The war had passed for a long time, but the pain of the war lingers, including a large part of the victims of Agent Orange. In many families in Bau Bang district, the pain of Agent Orange is still present with illness and a difficult life that is hard to put into words.
Bau Bang district regularly coordinates with agencies and mass organizations to visit and give gifts to families affected by Agent Orange in the area
The lingering pains
Over 60 years old but Mr. Doan Xuan Thai, a sick soldier who lost his strength by 61% in Bau Hot neighborhood of Lai Uyen town is still bread winner in the family. The war had receded, the soldier who stormed the fronts now has gray hair but still has to bear with his wife and children day and night the consequences of the war as the pains of Agent Orange still haunts their family. Mr. Thai was born and grew up in Quang Tri province. In 1967, he enlisted in the army and fought in the fierce Gio Linh battlefield in Quang Tri. In April 1976, Mr. Thai served and returned to his hometown to get married and give birth to his children. In 1992, when life in his hometown was too difficult, his whole family packed up and followed an acquaintance to the land of Lai Uyen to work and live.
When his children were born, he always hoped they would be healthy, but 4 out of 7 children his wife had given birth to were affected by the legacy of Agent Orange. Of the victims, the daughter Doan Thi Hue was hardest hit. Ms. Hue was born with atrophy on one hand; her health was weak, so she could not do anything. What Mr. Thai could not expect was that when his daughter got married and gave birth to her first grandchild, her eyes were also affected by the effects of Agent Orange. Now that Hue's husband had left, Mr. Thai became the breadwinner doing everything to raise the children and grandchildren.
Mr. Thai said in choking words: "My health is getting weaker and weaker every day. Headaches and aching joints do not leave me alone on the weather. My life is hard, but when I think of my children, I have to bear the pain. I just hope that in the future, the local authority will more pay attention and help us so that the children can stabilize their lives."
As for Ms. Huynh Thi Ngoc Hang (57 years old) in Xa Mach neighborhood of Lai Uyen town, she was born suffering from the effects of Agent Orange when all activities depend on her family. As she got older, her health deteriorated, now her eyes are blurred and walking is difficult; sometimes even Ms. Hang is not aware of her own actions.
Ms. Huynh Thi Tuyet Nhung, Ms. Hang's sister, said: "After my mother died, there was no one to take care of her, so I moved here to live with and to take care of her. I love her, but I have to hold back my tears so I can take care of her at the best, but I actually do not know what to do."
Those are just two of the many cases of Agent Orange victims in Bau Bang district to prove one thing: Although the war had receded, its consequences are still painful - the never ending pains in families with relatives affected by Agent Orange.
Resources mobilized for care-taking
Bau Bang district currently has 48 subjects who are enjoying the allowances for Agent Orange victims including those who directly participated in the resistance wars and their descendants. In recent years, the Party Committee, authority, agencies and mass organizations in Bau Bang district have made great efforts in mobilizing resources to care for and help the Agent Orange victims.
Mr. To Tien Quan, Deputy Head of the Division of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Bau Bang district, said: “Over the past time, we have always actively advised and proposed guidelines and policies for victims and made efforts to support them by mobilizing resources to support them and their families to alleviate difficulties. In addition, we try to complete the dossiers and procedures to request the competent authorities to consider the eligibility for the Agent Orange victims to enjoy the preferential policies of the State. However, some people have not been entitled to the policies due to lack of documents and not eligible for consideration and settlements.”
Activities to help Agent Orange victims in Bau Bang district are carried out by mobilizing many social resources in many forms in combination with the movements of "grateful return" and "for the poor" of the locality. However, despite the involvement of the community, the pain of Agent Orange is still hidden deep in many families. In addition to the love of their families, Agent Orange victims still need support, care and sharing from the community to have more motivation and faith in life. The journey to ease the pain of Agent Orange needs more attention from authorities at all levels and functional sectors in considering and solving the policies for victims and their loved ones.
In the first 3 months of 2022, Bau Bang district coordinated with the provincial Association of Agent Orange/dioxin Victims to spend Tet support for 10 people affected by toxic chemicals with the amount of VND 15 million. It coordinate with the People's Committees of communes and towns to give 500kg of rice from the provincial Red Cross to support 48 victims in the district, awarded 38 gifts to 38 subjects affected by toxic chemicals with a total value of VND 57 million, visited and gave gifts to 13 children of Agent Orange/dioxin victims with a total amount of VND 65 million.
Reported by Hong Phuong – Translated by Vi Bao
