We brought prominent victims and spokespeople from Vietnam to Los Angeles, Washington State, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Washington DC and other cities.
Agent Orange Justice Tour Makes a Stop in Atlanta! (photos)
Join Pham The Minh and Nguyen Thi Hien, direct from Vietnam! Hear their personal stories & learn about the legacy of Agent Orange! Take action to heal the wounds of war and achieve justice for Agent Orange victims! Today, millions of Vietnamese suffer the effects of chemical defoliants used by the United States during the Vietnam War. Agent Orange, which contains dioxin (one of the deadliest substances known to science), continues to cause death and sickness to millions of Vietnamese and many U.S. veterans.
More than thirty years after the war, Agent Orange remains in areas of the land and water of Vietnam, causing horrific birth defects to several generations of children.
Pham The Minh, whose parents were contaminated by Agent Orange in Quang Tri Province where the sprayings were most intensive, was born after the war with deformed lower limbs and other health problems. Minh’s whole family – from his younger sister who suffers congenital heart and lung disease to his parents who were directly sprayed – has faced countless hardships because of their medical conditions. Minh, now age 33, has emerged an important voice in the campaign for justice. This past May, he traveled to Paris where he testified at an International Tribunal in Support of Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange.
Nguyen Thi Hien, a dyamic leader and Member of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA) and President of the Danang Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin. Danang is one of the sites of the hot spots where dioxin from Agent Orange remains in the water and soil, continuing to poison the land and people. VAVA is the only organization serving, representing and advocating for Vietnam’s Agent Orange victims. Formerly she was the Director of the Social Affairs Department of the Danang Red Cross.
Now momentum is building to achieve justice for these victims of Agent Orange!
The 5th Agent Orange victim tour will focus national attention on grass roots and legislative efforts to achieve a comprehensive assistance to the victims in Vietnam and to the children and grandchildren of U.S. veterans exposed to Agent Orange as well as to Vietnamese Americans affected.
We will confront Dow Chemical at its Dow Live Earth Run for Water in cities across the country. Dow, along with Monsanto and 35 others, is a corporate manufacturer of Agent Orange, which made huge profits from this chemical weapon and has refused to meet its responsibility to the victims. We will be there to say that Dow cannot try to sanitize its image by claiming it is for clean water when it’s dirty products continue to poison the water, soil and bodies of people in Vietnam, the U.S., and other places including South Korea, Canada and Bhopal India. Join us on Sunday April 18th NYC and Los Angeles.
[pdf-embedder url=”https://vn-agentorange.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/5th-AO-Justice-Tour-of-US.pdf”]
April 14-20, 2010 Los Angeles
• April 17 Ventura Summit, organized by California Coalition of Veterans & Military Families, CA (Veterans For Peace, Vietnam Veterans Against the War and Military Families Speak Out) (Attended by about 70 people)
• April 18 7:30 AM Protest at Dow Live Earth Run for Water Los Angeles, 8:00 AM, Exposition Park, gather at 39th & South Figueroa, N.E. corner at 7:30 AM. (Attended by about 25 people with signs, 200 orange balloons, banners, etc.)
• April 18 1:00 pm, address a community forum.
• April 18 5:00 PM Pham The Minh participates in the Howard Zinn Memorial (1922-2010) at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 3300 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. (Attended by 1,000 people)
• April 19 8:00 AM, radio interview with station KPFK Riseup! with Sonali Kolhatkar
• April 20 6:00 PM at KIWA Education & Cultural Center, 3741 West 8th Street, Los Angeles, in K-Town at 8th St & Hobart. (Attended by about 30 people)
April 21-25 Chicago
• April 22 7:00 pm Loyola University, Chicago speech attended by mainly Vietnamese American students
• April 23 8:00 am Jones High school – addressed 2 classes of about 30 children each
• April 23 Noon Press Conference
• April 24 6:30 pm Dinner with VFP Chicago Chapter
• April 25 Meeting with local Vietnamese family.
April 26-28 Atlanta
• April 26 6:00 pm show on local community radio
• April 27 noon address gathering of People’s Agenda (civil rights community organization) (about 60 people)
• April 27 1:30 PM address Georgia State, Amnesty International class forum on Health & Poverty
• April 27 7:30 PM, Event at American Friends Service Committee, see AFSC Atlanta blogspot and Youtube interview by Atlanta Action Center
• April 28 11 AM press event in front of Congressman John Lewis’ office and meeting with Congressman Lewis’ staff.
• April 28 PM Visit to Martin Luther King Center
April 28 – May 10 New York/Washington DC
New York
• April 29 10:30 am Meeting with local organizers
• April 29 2:00 pm photo shoot at Ten Ton Studio, Navy Yards
• April 29 07:00 pm Orientation meeting
• April 30 2:00 pm radio station WBAI interview with Biju Matthew at New York Taxi Workers Alliance Office
• May 1 sightseeing
• May 2 Pham The Minh spoke at the Disarmament Rally at Times Square (attended by 15,000 people)
• May 3 Sightseeing
Washington DC
• May 4 2:00 pm meeting with staff of Congressman Henry Waxman
• May 4 4:30 pm meeting with Congressman Bernie Sanders
• May 4 6:00 pm Community Meeting sponsored by: US Labor Against the War/DC Labor for Peace & Justice, IVAW, etc.
• May 5 10:00 am meeting with staff of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
• May 5 12:00 pm meeting with staff of Congressman Bob Filner
• May 5 4:00 pm meeting with Congressman Mike Michaud
• May 5, 1:00 pm brief meeting with Congressman Dennis Kucinich
• May 5 6:00 – 8:00 pm Happy Hour, Chief Ike’s Mambo Room, 1725 Columbia Road, NW
• May 6 10:30 am Meeting with staff of Congresswoman Chellie Pingree
• May 6 1:00 pm Meeting with Congressman Eni Faleomavaega
• May 6 2:00 pm Senate Foreign Relations Committee
• May 6 3:00 pm Meeting with Congressman John Conyers, Jr.
• May 6 4:00 pm Meeting with Barbara Lee’s staff
New York
• May 7 1:30 pm Meeting with the President of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.
• May 8 7:00 PM Reception for Board and Core members, New York
• May 9 2:00 PM Public Reception & a Report on March 2010 Veterans Return to Vietnam at the Brecht Forum, 451 West St
May 10-12 Western Washington
May 11, Speak to students at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA
May 12, Sightseeing in Seattle, WA
May 13-16 San Francisco
• May 13 1:00 pm Lunch with VAORRC supporters,
• May 13 4:00 pm Laney College, Oakland — Prof. Roger Chung
• May 13 6:30 pm APALA – Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Alameda Chapter dinner, Berkeley, Josie Camacho
• May 14 7:00 pm Public Event at SF Veterans Building, Rm. 223
• May 15 2 pm Vietnamese American Community BBQ
• May 16 Leave for Vietnam
