The War Legacies Project
focuses on
the long-term impacts of war to develop a fuller understanding of
the costs of war, increase public understanding of these costs,
foster public dialogue about the impacts of war and conduct programs
that help mitigate the impacts of war at home and abroad.
Currently our work is primarily focused on the long-term
health and environmental impacts of the use of Agent Orange during
the Vietnam War. We also work to address the on-going impacts of
unexploded ordinance.
Although Washington remains a vocal critic of
Vietnam’s human rights record, it also views the country as a key
ally in its push to re-engage militarily in the Asia-Pacific region.
The U.S. says maintaining peace and freedom of navigation in the sea
is in its national interest.
The Agent Orange issue has continued to blight the
U.S.-Vietnam relationship because dioxin can linger in soils and at
the bottom of lakes and rivers for generations, entering the food
supply through the fat of fish and other animals.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. now
plan to excavate 73,000 cubic meters (2.5 million cubic feet) of
soil from the airport and heat it to a high temperature in storage
tanks until the dioxin is removed. The project is expected to be
completed in four years. More...
DA NANG, Vietnam — In the
tropical climate of central Vietnam, weeds and shrubs seem to grow
everywhere — except here.
Forty years after the United
States stopped spraying herbicides in the jungles of Southeast Asia
in the hopes of denying cover to Vietcong fighters and North
Vietnamese troops, an air base here is one of about two dozen former
American sites that remain polluted with an especially toxic strain
of dioxin, the chemical contaminant in Agent Orange that has been
linked to cancers, birth defects and other diseases.
More...
Project Highlights:
Bob
Feldman Fund - In 2006, Bob Feldman and his wife
Nancy established the Bob Feldman Fund to support families
in Vietnam who have been impacted by exposure to Agent
Orange/Dioxin. During the war Bob was stationed in Bien Hoa,
Vietnam and died in May 2006 of service connected lymphoma.
Since his death, Since his death Bob's family and
friends, as well as complete strangers to the Feldman's have
contributed over $100,000 to help more than300 families in
Vietnam who are caring for severely disabled children.
With our partner organization, the Vietnam Red Cross, WLP
provides support for poor families in central Vietnam to
help them improve their income, obtain health care and
rehabilitation services, to make home improvements or to pay
for schooling or vocational training.
Your direct people-to-people donation
will help support the work of WLP's Bob Feldman Fund
to assist poor families in Vietnam who are caring for
severely disabled children.
Bob
Feldman Fund
Autism
Teacher Training Program: While it is not yet
known if autism is associated with exposure to Agent Orange,
there is significant evidence that some autism
spectrum disorders may be associated with environmental
exposure. Vietnam, has a large number of children with
autism. For several years WLP has been working with the Gia
Dinh Special School in HCM City that works with children
with autism and as well as children with other developmental
disabilities. We have an opportunity to send two of the Gia
Dinh School teachers that work with children with autism to
the Morgan Center for Autism in San Jose, CA for a
short-term training program starting in September. There
they will learn new techniques and tools that are effective
in working with children with autism and will adapt what
they learn when they return to Vietnam.
Your donation will help support the cost of their
training and to hold workshops in Vietnam upon their return
to train other teachers.
March 05, 2010 During the Vietnam War, the US military
dropped more bombs on supply routes in Laos than it
did on all of Europe during World War II. ... By Michael
Sullivan
Listen
I received an e-mail a few weeks ago
from a colleague in Laos regarding yet another deadly
accident. On Feb. 22 a cluster bomb that the U.S. dropped...
read entire article
Keep Informed:
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related to Agent Orange, unexploded ordinance or other war legacy
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About the artwork
in the top panel: The first three works are by the Vietnamese artist
Vu Giang Huong. Giang Huong's late husband, Dr Le Cao
Dai is profiled in the third painting. Dr Dai was one of the leading
Vietnamese scientists researching the impacts of Agent Orange. The
last painting of the girl erasing Dioxin is by the artist
Nguyen Du. This work was commissioned by WLP for a special exhibit
on Agent Orange by Vietnamese artists . This and other the 29 other
works are available for exhibit in the US.
War Legacies Project 144 Lower
Bartonsville Rd, Chester, VT 05143
Autism
Teacher Training Program: While it is not yet
known if autism is associated with exposure to Agent Orange,
there is significant evidence that some autism
spectrum disorders may be associated with environmental
exposure. Vietnam, has a large number of children with
autism. For several years WLP has been working with the Gia
Dinh Special School in HCM City that works with children
with autism and as well as children with other developmental
disabilities. We have an opportunity to send two of the Gia
Dinh School teachers that work with children with autism to
the Morgan Center for Autism in San Jose, CA for a
short-term training program starting in September. There
they will learn new techniques and tools that are effective
in working with children with autism and will adapt what
they learn when they return to Vietnam. 
