Ravages of Agent Orange too much for victims’ spokesman Tháng Bảy 10, 2007
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Nguyen Van Quy, one of four who represented Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange while suing US companies for production of the chemical last month, passed away in Vietnam on Saturday. Quy, born in 1955, together with three other members of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA), attended their trial’s appeal at the Second Circuit Court in New York on June 18 in an attempt to obtain compensation from US chemical firms Dow and Monsanto. The trial had been rejected by another court earlier.During the trip in the United States, Quy’s weak health was a major concern for the delegation and the organizers. The tight schedule, usually beginning from 8am to late night, and many long road trips were a big challenge for the ailing Quy. Attributed to Agent Orange exposure, Quy’s stomach cancer had spread to his liver, pancreas and lungs. Before going to the US, doctors had removed three quarters of his stomach and he could hardly eat. He had to have 6-7 tiny meals per day, just a small cup of soup or a little rice each time. He had lost 20 kg since he got cancer and only weighed 37 kg.According to his family, a day after coming back from the US, he began to lose weight very quickly.Because of his asthenic health, in the early morning of July 7, his family took him to the Viet Tiep Hospital emergency room. At 6.28pm, he passed away leaving two deformed children and a young wife.
The pain
Everyone in Quy’s hometown, the northern port of Hai Phong, knows Quy’s story and has sympathized with him and his family for years. He was a former solider who operated along the Ho Chi Minh trail in Vietnam’s central highlands region, which was heavily sprayed with Agent Orange. Life was so hard during the war that soldiers like Quy had to eat whatever plant and drink whatever water they could find along the trail. Normally, people could have survived on Vietnam’s clean spring water, but the soldiers did not know the area had been contaminated by Agent Orange. After the war, Quy got married and his first child was deformed. His wife became worried and divorced him in 1986. He re-married in 1987. His next two children were also deformed. Due to spinal malformation, his first son can only crawl or use a wheel-chair although he is 20. Quy’s daughter, now 18, is deaf and dumb. She is mentally ill and cannot perform even menial tasks. The hindrances have only gotten worse as she continues to grow bigger. During the trip to the United States last month, the delegation found the sick and wheelchair-bound Quy shinning and optimistic. He usually told jokes and never talked about his pain, which must have been immense in the final throes of cancer.
American support
Quy’s sudden death gave many international friends reasons to grieve. From New York, David Cline, former president of Veterans for Peace, cried when he heard the news.During the trips to New York and Washington DC, Mr. Cline always helped Quy walk and they became close friends. Bystanders were often touched when they saw the togetherness of the old soldiers, once foes, now brothers.At a meeting on June 16 at Martin Luther King Labor Center in New York, Cline gave the American Government’s Purple Heart Medal to Quy. “I feel the comradeship with him….I did that to show my respect,” Cline said. Sara Flounders – Director of the International Action Center – sadly said: “Although his health was poor, he still used all of his energy to come here to attend the appeal. It is respectful…”Merle Ratner, a coordinator from Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility, stayed up all night to email Tuoi Tre Newspaper. She wrote “Many of you remember Quy from his visit to New York, California, Midland, Chicago and Washington DC. Quy knew he was in the terminal stage of cancer when he came to the US and his dedication, heroism, and passion for justice in the face of tremendous suffering is deeply moving.” Story from Thanh Nien News
Published: 09 July, 2007
