UNICEF’s Photo of the Year features Vietnam girl
Print UNICEF Germany’s 2010 Photo of the Year features a 9-year-old Vietnamese girl struck with Agent Orange.
The winning photo, by America-based photojournalist Ed Kashi captures a slice of life of Nguyen Thi Ly, a third generation suffering from Agent Orange in the central province of Da Nang which was heavily affected by the War.
Born into a family infected with Agent Orange, Ly suffers from serious birth defects and deformities.
Bed ridden from birth, Ly only started learning to walk at the age of 5, first used her voice at 6, and went to school at 7, thanks to her family’s tireless effort to integrate her into life.
The winning photo featuring Ly
Ly’s mother is also a victim with poor health and a deformed face, who inherited Agent Orange damaged genes from her father.
It is not a rare story in a contaminated land which used to be an American base of operations where tons of Agent Orange were stored for defoliation missions like Danang.
Agent Orange contains dioxins that are known to cause cancer and damage genes. The effects of the toxic substance can be seen among Vietnamese people to this day: cancer, immune disorders and severe deformities.
Through a project for the non-governmental organization “Children of Vietnam” which supported Agent Orange victims, photographer Ed Kashi had come to live with Ly’s family for 4 days to make his photo series.
“Kashi excellently uses strong light and shadow effects to emphasize the longing of a disabled girl to lead a normal life”, said Jury Chairman Klaus Honnef, Art Historian and Journalist of the winning photo.
Despite her ill health, Ly has been doing well at school and received awards for satisfying performances.
With a defected lung, Ly has to endure pain for every breath she takes.
Her only wish is to be able to breathe normally.
