrific legacy: The children of Agent Orange

FORTY years after the end of the Vietnam War this is a country which should be rising back to its feet.

Instead it is crippled by the effects of Agent Orange, a chemical
sprayed during combat, stripping leaves off trees to remove enemy cover.

Its
contaminant, dioxin — now regarded as one of the most toxic chemicals
known to man — remains in Vietnam’s ecosystem, in the soil and in the
fish people eat from rivers.

Nearly 4.8 million Vietnamese people
have been exposed, causing 400,000 deaths; the associated illnesses
include cancers, birth defects, skin disorders, auto-immune diseases,
liver disorders, psychosocial effects, neurological defects and
gastrointestinal diseases.

According to the Red Cross of Vietnam,
up to one million people are currently disabled or have health problems
due to Agent Orange, 100,000 of which are children.

In Ho Chi Minh City’s Go Vap orphanage, five-month-old Hong gazes
serenely from her metal-barred cot, empty, save for a soft yellow teddy
bear watching over her.

From her head grows a huge veiny mass — a
rare neural tube defect known as encephalocele, which research suggests
could be caused by Agent Orange exposure.

Without successful
surgery, Hong’s future is bleak. She could suffer from paralysis of the
limbs, vision impairment, mental disability and seizures.

These children all have
hydrocephalus from left to right is Huu Loc (aged 3), Ti Ni (12), Tinh
(4) and Tu (5). Photo: Ash Anand / NEWSMODO
Source: Supplied