Agent Orange
We then left for Friendship Village, a place dedicated to aiding the victims of Agent Orange. During the Vietnam War, America sprayed the jungles of Vietnam with a pesticide in order to kill the plants and expose the positions of the soldiers. The pesticides were named after different colors, Agent Orange being the most famous. Agent Orange contained the chemical Dioxin, a toxin that not only causes health problems to those directly exposed to it, but has also been proven to cause extreme physical/mental defects to the generations after them. However, even though these side effects have been proven in relation to Agent Orange, the United States have refused to provide aid and admit misuse of chemicals. Instead, an American Veteran independently founded Friendship Village, a place where disabled kids are given housing, medical care, living aid, education, and work. The kids create cards and needlepoint art to sell, and the income can be sent to family back at home. Veterans also live in the village occasionally.
Now, I have worked with disabled kids before. I worked a month this past year for MyLIFEspeaks, a foundation based in Haiti, that is dedicated to special needs/disabled children. We were actually recognized as a Best Buddies International chapter, which was huge. Anyway, I have worked with disabled kids before, but it was shockingly different. In Haiti, the disabilities are natural, a random chance of nature. In Friendship Village, you look around and see kids with man-caused disabilities. If the United States had not dropped those pesticides, their lives would look completely different. This was a pretty tough pill to swallow, and the ignorance of America’s mistakes only makes it worse in my mind. I had no idea about Agent Orange prior to this trip, and I don’t think many people know about it. I feel a kind of responsibility to spread the word about this. Even though we can’t take back Agent Orange and its effects on people, we can make a difference by preventing this chemical warfare in the future. Spark the conversation.
The Vietnam War Veterans
Among the other activities we participated in at Friendship Village, my favorite had to be our interaction with the war veterans. Correction: volleyball with the war veterans. Now, I don’t know if you have ever played volleyball, but it is not an easy-going, elderly-safe sport. The veterans took volleyball seriously, and they were seriously good. Traditionally, casual volleyball is purely a game of trying to keep the ball up- no strategy. However, the veterans displayed unbelievable control and played 3 touch, meaning someone would pass the ball, someone would set it, and then someone would hit/tip it over. For an older generation, they could move. We soon joined in on the fun, but if you were a consistently weak link, they would move you to the less involved areas of the court. They came towin. Since I played volleyball in high school, I was quick to join in on the fun. I played front row, both middle and outside. This is peculiar for many reasons, 1 being, I am a (relatively) short person whose shoulders barely pass the bottom of the net. Secondly, the court is comprised of 6 players, 3 in the back, and 3 in the front. However, I am a very competitive person, so I would take passes to the outside and middle. The veterans looked doubtful at first, but after I stuffed a hit from the other team (translation: blocked a pass from the other side) the veterans quickly changed their opinions. I had so much fun chilling with them and even though we didn’t speak the same language, we could communicate just by interacting with each other.
I did have the opportunity to speak with the veterans through a translator. I asked many questions about the war and Agent Orange, but one particular interaction really impacted the group and myself. I asked the question that many people in our group were thinking: how are you able to forgive Americans for what we did? Why are you so willing to love and be loved by us? A veteran spoke for all of them, saying “People are made to love, so forgiveness is easy because that is what we are meant to do. I cannot be angry at American soldiers because they were fighting for what they thought was right, to protect their families and their country. They were following orders”. The ability for them to let go of their grudges and past hardships was astonishing to say the least. I still struggle to comprehend their strength and kind character. Veterans of war are normally able to move on because they aren't in an environment that triggers regular thoughts about the war. However, Vietnam War veterans do not posses this common trait. America’s release of Agent Orange not only hurt and effected soldiers, but also their families abilities to continue their family line.
Welcome to the Luau
Because Friendship Village was an emotionally heavy place, the group was pretty exhausted and low on energy. Our lovebug of the week, Charlotte, set up a luau for us, complete with coconuts to drink, and a piñata. The piñata was the most fun by far, everyone in the group was able to get a good whack in because the piñata was particularly hard to break. I thought it was pretty strange that the piñata had a woven wooden frame, but thought it was just a difference of cultures. Either way, the piñata endured a beat down. We found out why the following morning, when our guide gasped at the annihilated remains of the piñata. Except, we were told, it was not a piñata, but an OFFERING USED IN SACRIFICES TO ANCESTORS. WE STRAIGHT UP BEAT THE SHIT OUTTA A DEAD OFFERING. Whoops.
