Agent Orange Victims Captured In Heartbreaking
Portrait Series Decades After Vietnam War (PHOTOS)
Between 1961 and 1975, the United States waged war
against the Viet Cong and their allies, and in the process defoliated
the land and forests of Vietnam, as well as parts of Laos and Cambodia,
with a
toxic chemical cocktail known as Agent Orange.
More than 50 years since the U.S. first launched its chemical warfare
program in the Southeast Asian region, the tragedy of that brutal
campaign lingers.
This week, about a fortnight after the 52nd anniversary of the start
of the chemical warfare campaign in and around Vietnam, a heartbreaking
photo series that captures the agony of Agent Orange victims
has gone viral. Originally shot by American
photographer Brian Driscoll back in the summer of 2008, the series -- entitled
"Will It Ever End?"
-- remains relevant and jarringly powerful, telling the stories of the
ongoing tragedy of the people and their offspring whose lives continue
to be ravaged by the destructive poison.
SCROLL FOR PHOTOS
Citing numbers provided by the Vietnam Red Cross, the McClatchy Foreign Press reported in July that an
estimated 3 million people spanning three generations have been affected by Agent Orange. At least 150,000 of these cases have been children born with severe birth defects since the war's end in 1975.
As Margorie Cohn, a professor at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, noted earlier this month, there is
medical
evidence to suggest that "certain cancers (for example, soft tissue
non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma), diabetes (type II) and in children spina bifida
and other serious birth defects" are linked to the Agent Orange
chemical mix, which contained dioxin, or as Cohn calls it, the "most
toxic chemical known to science."
Phirum Ung, 5, a third-generation Agent Orange
victim, naps in a hammock at home in Beng Melea Province, Siem Reap,
Cambodia. Most of his days are spent with his mother panhandling at the
Angkor Wat Temples. Phirum Ung was born in southeastern Cambodia, where
thousands of acres were sprayed with Agent Orange. (Credit: Brian
Driscoll)
A former Viet Cong soldier and father stands
behind his son, Nguyen Van Dung, 12, at home in the Kim Dong district of
Hai Phong, Vietnam. Nguyen is tied by the hands because he compulsively
tears at his own face. (Credit: Brian Driscoll)
Nguyen and Hung Vuong Pham, 14 and 15
respectively, await their daily routine of eating and bathing in the Kim
Dong district of Hai Phong, Vietnam. Their days are occupied watching
people pass by the front area of their home. (Credit: Brian Driscoll)
Third-generation Agent Orange victim Nguyen
Pham, 11, who is deaf, blind and cannot speak, has been bedridden for a
great portion of his life. Nguyen's mother stands by his side at home in
the district of Chi Linh, Vietnam. (Credit: Brian Driscoll)
Huong Nghiem, 8, a third-generation Agent
Orange victim, is being held by her mother in the doorway of their home
in the Tran Cao Van district, Hoi An, Vietnam. (Credit: Brian Driscoll)
A makeshift wheelchair for a victim of Agent Orange, in the Phuong Son district, Nha Trang, Vietnam. (Credit: Brian Driscoll)
Nguyen Quang, 11, on his bed at home in the Kim
Dong district of Hai Phong, Vietnam. Village presidents believe most of
the children to be third-generation Agent Orange victims due to the
commonality in mental disorders and physical deformities. (Credit: Brian
Driscoll)
Driscoll told The Huffington Post via email this week that he decided
to embark on this photo project after being inspired by stories about
Agent Orange victims, as well as his uncle, a Vietnam veteran who was
possibly exposed to dioxin during the war.
"I was interested in exploring and uncovering stories that covered a
good portion of the country instead of telling one particular story," he
said. "Bearing witness to the children that I have encountered, I feel
it's vital to continue to raise awareness about the effects of war and
how families are coping with the distress years later."
(Hat tip,
Daily Mail)
Also on HuffPost:
Iconic Images Of The Vietnam War
1 of 24
I once heard Admiral Zumwalt talk about what Agent Orange had done to his son serving in Vietnam. Decades later, the results from that chemical warfare binge are still with us..