HUMANITARIAN, VIETNAM

The Legacy of Agent Orange in Vietnam

Agent Orange still shapes lives in northern Vietnam decades after the war. Justin Mott has followed that story since 2007, including a young woman named Nu, whom he visits every year.

Black-and-white photo of many children lying side by side in a trough, mouths open as caregivers feed them with spoons from above.

Black-and-white image of a young boy looking up at the camera from a dim stairwell, framed by rusted metal railings.

Infant asleep in a crib as a caregiver gently rests a hand on the baby's head.

Close-up of a person's face in deep shadow, only the nose and lips subtly illuminated.

Child crouching on the bathroom floor in a corner, looking toward the camera.

Medical professional administering a vaccine to a patient's shoulder in a close-up, black-and-white photo.

Black-and-white photo of a baby lying on its back, gazing upward with wide eyes; crib slats are visible above.

Close-up black-and-white portrait of a person resting their temple on their fingers, looking thoughtful or somber.

Blurred black-and-white scene of a masked person holding a child, with a reaching hand toward the left amid motion blur

Child crouches on a tiled bathroom floor in a doorway, holding knees and looking toward the camera in a dim, worn room with a faucet on the wall behind.

Group of bare-chested children lying on a patterned tiled floor, looking up with tired expressions as a caregiver reaches toward them.

Boy peering through a circular hoop on a playground, looking at the camera in a black-and-white shot.

The Human Legacy of Agent Orange

Decades after the last bombs fell, Agent Orange still shapes lives in Vietnam. The dioxin sprayed during the war passed into the soil, the water, and the generations that followed. This project follows those consequences in the north of the country.

Ba Vi and Friendship Village

Near Hanoi, the Ba Vi Orphanage and Elderly Home cares for 124 children who were severely disabled and abandoned at birth, many of them believed to be indirect casualties of Agent Orange.

At Friendship Village, also near Hanoi, I met Nu in 2007. A granddaughter of the war, she is blind, mute, mostly deaf, and lives with autism. In 2008 we held an exhibition to raise the funds that let her stay at the village, where she is cared for every day. Every year since, we have brought her home for the Lunar New Year.

Why Justin Keeps Photographing It

These pictures are a record of the human cost of a war that ended decades ago, and of the dignity of the people still carrying it. If you want to publish, collaborate, or help, I would like to hear from you.

Read more about my connection with Nu. You can also donate to the Friendship Village to support the people in this project.