Mai Thi Loi and her son Kien in 2016
When I first met Mai Thi Loi in 2015 at her home in the province of Quang Binh, Vietnam, her oldest son Kien, 31, was chained to a wall in an inner room, naked and moaning.
As his mother explained between sobs, Kien had been prone to outbursts of violent rage for years. He had tried to burn down a neighbor’s house and ripped off his clothes when Mrs Loi tried to keep him covered. Kien’s younger brother Cuong was also prone to outbursts, although less violent. Her third son Hung sat smiling amiably through the discussion.
Our interpreter, who was deeply upset by the meeting, told us that the nearest mental hospital was in the city of Hue. Even if Kien were admitted, Mrs. Loi would still have to visit him and provide food and care, which would require many days of travel. It would also mean surrendering Kien to others, perhaps forever. So Mai Thi Loi remained in limbo – torn between love for her damaged son and fear of his rage.
My next meeting with Mrs Loi, a year later, was less wrenching. In the intervening months The Advocacy Project had raised $1,200 for her family and Mrs Loi had decided to purchase a breeding buffalo. I went to visit her with Ai Hoang, a Peace Fellow (student volunteer) and an outreach worker from AEPD, our Vietnamese partner.
At one point we asked Mrs Loi if she would like to give her buffalo a name, triggering a lively discussion among neighbors who had gathered to watch. Eventually they came up with the name “Opportunity,” which seemed appropriate.
Mai Thi Loi was a bit puzzled by it all but delighted to take ownership of Opportunity, who would prove to be worth her weight in gold. Her sons, however, were in worse shape than they had been the previous year. Kien was still chained and Mrs Loi had been forced to confine her second son earlier in the year. She later wept on Ai’s shoulder in her kitchen.
Such is the life of a family forever damaged by Agent Orange, the chemical herbicide that was sprayed over Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia during the war.
Mrs Loi’s husband was exposed to Agent Orange while serving in South Vietnam during the war and returned to Quang Binh in the North to pass dioxin poisoning to his wife and family. Their first two children were born without symptoms, but the next three – all sons – were badly affected. Their father died in 1989, leaving Mai Thi Loi to cope alone.
In the years since that visit in 2016, AEPD and AP have raised funds for fourteen more Agent Orange caregivers in Quang Binh, including Mrs Loi. We have also followed their progress through students from the US (Peace Fellows) who have volunteered at AEPD for the summer.
Our 2025 volunteer, Angie Zheng, visited Mrs Loi last summer and found that her second son Cuong was taking medication and was better. But Kien, now 40, was still chained up. Mao Thi Loi herself was approaching 70 and clearly exhausted. She sobbed on Angie’s shoulder as she had done ten years earlier with Angie’s predecessor Ai Hoang.
What, she asked, would happen to her sons when she herself passed away?
Mai Thi Loi and her youngest son Hung take possession of their breeding bullock Opportunity in 2016. Opportunity was the first animal to be purchased for an Agent Orange caregiver by AP and AEPD.
Next – Agent Orange at a Crossroads
*
Posted By Iain Guest
Posted Jan 20th, 2026