Philanthropic Travel: Vietnam

Vietnam Friendship Village treats Agent Orange affected children 3 generations after the USA left Vietnam - Hanoi, Vietnam by David Chamberlain

Mission Accomplished: the war against communist Vietnam...
2 Million Vietnamese DEAD.
4 million Vietnamese wounded.

58,000 American DEAD.
300,000 American wounded.

USA dropped 1 billion pounds of bombs: 4x as many bombs as World War II; the equivalent of 600 Hiroshima size atomic weapons.

USA created 23 million bomb craters in an area the size of Massachusetts.

Destroyed:
60% Mangrove forests.
4.5 million acres 20% of the natural forests.
600,000 acres of farmland or 8% of the country.
10 million cubic acres of dikes
815 Hydroelectric plants
1100 lakes
400 factories
13,000 boats
15,000 bridges
3,000 high schools and universities
350 hospitals
1500 maternities
250,000 thatched huts
Out of the total 5,700 villages in Vietnam the USA bombed over 4,000 of them and completely destroyed 150.

Iraq 2006
Freedom? Learn more..

Socialist Republic of Vietnam 2006:

photo: Na Trang 2006 by David Chamberlain

The Vietnam Friendship Village
"The veterans who have participated in seeing the true horrors of war have a particularly credible voice in speaking out against war. I think it is important also for veterans not just to demonstrate and speak out against war, but to set examples of the kind of things that we can do. And the Village of Friendship Project is one historic example. There are veterans and caring citizens from six countries at this point, who were all former enemies, now working together." -George Mizo, US Vietnam War Veteran)

Since opening its doors in 1998, the Friendship Village has served more than 200 children and veterans from northern and central Vietnam. Residents are rotated through the village to receive treatment and then returned to their families as their condition permits. The village accommodates approximately 130 people at a time, and more than three quarters of these are children.

All residents have serious health problems believed to be caused by Agent Orange, the defoliant sprayed by US forces during the Vietnam war.

An Important Lesson
You, my parents, taught me that it was wrong to kill . . . except in war.
You, my church, taught me that it was wrong to kill . . . except in war.
You, my teachers, taught me that it was wrong to kill . . . except in war.
You, my government, taught me that it was wrong to kill . . . except in war.

Then you sent me to war
And when I had no choice . . . except to kill,
Then you told me I was wrong!

And now I will tell you . . . my parents.
. . . my church.
. . . my teachers.
. . . my government.

It is not wrong to kill . . . except in war.
It is wrong to kill period!

And this you have to learn . . .
Just as I had to!

-by George Mizo


Vietnam Friendship Village -Hanoi, Vietnam

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