AGENT ORANGE SURVIVORS CALL FOR RELIEF AND U.S. RESPONSIBILITY THIRTY YEARS AFTER THE WAR

Conclude 11 U.S. Cities Tour in San Francisco & Palo Alto

List of Co-Sponsors: Veterans for Peace, American Friends Service Committee, Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition Against War, CCSF Asian American Studies, CCSF Vietnamese Student Association, Dow Accountability Network, Global Exchange, Stanford Asian American Activities Center, Stanford Asian American Studies Department, Stanford Vietnamese Students Association, Stanford Asian American Activism Coalition, U.S.-Vietnam Friendship Association, VietUnity, and VIA (Volunteers in Asia).

San Francisco, CA

Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) complete their 11 cities tour Friday December 9th and Saturday December 10th in the San Francisco Bay Area. The American Friends Service Committee reports that Nguyen Muoi, son of an ARVN veteran from Hue, Vietnam who suffers from spina bifida as a result of his father’s exposure to dioxin in the 1970s was denied a visa for the tour by the U.S. government. Today, three million Vietnamese suffer the effects of chemical defoliants used by the United States during the Vietnam War. In 1973 the U.S. promised to contribute $3 billion dollars toward healing the wounds of war and for post-war reconstruction of Vietnam. Little has been forthcoming. Today the effects of the Agent Orange/Dioxin continues to plague both the land and people of Vietnam as well as Republic of Korea, Australian, New Zealand, and U.S. Vietnam veterans.

On November 30, The Korea Times reported that Yeh, a ROK Marine veteran seeking compensation for his suffering from exposure to Agent Orange, committed suicide by drinking herbicide after he was prevented from entering the National Assembly building in Seoul by guards. Yeh had been conducting a one-man demonstration since October 25th. In New Zealand, which manufactured and shipped Agent Orange during the war, 800 veterans filed suit for compensation November 2005. Some U.S. veterans received an out-of-court compensation package settled in 1984.

Veterans for Peace, American Friends Service Committee, Global Exchange, VietUnity, the U.S.-Vietnam Friendship Association, and the Dow Accountability Network are co-sponsoring this effort of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign to educate the U.S. public, secure relief funds for VAVA support activities (checks to “Veterans for Peace/Agent Orange Campaign”), and hold accountable the U.S government and corporations such as Monsanto and Dow. For more information: www.vn-agentorange.org.

Two survivors of exposure, Dang Thi Hong Nhut who has suffered multiple miscarriages, and Ho Sy Hai, army veteran truck driver suffers from chronic hepatitis among other afflictions, are joined in the speaking tour by Dr. Nguyen Trong Nhan, former President of the Vietnam Red Cross and VAVA official. Pre-arrival interviews available by telephone through Merle Ratner (917-733-2100).

When and Where:

December 8 on the Radio: Apex Express: Asian Pacific Islander radio….catch it
Thursdays 7:00 – 8:00 pm, KPFA 94.1 FM, KFCF Fresno, www.kpfa.org

December 9, Friday at 6:30 – 8:30 pm at the Stanford University Old Union Ballroom (520 Lasuen Mall, 2nd Floor of the Clubhouse in the South Wing of the Old Union

December 10 Human Rights Day, Saturday at 2:00 – 4:00 pm at the San Francisco Veterans Building, Room 212, 401 Van Ness Avenue (across from City Hall).