Agent Orange Justice Tour 2015
- Hosted by the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC)
- Joined in New York by Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) and Veterans For Peace (VFP)
- Joined in Washington DC by Veterans For Peace (VFP), Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), and Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance (COVVHA)
The Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) delegation included:
- VAVA President Nguyễn Văn Rinh
- Special Advisor Nguyễn Minh Y
- Foreign Relations Director Phạm Trương
- Đồng Nai Province VAVA President Đào Thị Nguyên
- Second generation AO victim Trần Thị Hoan
- Nguyễn Trọng Phú, interpreter
Program Preview
- December 8-13: New York City
- December 14-18: Washington DC
- December 18-20: New York City
As we approach the holiday season, we are welcoming our 10th Vietnam Agent Orange delegation to the United States. This is an exciting moment as we open the next stage of our campaign to achieve justice for Agent Orange victims in Vietnam and the United States. Additional photos at 2015agentorangejusticetour.wordpress.com
This visit comes in response to a visit to Vietnam made by Campaign Board members Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Jeanne Mirer and Merle Ratner to support the work of our partner organization, the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) which represents over 365,000 Agent Orange victims. Bishop Gumbleton spent time at several centers for young Agent Orange victims in January and February 2013.
Delegation from Vietnam
Nguyễn Văn Rinh President
Nguyễn Minh Y VAVA Special Advisor
Phạm Trương, VAVA Director of International Relations
Đào Thị Nguyên, President of VAVA Đồng Nai
Trần Thị Hoan 2nd generation victims
Nguyễn Trọng Phú interpreter
Tour Photo Album
Arrival in Manhattan
Alma Mathews House
Meeting
Front from left: Le Dai Duong, Cathy Dang, Tran Thi Hoan, Socheatta Meng, and Chhaya Chhoum. Back from left: Nguyen Trong Phu, Merle Ratner, Dao Thi Nguyen, Ngo Thanh Nhan, Nguyen Van Rinh, Pham Truong and Nguyen Minh Y.
Welcome dinner with the Vietnam Mission to the UN
with Ambassador Phạm Thị Kim Anh (fourth from right), Susan Schnall (second left) and Hà Mi (left)
Meeting with faith leaders
Organized by Dough Hostetter, Mennonite Central Committee, December 10, 2015
Meeting with faith leaders
organized by Dough Hostetter, Mennonite Central Committee, at 777 UN Plaza
Public event at Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Center of 1199
Public event at Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Center of 1199
Public event at Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Center of 1199
Public event at Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Center of 1199
Public event at Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Center of 1199
Painting donated by artist Bibi Tran for fund raising
Public event at Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Center of 1199
chaired by Susan Schnall and Frank Velgara
Public event at Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Center of 1199
Public event at Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Center of 1199
chaired by Susan Schnall and Frank Velgara
VAVA meeting with Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Most Precious Blood Church, 109 Mulberry Street
VAVA meeting with Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Most Precious Blood Church, 109 Mulberry Street
Fundraising event at Jeanne & Frank Mirer’s home
Veterans For Peace Holiday Event
Goddard Riverside Community Center
Veterans For Peace Holiday Event
Goddard Riverside Community Center
Hải-Bình Nguyễn, and friends in the International Guest House
Delegation with Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh
Delegation with US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Congressional and press briefing
Cannon House Conference Room 121
Congressional and press briefing
Cannon House Conference Room 121
Meeting with Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Capitol
Meeting with Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Capitol
Meeting with Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Capitol
Meeting with Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Capitol
December 17, 2015
Meeting with US State Department and US Agency for International Development
December 16, 2015
VAVA/VAORRC Summation meeting
Memorandum of Understanding was signed
VAVA/VAORRC Summation meeting
Memorandum of Understanding was signed
VAVA Delegation leaving for Vietnam at John F Kennedy International Airport
Itinerary
December 8, 2015
Arrival in Manhattan at Alma Mathews House
Meeting with Cathy Dang (CAAAV: Organizing Asian American Communities), Chhaya Chhoum, Socheatta Meng and Le Dai Duong (Mekong NYC) in Chinatown, NY.
December 9, 2015
Meeting with Marci Reaven and Lily Wong at the New York Historical Society
Welcome dinner with the Vietnam Mission to the UN with Ambassador Phạm Thị Kim Anh (fourth from right), Susan Schnall (second left) and Hà Mi (left)
December 10, 2015
Meeting with faith leaders organized by Dough Hostetter, Mennonite Central Committee, at 777 UN Plaza
Public event at Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Center of 1199 (the first US union to oppose the US war in Vietnam) – chaired by Susan Schnall and Frank Velgara.
Special thanks to Estela Vazquez (Executive Vice-President, 1199 SEIU/United HeathCare Workers East), to Ambassador Phạm Thị Kim Anh, and to Frank Velgara, Radhames Morales, Randy Jackson,… and the statements of solidarity of J.J. Johnson, VFP and VVAW members. Poetry by Sarah N Mess (Warrior Writers) and Vinie Burrows.
December 11, 2015
VAVA meeting with Southern Christian Leadership Conference at the Most Precious Blood Church, 109 Mulberry Street
Fundraising event at Jeanne & Frank Mirer’s home
December 12, 2015
Film interview
Veterans For Peace Holiday Event at Goddard Riverside Community Center, 593 Columbus Avenue
December 13, 2015
VAORRC meeting with VAVA at Susan Schnall’s place
December 14, 2015
Travel by Amtrak to Washington DC
Arrival at the International Guest House
December 15, 2015
Meeting with friends in the International Guest House
Meeting with Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh
Meeting with US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
December 16, 2015
Meeting with US State Department and US Agency for International Development
Meeting with COVVHA
December 17, 2015
Congressional and press briefing, Cannon House Conference Room 121: Susan Schnall, Merle Ratner, Nguyễn Văn Rinh (VAVA), Paul Cox (Vietnam veteran), Trần Thị Hoan (Vietnamese 2nd generation AO victim), Heather Bowser (US 2nd generation AO victim), Joshua Kelly (US 2nd generation AO victim), Michael McPhearson (Veterans For Peace), Matt Howard (Co-chair, Iraq Veterans Against the War) and Ngô Thanh Nhàn (Vietnamese American)…
Meeting with Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Capitol
December 18, 2015
December 19, 2015
Tour of New York: Washington Square, Broadway and Ground Zero
December 20, 2015
VAVA/VAORRC Summation meeting and a Memorandum of Understanding was signed
VAVA Delegation leaving for Vietnam at John F Kennedy International Airport
