Agent Orange (349)

I found an article on CNN about the effects of Agent Orange on children. Agent Orange was a chemical substance used during the Vietnam War to clear vegetation but it was a ridiculously strong chemical that never should have been released into the environment. Agent Orange still affects war veterans who have developed skin conditions and other problems because of the wide spread usage of it. A small statement before a long series of pictures of children deformed by the chemical reads: “The following photos depict the devastating effects on humans believed to be caused by Agent Orange. Please be aware that the story of these innocent children contains images that some may find unsettling.”

If you click on this link, you can see the 10 pictures they have posted in a slide show. They wouldn’t allow me to copy and paste the pictures.

The very first photo is of a happy looking child who is standing up in its crib, holding their self up with their deformed hands. Their hands are more like fists with no distinct fingers but have nails growing out of the stubs. It’s really sad to see. This picture definitely has the impact they wanted for the first photo shown.

In the third picture, they show a child with flaky skin. It almost looks like they were burned somehow. There aren’t any deformities that you can see, just the horribly dry, brown skin.

In the fifth picture, a boy is walking in the hall. He doesn’t really have feet. In fact, it looks like someone amputated his legs just below where his knees bend. He appears to be walking on his knees.

In the ninth picture, you just see jars on shelves… until you look closer. You realize that these jars contain stillborn infants. Its really too hard to even look at.

There are other pictures in between those of course but these are the few I could distinctly tell what was going on. A lot of these children were abandoned at birth and they live in the hospital they are cared for at.