Mines also have an insidious economic effect: in some districts at least 10-15% of land is unusable for agriculture or other purposes, and has remained that way since 1975. People who once lived on this mined land eke out a living as shopkeepers and scrap dealers. Adults living in mine-affected areas are forced to accept this situation as normal and continue living permanently around mines and UXO. Children, without the experience of the war behind them, lack this background and are thus disproportionately at risk.
Vietnam has not acceded to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. However, the past several years have seen a significant thawing in Vietnam’s policy and attitudes towards land mines, to the point where one official could tell the Forum on Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in January 1999 that Vietnam’s acceptance of the treaty is “a matter of time, not of principle.” Until the US itself signs the Ottawa mine ban treaty and takes responsibility for the mines and UXO laid and dropped by the US military, however, the core problems remain unsolved.
Removing all the mines and UXO in Vietnam would take 10 to 30 years and cost a minimum of $4 billion, according to the Ministry of Defense; care of mine survivors will cost millions in addition. Among three international organizations currently carrying out demining and resettlement programs in Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces, PeaceTrees Vietnam is the sole American NGO. Several US-based organizations are engaged in assistance to land mines victims, including Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation and Vietnam Assistance to the Handicapped, supported by USAID. And a project of James Madison University’s Humanitarian Demining Information Center, funded by the US State Department, carried out mine awareness outreach in Quang Tri from April 1999 to March 2000. The JMU project will be supplemented by a provincial mine education program with the participation of a number of NGOs.
The Debate Over Agent Orange
In contrast to the landmine problem, the extent of which remains comparatively unknown outside Vietnam, the question of Agent Orange (dioxin) contamination has received much greater international press and scientific attention. Part of this difference results from the ongoing effects of toxic contamination over generations: as dioxin has a half-life measured in decades, children and grandchildren of those exposed during the war can still have extremely high concentrations of the poison in their systems. And Agent Orange affects not only Vietnamese, but also US veterans and their families. Seventy-six million liters of the defoliant chemical were sprayed over more than 10% of the former South Vietnam from 1965 to 1971. Research by the Vancouver-based Hatfield Consultants, Ltd., uncovered high levels of contamination in remote areas of Vietnam untouched by other environmental factors.
The Hatfield Group, in cooperation with the official National Committee For the Investigation of the Consequences of the Chemicals Used During the Viet Nam War (10-80 Committee), released its preliminary results in October 1998. The study concluded that “[h]igh levels [of Agent Orange dioxin] were recorded in pooled blood from males and females over 25 years of age, and males and females 12 to 25 years of age. The detection of dioxin in the younger generation provides evidence that the [A Luoi] valley environment remains contaminated and dioxin is presently moving through the food chain into humans.” Soil in the vicinity of former military bases and other military installations is likely to be most contaminated, since Agent Orange spraying was highest in these areas.
The Hatfield report also confirmed earlier studies linking dioxin exposure with birth defects in children. Vietnamese health studies have found significantly higher rates of early cancer and deformities in heavily-sprayed areas than in North Vietnam, where no spraying occurred (only bombing). The circumstantial evidence of children affected by Agent Orange is undeniably strong. These effects are nationwide, as soldiers and others exposed to spraying during the war returned to their home villages. Vietnam’s Vice President, Nguyen Thi Binh, claimed in early March that the total number of victims, including veterans, civilians, and their offspring, is around one million.
These findings have sparked belated interest in Vietnam to assist victims of toxic contamination. The government now spends over $2 million per year to support dioxin-affected children, says Nguyen Kien Cuong of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), “but the results are still far from expected.” A Fund for Agent Orange Victims launched by the Vietnam Red Cross has raised $780,000, slightly over half from foreign sources. And in late February 2000, the Prime Minister’s office issued a declaration offering “special assistance to wartime victims of toxic chemicals,” albeit only those who fought for the winning side.
The US policy response has so far been deafening silence. Dr. Michael Linnan, medical attache at the US Embassy in Hanoi, denies any causal link and downplays the correlation between Agent Orange spraying and birth defects. Linnan told a meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce in March that he prefers to view Agent Orange from “a scientific perspective,” not involve it in politics. “Looking for truth in environmental exposure is an extremely ambiguous business…I can’t say for sure” if people exposed to dioxin experience higher rates of birth defects. The US and other international donors, in Linnan’s view, should emphasize general health of every child, rather than place any special emphasis on Agent Orange or other war-related causes. During his Hanoi visit, Secretary Cohen promised to further investigate claims of Agent Orange damage, but resisted accepting any responsibility.
cont'd on p.21