Stunned when looking at the deformed children

While it is normal that Minh\'s sons, the 2^nd – generation victims, have children with AO sequelae, Hung\'s children are not born with AO sequelae but his grandchildren still do.

Can do nothing but wiping out the tears

Nearly half a century ago, the young Tay man named Hoang Quang Minh left his hometown of Binh Gia district, Lang Son province to join the army and became a commando soldier. After 5 years fighting in the Quang Nam battlefield, Minh was sent back to the North for treatment because he was hit by an enemy’s M79 shell. Every time the northern weather changes seasons, the shrapnel remaining in his armpit hurts him. Minh remembers that, when he stayed at the 108 Hospital for treatment, Professor Ton That Tung said that in his case, operation would result in a paralysis, so the doctors refused to do so. For many years now, he has to endure the torment of the shrapnel each time the season changes.

Mr Hoang Quang Minh

Minh has three sons, all of whom are stunted, weak, slow, and have impaired memory. All three have tumors. Minh\'s eldest son had a tumor on his face, which has been removed. The second son has a tumor on his arm, while the youngest one has a tumor on his back. They both have them cut off 3-4 times but the tumors still remain. Minh complains: \"The youngest guy is full of spots like corn kernels on his back. Each spot has a tail like a tadpole which looks very terrible. The second guy’s legs are like stork’s ones. He can\'t do heavy things.\"

In the past, when the children were young, they saved every penny to treat their children, but their efforts were in vain. Their three grandsons were covered with dark birthmarks and hair all over their bodies; the others wer born deaf, and with intellectual disability. Of Minh\'s six grandsons, only L.C. was the brightest, but had to give up his studies because of his declining health. Sister H. - C.\'s mother - just wiped her tears as she looked at the bone-skinned child crouching in the corner of the house, and avoided to all our questions.

Mr. Minh regretted: \"All the three daughters-in-law are the main workers in the house. They both earn income and take care of the sick and abnormal children. What a pitty for them as being healthy but unlucky to marry and give birth to my sons and my grandsons\". Deeply imbued with Agent Orange pain, with his traditional herbal remedies of Tay people, he decided to help other poor families with Agent Orange victims. This veteran who is the President of the Tam Thanh Oriental Medicine Association, Lang Son City, provides medicine to the comrades’ family both inside and outside the province.

Children are healthy while the grandchildren are not

It was dark, but Ms. Nguyen Thi Cat - in Trung Son commune, Viet Yen district, Bac Giang province - still plowed on her field. Upon arriving home, she put away her watering cans, went to the barn and fed the cows.

Her husband - Mr. Do Manh Hung - has just returned home after nearly half a month of treatment in the hospital due to a stroke. Fortunately, he just has impaired hearing. The 72-year-old old man recalled his soldier\'s story: “I was wounded and lost 61% of my health. I was a platoon leader. I fought in the Quang Nam and Da Nang areas where toxic chemicals were sprayed as thick as fog. The next day when the chemical poisons were sprayed, trees were completely defioliated and died. After being discharged from the army and returning to the locality, Hung was appointed as the Secretary of the Commune Youth Union for two tenures and Chairman of the Commune’s Association for Agent Orange Victims since its establishment until now.

Ms. Cat gave birth to five children, none of whom were defective, while Hung\'s former comrades had children with deformities or intellectual disabilities. Hung was both happy and worried. He said honestly: “When my teammates went for Agent Orange test and had positive results, I thought that I was the same, but I did not dare to go for a health check. I’m afraid that ifI had positive result, no man would dare to marry my three daughters”.

Ms. Chung, Mr. Son, Ms. Viet, Mr. Ngoc, Ms. Van - the children of Mr. Hung and Ms. Cat - are all healthy, have jobs, and can buy a house like many people. But, Ms. Chung\'s eldest daughter has epilepsy and must always be accompanied by another person. Among Viet\'s children, one is stupid, one has bulging eyes and paralyzed legs; the other one was deformed at birth. Among Ngoc\'s sons, one has heart disease; one can\'t speak and walk normally. Only two children of Mr. Son are healthy compared to their grandchildren. “It would be a normal thing if our children were born with sequelae of Agent Orange. What a bad luck, my grandchildren who were born in the 21^st century, still suffer. When Viet and Van gave birth to a child with a strange shape, I was scared to death, let alone the mothers\"- Ms. Cat wiped her tears.

Mr. Hung said that many of the 1^st-generation AO victims in his commune have died. Many of them, before they died, were still worried about their children infected with Agent Orange. Looking at their 3^rd-generation grandchildren affected by toxic chemicals, Hung and Minh could only feel pity and wondered how long the Agent Orange pain would longer on their…