War and Terrorism: The Social Impact of the use of the Agent Orange by the US Army in Vietnam War
From 1962 to 1971, the US army had sprayed 72 million litres of a kind of herbicide named the Agent Orange over 3.6 million hectares of forests and villages in the Central and South of Vietnam from aircrafts, trucks or by hand. It was estimated that 17 million people in the South and 1 million from the North were directly exposed to the Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. However, the exact number of the Agent Orange victims in Vietnam from generation to generation has not been calculated. ( Le and Johansson 2001).
It is over 30 years since the Vietnam War ended; yet the Agent Orange’s consequences still continue to make Vietnamese people suffer. A positive association has been proved between the Agent Orange and some illnesses such as soft tissue sarcoma, Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Hodgkin’s disease (Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides, Institute of Medicine 2004). The dioxin, a component of the Agent Orange, has been discovered to cause birth defects in animals and human. As well, this poison has destroyed tropical forests and animal habitats, eroded coastlines and contaminated the soil in the areas. It is undeniable that this weapon of mass destruction has exerted tremendous effects on the ecology and health of many generations of the Vietnamese. Indeed, there have been many scientific research studies on the ecological and health impacts of the Agent Orange used by the US army in Vietnam. However, from sociological perspectives, I do think that the social impacts of the use of the Agent Orange in Vietnam War on individuals, families and society should be further examined.
In the first place, both individuals who were directly poisoned by the herbicide and their descendants are miserable victims. Many veterans and people who were fighting and living in the contaminated areas are now in poor health conditions, threatened by serious illnesses such as cancer of various forms. Their working capacity has been lost or considerably limited. Furthermore, as the dioxin is highly likely to cause birth defect in animals and human, most of these people’s descendants are born with malformations of different kinds and levels of severity, for example: conjoined twins, cleft lip and palate ( Le and Johansson 2001). Many are born to be mentally disabled, too. The tragedy of these children is that despite their existence, they have been stolen a meaningful life since their birth. For many, their physical body or mental capability or both do not develop with age. Some even make little sense of their existence in this world. This means that they have also been stolen with innumerable opportunities in their lifetime: education, working or getting married.
In the second place, in Vietnam, the victims’ families suffer from the consequences of the chemical as well. As mentioned above, the direct exposed victims and their descendants are in poor health conditions and so their working capacity is lost or limited. In this way, their families are under high risk of poverty as they must carry the burden of taking care of the victims who would else be capable earners. Another misery of these families is that day by day, they witness the stolen lives of their children at the same time the end of family continuation. In Vietnam society’s traditional perspective, children are considered the continuation of the family as they will get married and reproduce and take the responsibility of earning as they grow up. In another words, they take over the continuation of life and wealth of the family from generation to generation. Therefore, to Vietnamese families in which every child is invariably born to be physically and mentally handicapped, they are reaching a tragic endpoint.
In the third place, the society are also to pay significant costs. Poor health prevents victims from joining labour force or reduces their labour productivity. Another cost is paid to provide welfare services for victims such as treatment, nursery and special education.
In conclusion, besides observable ecological and health consequences, I am convinced that the use of the Agent Orange during an over ten year period by the US army in the Vietnam War has exerted long-lasting social impacts on individuals, families and society in our country. These damages still cannot be calculated exactly as the tragedy has not yet come to an end.
References:
- Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides, Institute of Medicine. 1994. Veterans and Agent Orange: Health Effects of Herbicides Used in Vietnam – Executive Summary.
http://books.nap.edu/catalog/2141.html
- Le Thi Nham Tuyet, Annika Johansson. 2001. Impact of Chemical Warfare with Agent Orange on Women’s Reproductive Lives in Vietnam: A Pilot Study. Reproductive Health Matters, Vol. 9, No. 18, Images of Sexuality and Reproduction: Services: Meeting Women’s Needs.
- http://vietbao.vn. 2007. Phu luc 2: Noi dau xuyen the ky ( 2nd Index: The Transcentury Misery).
http://vietbao.vn/Van-hoa/Phu-luc-2-Noi-dau-xuyen-the-ky/40218020/184/
- www.scienceclarified.com. Agent Orange.
http://www.scienceclarified.com/A-Al/Agent-Orange.html
