
Photo Jan Banning, march 2000.
Between 1961 and 1971, US troops sprayed 72 million litres of herbicides over ± 10% of the surface of South Vietnam – 51 million of this was Agent Orange, containing a total of 170 kilos of 2,3,7,8-T4CDD (dioxin).
Laboratory tests led to the conclusion that dioxin can lead to birth defects and genetic damage in animals. Vietnamese and other researchers found higher rates of congenitally malformed babies among people who have been sprayed with this defoliant.
Cam Lo district (Quang Tri province) just south of the former North-South border is one of the heavily sprayed areas.
Le Thi Hoa (left, 14) and her sister Le Thi Nhon (27) are possible victims. Their father Le Huu Dong (57): “Nhon and Hoa have the same problem. People call them monsters, but their brains are normal, they can understand, speak, walk. Hoa is studying at home, she is very intelligent.” Dong was a soldier in the South-Vietnamese army (1963-75) and was in close contact with Agent Orange. They had a third child with the same syndrome, who died.
In 2000, I photographed Le Thi Hoa (left, 14) and her sister Le Thi Nhon (27) – both victims of the use of chemical warfare (Agent Orange) during the Vietnam War. Nowadays, Hoa runs the “Tiny Flower’s Shop & Café.” See this very moving short documentary, assigned by Dutch NGO MCNV (Medisch Comité Nederland-Vietnam).
Their father Le Huu Dong (57) was a soldier in the South-Vietnamese army (1963-75) and was in close contact with Agent Orange. A third child, with the same symptoms, died. In 2000, Dong told me: “Nhon and Hoa have the same problem. People call them monsters, but their brains are normal, they can understand, speak, walk. Hoa is studying at home, she is very intelligent.”
Between 1961 and 1971, US troops sprayed 72 million litres of herbicides over ± 10% of the surface of South Vietnam – 51 million of this was Agent Orange, containing a total of 170 kilos of 2,3,7,8-T4CDD (dioxin).
Laboratory tests led to the conclusion that dioxin can lead to birth defects and genetic damage in animals. Vietnamese and other researchers found higher rates of congenitally malformed babies among people who have been sprayed with this defoliant.
For more of my photos on the consequences of the use of Agent Orange, click here.
2 Comments
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Hi Karsih,
Thanks for your message.
I am afraid there’s a misunderstanding here. “Yo guys?” I am alone, one person, an artist/photographer.
It’s not easy to make this work and I have no plans to further complicate the execution of it by adding video – but thanks for the suggestion.
Glad to hear that it interestes you. Best regards,
Jan
Jan Banning Fotografie
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