The U.S.’ Double Standard

With regards to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, British Petroleum had agreed to pay $20 billion for a compensation fund to pay for economic losses incurred by the people living in the coastal area and for environmental cleanup costs. This outcome reminds one of another agreement made by the U.S. and Vietnam last week.

The U.S. and Vietnam have reached an agreement on a compensation amount due to damages by the U.S. chemical weapon Agent Orange. The U.S. is willing to pay $300 million. This is the first time both countries’ leaders and experts reach an agreement — 35 years after Vietnam War. However, to the local people, this is a very late compensation.

10 percent of Vietnam’s jungle was destroyed; millions of people were poisoned by Agent Orange. Vietnamese are suffering from cancer, genetic mutation and other diseases, and it passes on to the next generations. All they get is $300 million of compensation and this amount has yet to be approved by U.S. Congress.

According to the U.S. Ford Foundation, U.S. Congress had only approved $3 million for the victims of Agent Orange in 2007. It is a huge difference compared to $20 billion. It is obvious to note the U.S.’s double standard.

The U.S. is a victim and a culprit in these two incidents but the outcomes are completely different. Compare both incidents: the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has affected the local fishing and tourism industry which will take another 10 years to recover, whereas in South Vietnam, land cannot be cultivated due to Agent Orange. People are suffering from miscarriage, deformity and all sorts of complications.

Oil spills are terrible disasters for our environment, but Vietnamese rights, on the other hand, were forgotten with the end of the war and the ignorance of international media.

During the meeting with BP, Obama’s administration kept on emphasizing fairness and timeliness to compensate the people and businesses. But for those generations of Vietnamese living with the effects of Agent Orange, who has ever fought for their rights?