MADE IN ELMIRA : AGENT ORANGE CONTINUES TO CAUSE SUFFERING

The December 9/19 issue of Canadian Mennonite magazine carries a story titled "Understanding the impact of Agent Orange". The author of the story is Donna Schulz. The Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) has been doing good works in Vietnam for a very long time. Following are some of the observations of a Mennonite couple from Saskatchewan who have again been spending time in Vietnam with the MCC.

Three million Vietnamese were killed during the war in Vietnam with two million of them being civilians. Currently three million Vietnamese are living with the after-effects of Agent Orange. Agent Orange was a herbicide sprayed by the U.S. for the purpose of destroying crops and to strip leaves from trees that might hide enemy troop movements. Long term effects on humans include Parkinson's disease, liver dysfunction, and mental and cognitive delays. Dioxin was the compound within Agent Orange that caused this as well as caused genetic mutations. "Today, "the third and fourth generations of babies are born with problems'" she says."

Dioxin is persistent and stays in the soil and waters for many years. Here in Elmira it is still on the Uniroyal/Lanxess site five to six decades later as well as in the Canagagigue Creek sediments, soils and the fish. In Vietnam fish were being raised for eating and the dioxin had gotten into their fatty tissues.

The MCC are involved with childrens' rehabilitation centres in Vietnam. Physical and occupational therapies are used to assist young citizens impacted by dioxin/Agent Orange.