Dutch government neglected Afghan war veterans

This video from the USA says about itself:

Veterans to Congress: Rethink Afghanistan

22 May 2009

Four days before the U.S. House of Representatives was to vote on a $100 billion war supplemental bill 11 Iraq and Afghanistan war vets traveled to Washington D.C. to tell members of Congress to Rethink Afghanistan.

Translated from NOS TV in the Netherlands:

Ombudsman: Afghanistan veterans did not get good help after roadside bomb explosion

Today, 12:08

Three Dutch soldiers who in 2009 in Afghanistan drove over a roadside bomb were then abandoned by the Ministry of Defence. After their return to the Netherlands they were not helped adequately, says National Ombudsman and Veterans Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen.

One of the soldiers broke his arm by the explosion, the two others were unconscious. After the event during the mission in Afghanistan, they had a few years of physical complaints which were not dealt with properly.

Van Zutphen calls it alarming that signals for a long time have not been recognized, even not by the medical service of the Ministry. One of the three veterans had, back in the Netherlands, many back problems. He received physiotherapy and painkillers, but the symptoms became worse. Only two years after the accident he was allowed to have an MRI scan and then it turned out that he had a damaged intervertebral disc.

In conversation

The Ombudsman finds that the Department has failed in its duty of care and worries about soldiers in a similar situation. Van Zutphen wants Defence to make a guideline for research to be done if soldiers survive a bombing.

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