Date Killed: July 4, 2003

CPI Assistance: Family Bereavement Grant; emergency medical treatment; nutritional support.

It was 7:45pm on July 4, 2003, and a group of twelve people was working late in Quy Nhon city, Binh Dinh province. The muggy heat from the day still lingered in the evening air. The people sat side by side in a circle, near the entrance to the scrap yard where they’d brought their finds from the day. Scattered at their feet was a mix of various materials, some more valuable than others. In the quiet air, they sorted the scrap that they’d collected: plastic with plastic; rubber with rubber; aluminum with aluminum.

They were all farmers from the outskirts of Quy Nhon city, but at this time of the year, their job was to go from house to house on their bicycles to buy scrap from families in the district. When the sun started to go down, their day would unofficially be over and they all would gather at the scrap yard in order to resell the scrap at a profit. Their workday would end after they’d finished sorting.

Doan Phu Hiep sat among them, exhausted after a long day out in the sun on his bicycle. The thought of his wife and new baby at home, preparing dinner for him, kept his spirits up and provided incentive to finish his work quickly.

Someone sitting next to him shoved one of his pieces at him. “Hiep, no one will buy this from you unless you get the dirt off it.” Hiep shrugged, took the piece of aluminum, and held it up in the fading light. The object was a bit bigger than an egg, and though it was nearly completely encased by hard red dirt, he could make out a shimmer of shiny aluminum underneath. The dirt would be easy to get off.

He reached over and tapped the piece against a chunk of junk metal in order to dislodge the dirt from the outside.

What no one knew was that Hiep was holding in his hand a live 40mm grenade.

Half of the group collapsed where they sat and the other half was propelled backwards by the blast wave as the grenade exploded in the middle of the group.

Hiep was killed immediately. His right hand was reduced to shreds, and fragments penetrated his chest and face. Five more people were injured, including four women – one of them pregnant – and one man. The injured were transported to Quy Nhon General hospital for first aid and further treatment. The last survivor was released from the hospital on July 17, 2003.

CPI provided Hiep’s widow and 7-month old son with a family bereavement grant that paid for Hiep’s funeral services. The five survivors received assistance from CPI to cover their medical expenses in entirety.