Invisible Wound – The pain is persistent

War legacies are sometimes even more frightening than the things it took from the battles. Those are the tragedies of the soldiers who returned from war. Perhaps, in this world, there is no pain like the one that Agent Orange victims suffer. Agent Orange has devastated their health and destroyed the future of their race. It is like an invisible wound that can never be healed.

Returning after the war, Mr. Tong Van Vuong, born in 1945, who is living in Doi Sai village, Sop Cop commune, Sop Cop district, Son La province used to think that he was luckier than his comrades to return home safe and sound with many hopes and plans of a family life in his homeland. But, unexpectedly Mr. Vuong was infected with Agent Orange and lost 45% of his health. Agent Orange in its body has wreaked havoc on his health, but more frightening, is has been passed on his two daughters with a rate of 71%. What will their future be when that Agent Orange can never be wiped out in their bodies and they have to get blood transfused once a year? Vuong was among hundreds and thousands of young people of Song Ma district (now Sop Cop district), who went to war in 1971 in the Southern Central of Laos. Among the soldiers who went to war that year, there are those who never returned; There are people, who have left part of the body in the battlefield; but there are people who even returned healthy, but do not know that their bodies have infected with Agent Orange.

In addition, in the district, currently there are 10 people enjoying monthly allowances. Notably, Mr. Do Hong Bo, born in 1944, lives in Song Ma town, is both a wounded soldier and a victim of Agent Orange who lost 42% of his health.

According to statistics, during the war in Vietnam, the US Military sprayed as many as 80 million liters of toxic chemicals, in which 61% was Agent Orange, containing 366 kg of Dioxin, down onto 26,000 villages, with an area of more than 3 million hectares, equal to nearly a quarter of the total area of South Vietnam. Agent Orange/dioxin is classified as one of the most dangerous chemicals in the world, not only because of its lethality, but also it can cause severe consequences for many generations. According to statistics, about 1 million Vietnamese people are affected by Agent Orange, and the Agent Orange-infected babies are born with birth defects that cannot be cured.

Among Vuong\'s comrades who lived and fought in the areas sprayed with Agent Orange, many people had been infected with sequelae after the war. In 1978, the District’s Veterans\' Association built a program to help the veterans infected with Agent Orange. The program provided health check for more than 300,000 veterans who directly fought or served in combat in the Southern battlefields. They receive health care and help to overcome difficulties. The program also benefits their children with medical care and special education.

By joining hands to alleviate the pain of Agent Orange victims, over the past years, the Party Committee and government of Sop Cop district have deployed practical activities such as: providing donation for house building, loans for production, especially health care, physical and spiritual encouragement, thereby partly helping the alleviate the difficulties of the victims in life. Among the victims in the area there are families provided with up to 40 million dong credit for building house according to Decision 22 of the Prime Minister. Besides, they are also entitled to loans from the Vietnam Bank for social policies for production. Children of the veterans, especially those heavily infected with Agent Orange, are prioritized in employment jobs etc.

In addition to the spiritual and material supports for Vuong’s family, the district Red Cross Association\'s also pays part of the fee of blood transfusions for his two children every year. Besides, on holidays and Tet, the central and provincial governments, party committees and authorities at all levels all come to visit and present gifts to his family.

Together with mobilizing resources to care for the victims, local authorities have coordinated with relevant agencies to support the victims in making beneficiary profiles and conducted total survey of the situation. At the same time, all levels of VAVA always attach great importance to propaganda, step by step improving understanding for social communities about the association\'s functions and duties, the Agent Orange disaster, and the daily life of the victims. As a result, caring for and helping Agent Orange victims have become a social movement of the district, contributing to alleviating difficulties and improving the material and mental lives for the victims in the area. Towards the 60^th anniversary of the Vietnam Agent Orange Disaster Day (August 10, 1961- August 10, 2021), we hope that the whole political system will join hands to alleviate Agent Orange pain to help those who have done meritorious services to the country partly reduce their difficulties and integrate into the community./.