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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (May 9, 2014)
4 street roots May 9, 2014 ■R iNfe ■ of Agent Orange The notorious defoliant continues to ravage generations o f Vietnamese. Now a group o f veterans is using film to drive social and political justice. BY EM ILY GREEN STAFF W R IT E R ormer Marine and member of Portland’s Veterans forPeace chapter, Dan Shea knows the lastingeffects of the Vietnam War all too well. In 1977 his first child was born with a number of birth defects that he believes were the result of his exposure to Agent Orange. His son, Casey, came into the world with a cleft palate, congenital heart disease and no abdominal wall® ? Shortly' after»» b tr4k<fe» ■ suffered a seizure, but eventually was able to come home and live a happy childhood, playing often with his younger sister between doctors visits. In 1981 Casey went into a coma after a 10-hour heart surgery. For seven weeks Shea and his wife hoped fort a miracle every day as they sat at their ,v son’s bedside. But a miracle never came and they ultimately decided to take Casey off the respirator. Shortly thereafter he died in his father’s arms. He was three years old. Shea’s story is familiar to others survivors of the Vietnam War, American and Vietnamese, arid, the ongoing effects of Agent Orangé that continue to this day. The subject now comes to a wider audience on May 18 in Portland with the world premiere of the documentary “Lighter than Orange.” The premiere is p^rt of the Full Disclosure Film Festival, May 17 and 18, at Fifth Avenue Cinema. The event includes several documentaries that examine thé American war iri Vietnam, The festival is . part of a nationwide effort by Veterans fori Peace to ensure that the horrors of the Vietnam War arid its long-term effects, still felt today by many American and Vietnamese citizens, are not forgotten. While the loss of a child is the most difficult effect he’s endured, Shéa has suffered from the psychological effects of war too. Like so many relatives of Vietnam veterans in the U.S., he watched post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), destroy a family member, his brother Michael, who was also a Marine in the Vietnam War. Shortly after Shea was shipped to the PhUipines with jungle rot on his feet, his brother was sent on an operation in his place. “They brought hirii home in a straight jacket,” said Shea. “He self-medicated over the years with drugs and alcohol; later it was mainly alcohol.” Shea’s brother died in 2010 of liver problems. The brothers had - grown apart because, Shea said, he didn’t want to be around a drunk. Luckily they | were able to reconnect in the end. Shea also lives with PTSD as a result of the war. “I - relive those experiences every day of my I Full Disclosure Film Festival Fifth Avenue Cinema 510 SW Hall Street Saturday, May 17 2 p.m. “Another Brother” 3:30 p.m. “Hearts and Minds” Sunday, May 18 2:30 p.m. “Sir! No Sir!” 4:15 p.m. “Lighter Than Orange” This event is free *Please note that these films contain scenes that organizers warn may trigger post- traumatic stress in some individuals. ? >• -T. 3 ’ -- nn See more chapters sign up. Thé documentary “Lighter Than Orange” poignantly shows a Vietnamese perspective on the legacy of Agent Orange. Directed by Matthias Leopold, a German photographer and professor living in Berlin,The film profilés Vietnamese veterans who continue to suffer from their exposure to the toxic herbicidé that the U.S. military sprayed across their land. Many of these men and women also havè children who were bom with serious birth defects caused by the poison. One Vietnamese veteran featured in the film, Do Due Diu has lost 12 children, all at very young ages. “They lived one or two years, then died,” he explains. Despite his misfortune, he continued to have children because as the oldest son in his family, he hile tens of thousands of Ariiericans - was supposed to have a male descendent. “I were exposed to herbicides like Agent still didn’t know I was a victim of Agent Orange during the war, studies estimate Orarige. Even though so many children had that between 2.1 million arid 4.8 million died, we didn’t know anything,” said Do Due Vietnamese were also exposed, and many Diu. Each March, as is the custom in continue to be exposed because the toxins Vietnam, Do Due Diu visits the shrine are still present in many areas of Vietnam. where all his children areburied together, | Vietnam Veterans of America, a and.he tends to the tiny graves. congressionally chartered veterans group When his daughter, Do Thi Nga, became with more than 70,000 members in 48 paralyzed on one side of her body-when she states, is in the midst of its own Agent was 8 months old, she was examined. “They .Orange campaign. It is currently hosting a told us she was an Agent Orange victim. series of meetings across the U.S. titled Only then we realized it had to do with “Faces of Orange,” which are intended to Agent Orange,” he said. He holds her in his make Vietnam veterans aware of the lap as he explains her pain and illnesses. illnesses and birth defects associated with “Weare trying to live and take care of her,” Agent Orange so that they can get help if he says. At that moment she begins to hit they or their children are affected. Meetirigs herself in the head with her fist while his iri Oregon took place last week, and there wife looks away from the çamera. will be a meeting in Seattle on May 10. So “The 12 veterans who are being far, 10 states have hosted Faces of Orange examined here stand in for the 4 million town hall meetings, but the WA hopes to life. I goto therapy once a month for post- traumatic stress. Each veteran’s story is different, but those are the stories that is Full Disclosure.” Today, Shea is a member of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign committee, which is working to pass legislation that would extend medical assistance to more individuals affected by - the use of herbicides in Vietnam. While • Shea blames Agent Orange for his son’s death, the Department of Veterans Affairs does not recognize birth defects such as the ones Casey had as being a result of serving in Vietnam — unless the child is born to a female veteran. W See AGENT ORANGE, page 5 PH O TO CO URTESY OF M A T T H IA S L E U P U L D B u i Ba Khang and his grandchild walk through the rice paddies o f Vietnam where Agent Orange was sprayed more than 40 years ago. Today his grandchild suffers the birth defects I common among Agent Orange victims. They are featured in the new documentary “Lighter than Orangé. ”
