Fred A. Wilcox’s Scorched Earth essentially sheds light on the chemical warfare narrative that took place in Vietnam, which tends to be “whited-out” of historical writings in regards to evaluating events of war. Overall, Wilcox shares the events that took place and its repercussions on future generations of Vietnamese folks.
One of the more interesting sentiments was when Mr. Son, Dang Van Son’s father, was asked whether “victims will receive compensation for their suffering” (Wilcox 2011, p. 82). His response was laughter and also that he was very hopeful that they would, but is also pessimistic as to whether it will happen or not. I found this particularly interesting because for one, I’m not sure there is a particular amount of reparations that can be given to compensate for the actions that they have done. Also, that reparations haven’t been given to these communities already, whether by way of monetary compensation or to find some sort of “cure” or way to mitigate future generation from being “Agent Orange babies.”
Question: Why does it always seem that reparations can only be given to a community when they are on their last legs, rather than when they needed it most?
Source: Wilcox, Fred A. Scorched Earth: Legacies of Chemical Warfare in Vietnam. Seven Stories Press, 2011.
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