The catastrophic consequences of Agent Orange

It hurts him to move, to breathe as well. The muscles and his bones hurt. Long Thanh is hardly what you would call decrepit - he is just 13-years-old. He is a victim of a war that should have ended long ago. His invisible enemy: Agent Orange - the chemical defoliant that the Americans sprayed over the jungles of Vietnam as if it were merely water. The leaves fell from the trees and the dioxin remained in the ground and especially in the drinking water - with terrible consequences even to this day.

The war has been over for 40 years, yet three million Vietnamese have since fallen ill from Agent Orange. Also since the end of the war, 150.000 children have been born with the most severe of handicaps. Vietnam has been asking the USA for help for many years, but they have simply consoled, denied, doubted or done anything but help.

Long Thanh and his equally sick brother need help around the clock. They cannot dress themselves nor eat alone. They cannot even go to school. Both children have been severely handicapped since birth. Their father, Tran Nhat Lin came into touch with dioxin contaminated Agent Orange and the rest is history. Life for the family is very hard, but in the most admirable way, they maintain their confidence.