The Effect Of Agent Orange On The Vietnamese People

The Vietnam War is infamous for the controversy surrounding it and the affects it had on both the soldiers and civilians involved. This brutal war was one of the first wars where biological warfare was utilized, resulting in a multitude of tragedies and carnage. The Vietnam War was a sort of new kind of War. As the allies faced off against communist Vietnam, the United States began to encounter problems in Vietnam with the Vietcong, the Vietnamese communist soldiers. The Vietcong used a style of fighting known as guerilla warfare, this means that tactics such as ambushes, blitz attacks, and booby traps were used to defeat their enemy. This worked because normally fighting would go on in dense jungle areas that the Viet Cong knew well. The United …show more content…
“It has been estimated that Agent Orange has caused some 400,000 deaths and disabilities among the Vietnamese in addition to a half-million children born with birth defects” (Axelrod). The herbicide has led to children being born with incomplete limbs or disabilities like spina bifida. When looking at pictures of people who were directly affected by Agent Orange, their faces have been morphed, their skin may be burned, or their limbs may be so distorted that they spend their life in a wheelchair. In addition Agent Orange has caused blindness in many Vietnamese people (U.S Department of Veterans Affairs). The US Environmental Protection Agency states that genetic lineage or even being passively exposed poses great risk and increases the risk of cancer. Additionally, some children in Vietnam are born totally healthy, but their muscles begin to atrophy as they grow older (Brown). These disabilities put strain on Vietnam because about 60% of the Vietnamese population are farmers, meaning they rely on manual labor. With disabilities like this kids are unable to help their families and adults find it very difficult to find jobs to support