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, where this photos were made, is a heavily sprayed area.

Photo 1:
Truong Thi Kieu (6, left) with her healthy brother Hoang Cong Hung (11). Their mother, Truong Thi Thuy, explains: "Kieu can't see, speak nor move.
But she can hear."

Photo 2:
About Nguyen Thi Quynh Phuong (girl, 5), here with her sister Nguyen Thi Duong (6), mother Hoang Thi Suong (27) says: "when the wheather changes, Phuong has epilepsy, especially in summer. She has no sense of taste, can't understand and speak.

Photo 3:
Tran Dinh Ca (boy, 6, centre) has a healthy brother and sister. His mother Thai Thi Thuc (28) says: "Ca can't understand, speak, hear nor walk or stand. He can't eat by himself. He just lies in bed all the time. Ca has no feeling of pain, or cold and heat. He just shales his head and grinds his teeth all the time. He doesn't react to noise, and his hands and legs are always in slight convulsions."
Photos Jan Banning, march 2000.