We are now starting along the arduous and difficult road leading toward reconciliation in Vietnam. The many years of war have created bitterness and wounds which will take a long time to heal. But we hope that the killing and destruction will cease. that the children of Vietnam will be able to grow without fear. that the nights will no longer mean terror and anguish. but rest and quiet. that the days will no longer be filled with the clamor of war and the fleeing of refugees. but with work in the rice fields and the rebuilding of devastated towns and villages. The war has been going on for many years and its aftermath is terrible. Eight million tons of bombs have been dropped since 1965three times more than the Allied forces dropped on all fronts throughout the Second World War. We do not know with certainty the exact number of individuals who have been killed or wounded. However. according to American sources. the number of dead and wounded combatants is 2.8 million. The number of civilians killed in South Vietnam alone is estimated at 400.000. the number of wounded at 900.000. and the number of refugees at 8 million which is nearly half of South Vietnams population. It is not often realized that most of this incredible bombardment. destruction. and loss of life fell not on North Vietnam but on the South. on the territory of our ally. and the greatest destructive impact of the war has been on the land and people we sought to defend. We are now engaged in debate on the propriety of helping rebuild North Vietnam and not. as the above discussion indicates. aid to the South Vietnamese who have so severely suffered.
Keywords matched
refugees