VietNamNet Bridge – Locals in Lien Tien and Dong Son hamlets of Mai Phu commune in Ha Tinh Province are not worried about hunger, poverty or harsh weather, but the numerous cancer-related deaths in their sleepy villages.

A cancer couple in Lien Tien village.

Pham Thi Than, 50, in Lien Tien Village, said she has attended four funerals of relatives who died of cancer in her life.

“None of the four lived more than 40 years,” Than said, pointing to an altar with spiraling incense smoke, with pictures of young people, including her brother and son.

Cancer has attacked both young and old, men and women, putting families in distress.

Phan Thi Anh, an official of the commune’s authorities, said she had sometimes attended several funerals a month.

“All of them died of cancer. They were strong and worked hard until one day doctors said they had cancer. And they died just months later,” Anh said.

Phan Ba Hien, 60, told reporters that he has received “a death sentence” as he has kidney cancer. He remained calm when talking about his disease and the treatment, but he felt worried about his wife, 50, who has gullet cancer.

According to Le Chat, Head of Lien Tien Hamlet, the number of locals dying of cancer has been increasing rapidly in the last six years.

“There is one family, where all the five members have cancer. Four locals died of cancer within one month recently. In 2013, more than 10 locals died of cancer in Lien Tien and Son Phu Hamlets. The oldest person died at the age 70, while the youngest was 22,” Chat said.

There are many empty houses in the hamlets. Obsessed by the relatives’ deaths, a lot of local residents have left the home villages to escape death. The houses are just the places for the altars for the deceased, while the living have to leave to protect themselves.

The people do not know where to turn. They suspect that polluted water is the cause for the cancer cases.

Phan Thi Anh, a farmer, said locals have not used well water for the last six years, believing that water sources are contaminated with toxic chemicals.

“We have to use rainwater, or walk to neighboring areas to bring water back. The clean water here is as expensive as gold, VND80,000-120,000 per cubic meters, 10-12 times higher than the clean water prices set by the state,” Anh said.

Le Doan Chinh, a former chemistry lecturer of a university, who has been living in the village since his retirement, also thinks the main reason behind the increasing high number of cancer patients in the locality is the polluted water.

“Lien Tien and Dong Son were the areas where pesticide, DDT and 666, the very toxic chemicals, were put underground. Therefore, I have reasons to say that the cancer cases have been caused by the water contaminated with arsenic, the substance in pesticides made in the 1960s.

Phap Luat