Remnants of Vietnam War linger

Remnants of Vietnam War linger, Project RENEW strives to minimize damage

by Chelsey Abercrombie

 
Long after the atrocities of war have ceased, a horrific legacy still remains.
A crowd of longtime Athenians packed into Ciné’s event space on Friday night to hear Athens native Chuck Searcy, founder of the Athens Observer, Observer TV and a former member of the Carter Administration, speak about his most recent work with Project RENEW.
The charity, which stands for Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War, was formed in 2001 by Quang Tri Department of Foreign Affairs and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. It seeks to rid Vietnam of all “explosive remnants of war” left behind by American forces in the Vietnam conflict.
Searcy appeared with two Vietnamese colleagues, Ngo Xuan Hien and Luong Tuan Hung, who also spoke about the legacy American forces left behind for the small South Asian nation to combat.
“Most Americans probably think the war was over a long time ago, and that was it,” Searcy said. “But for the Vietnamese, it continues.”
Searcy and his colleagues showed a video illustrating the devastation ERW still causes to the people of Vietnam to this day, after which Ngo explained the situation further in detail.
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