Press Release: Leading Non-Profits Host Documentary Screening to Raise Awareness about Veterans Suffering from Toxic Burn Pit Exposure
For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Rosie Torres, Executive Director, Burn Pits 360 (361-816-4015)
Ware Wendell, Executive Director, Texas Watch (512-381-1111)
(Austin, Texas) Burn Pits 360, a national veterans organization, and Texas Watch, a statewide citizen advocacy organization, are co-hosting a screening this evening of Delay, Deny, Hope You Die: How America Poisoned Its Soldiers, an award-winning documentary by Gregory Lovett on the plight of veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq who are suffering from exposure to toxins from open burn pits operated on our military bases.
Thousands of our veterans are falling ill with rare cancers and deadly respiratory diseases after inhaling burn pit fumes during their service overseas. Instead of properly disposing of waste in incinerators, our military waste, including chemicals, paint, batteries, plastic, military equipment, and even body parts, was doused with jet fuel and set ablaze in open burn pits. Thick plumes of toxic smoke washed over our military personnel on a daily basis. The disease and death many military families are experiencing today has been called the New Agent Orange. Our veterans are not receiving the treatment and help they need from the VA.
CPT (Ret.) Le Roy Torres, founder of Burn Pits 360, stated, “As we approach a decade of delay and denial, it is our moral obligation as a state and a nation to care for our military heroes, especially those serving a dual role as first responders who place their lives on the line for their state and country at a moment’s notice. We are not asking for a hand out; we are asking for medical care, justified compensation benefits for those who no longer can serve their dual role."
Efforts to help veterans were stymied at the Texas Legislature last session when HB 283, which would have created a registry of burn pit victims in the state, failed to pass the Senate.
"Our veterans put their lives on the line and took care of us overseas," said Ware Wendell, Executive Director of Texas Watch. "It's only right that we take care of them in their time of need. The time has come for the Texas Legislature to walk the walk and help our wounded warriors."
Delay, Deny, Hope You Die, a powerful documentary on this pressing health and safety issue, has won multiple awards on the film festival circuit. The groups are co-hosting a free screening of the documentary at the Alamo Drafthouse Mueller theater on March 7th from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. A Q&A with the filmmaker and leading advocates will follow the film. Tickets for the event may be reserved at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/delay-deny-hope-you-die-austin-tx-tickets-41450436371.
###
Burn Pits 360 is a 501(c)(3) non-profit veterans organization dedicated to reintegrating, restoring, and building resistance through facilitating the unmet needs of warriors and their families through outreach, advocacy, education, and research. For more information, go to www.burnpits360.org.
For 20 years, Texas Watch, a non-partisan, non-profit citizen advocacy organization, has fought for the rights of Texas families and consumers, advocating for laws that ensure accountability through our courts and improve safety for workers, patients, and communities. For more information, go to www.texaswatch.org.
Learn Category: