Featured image: Delegation members in Vietnam. Below: Delegation visits Hue.

The post U.S. Women Tour of Vietnam appeared first on VAORRC.

by Susan Schnall at VVAW.org

From 1961 to 1971, the United States undertook a massive defoliation program as an instrument of war, over the years poisoning an estimated 4.8 million Vietnamese. The initial testing of chemical herbicides occurred in Konton province on August 10, 1961. Two weeks later, a second test run took place along Highway 13 north of the city known as Saigon. And then President Kennedy signed an executive order that began the massive defoliation program as an instrument of war.

This herbicidal warfare program has been considered by most of the international community to be a violation of international law and a war crime. In 1969, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution restating the 1925 Geneva Protocol that prohibited the use of chemical or biological agents in international conflicts. The resolution specifically declared as a violation of that treaty, the use of any chemical agents of warfare, whether gaseous, liquid or solid, which might be employed because of their direct toxic effects on man, animal, or plants.

Our public health/science group has been brought together by our interest in and concern about the lasting impact of the use of Agent Orange/dioxin sprayed multiple times over south and central Vietnam. We have spent months, some of us years, reviewing studies and articles.

In June, 2012, our delegation of science and public health professionals affiliated with the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign, a project of VVAW and Vets For Peace (VFP), were invited to Vietnam by the Vietnam Association for the Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin (VAVA). The purpose of our trip was to visit people suffering from illnesses recognized among American veterans to be associated with the spraying and use of AO/dioxin by the US military during the American conflict in Vietnam. We also surveyed the land that continues to be contaminated by dioxin, threatening illness, pain, and suffering to thousands of Vietnamese, long after the cessation of fighting. Most striking are the severe birth defects, some of which are recognized as associated with Vietnam service among US veterans, now seen also in Vietnamese children.

Following the June, 2012 trip, members of the delegation continued to meet and discuss current studies and articles related to the Agent Orange/dioxin toxicity in Vietnam. We organized presentations to educate the American public and spoke before various audiences and constituencies. Some of our speaking engagements included students and faculty at the City University of New York, the American Public Health Association, Vietnam Archives in San Antonio, medical students, nurses and attending physicians at Cornell Medical College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) community on a panel with Noam Chomsky, the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan and high school students in the New York City area.

In August, 2016 members of the American delegation included: Dr. Franklin Mirer, Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at Hunter College of the City University of New York and former Director of the Health and Safety Department for the United Automobile Workers; Dr. Jean Grassman, Associate Professor at City University of New York and researcher investigating the effect of dioxins on human populations; Marie Elivert, a health care executive with over 35 years in the private and public sector; Dr. Daniel Robie, Assistant Professor at York College of the City University of New York where he conducts research, has authored a number of scientific papers, and teaches physical, analytical, and inorganic chemistry. Also, myself, Susan Schnall, an Adjunct Assistant Professor at New York University in the School of Professional Studies and worked for 31 years as a senior executive in public hospitals in New York, and am a co-coordinator of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign and a board member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War.

We were invited to the International Scientific Conference to commemorate the 55th anniversary of Agent Orange Day. We attended a conference on August 8 and 9, and a rally on August 10. The conference was titled: Assessment of the Harmful Effects of Agent Orange. Four members of our delegation wrote papers and gave presentations: Dr. Frank Mirer on: Updated authoritative reviews of Agent Orange/dioxin toxicity; Susan Schnall: Results of Studies on the relationship between exposure to Agent Orange and diseases in American veterans; Dr. Daniel Robie: Dioxins: Chemistry, Sources, and Sinks of Environmental Importance in Vietnam; Dr. Jean Grassman: An examination of the plausibility for contemporary human health effects from Agent Orange in Vietnam.

On August 10th I delivered a speech to the rally, representing VVAW and VFP as well as the Science delegation in which I said:

“I come before you today as a Vietnam era veteran of the American War in Vietnam to recognize and take responsibility for my government’s use of Agent Orange/dioxin on your people and your land.

“We, the American Vietnam veterans took part in that spraying. We, the American people allowed that devastation to take place. We allowed the chemical companies to develop and use an herbicide that would destroy the mangrove and hardwood forests and that would destroy the food supply. Those once young American Vietnam soldiers have become old men and live with the memory of what they did so many years ago to your country and people.

“And they don’t want to be thanked for their service in Vietnam. They want to be forgiven. Today we have a responsibility to those we harmed, to those who were harmed in our name, to heal those affected. We pledge to work with you, toward healing the lasting legacy of this war, to clean up the land of the contaminants we left behind and to heal the people. We pledge to work with you, toward healing the lasting legacy of this American war, to clean up the land of the contaminants we left behind and to heal the people.”

The post Delegation to Vietnam appeared first on VAORRC.

By Susan M. Schnall at VVAW.org

Featured image: Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-California), sponsor of HR 2114, in center with Mr. Nguyen Van Rinh (President of VAVA) to her left, and members of VVAW, VFP, IVAW, and COVHA. Tran Thi Hoan stands in the middle.

For two weeks this past December, the leadership of the Vietnam Association for the Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) visited New York City and Washington, DC. They had a very busy schedule that included colleagues and friends, Senators, legislative aides, and Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) to thank them all for their continuing support for the victims of the US spraying of chemical herbicides during the American War in Vietnam. Mr. Rinh, President of VAVA, expressed his appreciation to Congresswoman Lee for sponsoring HR 2114, the Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2015, that would provide services for those harmed in Vietnam from this poison, as well as clean up land and ecosystems that remain contaminated and continue to destroy the food and the people.

Nguyen Minh Y

Nguyen Minh Y states his (and VAVA’s) support for the Americans and their children who suffer from the impact of the war.

Ed Damato and Nguyen Minh Y

Ed Damato (long time VVAW member who served in the US Army in Vietnam) and Nguyen Minh Y at VVAW dinner with VAVA.

Tran Thi Hoan

Tran Thi Hoan dancing with members of the band Filthy Rotten System at the Holiday Party.

Dinner Group

VVAW members at VAVA dinner where VVAW donated $5,000 for the building of two homes in Quang Binh Province.

The VAVA delegation was joined by the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC) — supported by VVAW, IVAW, Veterans for Peace (VFP), and the Children of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance (COVVHA). Heather Bowser, co-founder of COVVHA, was born missing her right leg and with webbed fingers and toes. She is the daughter of an American serviceman who was in Vietnam during the use of Agent Orange. Heather explained that this legislation would bring parity of services to the children of both the women and men in the US military who served in Vietnam. Currently, the VA recognizes only the children born with birth defects of American servicewomen, and, with the recently released Institute of Medicine Report, has downgraded recognition for even spina bifida for the children of American servicemen.

VAVA and VAORRC held a briefing on Capitol Hill sponsored by Representative Lee and attended by about thirty legislative aides of House representatives. We reviewed the current state of the legislation, our efforts to educate the American people about the destruction done by the chemical herbicides to our own troops and their families, and the Vietnamese that continues today. Mr. Rinh informed the group of the efforts of VAVA to identify those affected, and obtain and provide services to them, including the children born with severe birth defects. Tran Thi Hoan was born without legs and an atrophied hand as a result of her mother’s exposure to Agent Orange. Tran, an active member of VAVA, is a college graduate working as a computer science professional. She spoke about those Vietnamese children less fortunate than her who are unable to live on their own, or die young and in terrible pain because of their debilitating birth defects. Paul Cox, a Vietnam veteran and core member of VAORRC, spoke of the necessity for the US government to take responsibility for the damage done to the Vietnamese and provide necessary services to the people.

Our delegation had an extensive meeting with Tim Reiser, foreign policy aide to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and one of the most influential behind-the-scene forces in Washington, DC. He works as a Democratic clerk for the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, and for the past several years has managed to obtain several millions of dollars for the clean-up of Danang Airport (formerly a US base), and for provision of some services for disabled children in Vietnam. Tim noted that in his 25 years of working in the Senate, this was the first time that a group of Americans and Vietnamese had come together to talk with him about the needs of both groups.

VAVA returned to New York on Friday, December 18 for a dinner meeting with members of VVAW. It was an extraordinary event as folks told their stories of that conflict and their memories from that time. Frank Toner served as a medic in-country and refused to carry a gun. Per Oldman was a Swedish national who volunteered for the Marines and fought at Khe Sanh, at the same time Mr. Rinh was fighting as a soldier in the North Vietnamese Army. Joe Hirsch is a long standing member of VVAW who was in military intelligence during the conflict and speaks fluent Vietnamese. Ed D’Amato was with the US Army in Vietnam in 1966. Ken Dalton was in the Navy, based on a ship off the coast of Vietnam. Brian Matarrese, who was in the US Army during the Vietnam conflict as well as a member of VVAW and social activist for many years, helped bring the group together.

VVAW donated $5,000 to VAVA for the building of homes in Quang Binh Province, an area that was subjected to repeated bombings throughout the American War. The whole town of Dong Hoi was completely destroyed by the bombing, and the people continue to suffer from the repeated spraying of Agent Orange. At the dinner, individual VVAW members also donated money to the victims of Agent Orange.

It has been over forty years since the last US troops left Vietnam and yet, the damage we caused remains — in the contaminated land and in the people who pass on cells changed by dioxin contamination from generation to generation. Bomb craters remain from Operation Rolling Thunder and unexploded ordnances makes the land dangerous to farm and puts innocent children at risk when they play in the fields. It is up to us to clean up those terrible remnants of the American War in Vietnam, to continue to assist the Vietnamese people to heal, and in doing so, heal ourselves.

The post 2015 Agent Orange Justice Tour Report appeared first on VAORRC.

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

The post The 10th Agent Orange Justice Tour 2015 appeared first on VAORRC.

Campaign Board members Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Jeanne Mirer and Merle Ratner traveled to Vietnam to support the work of our partner organization, the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) which represents over 300,000 Agent Orange victims. Bishop Gumbleton spent time at several centers for young Agent Orange victims in January and February 2013.

He shared:

I had not been to Viet Nam in over 20 years. I was shocked when I returned… It was an eye opening experience. Our delegation visited with families and individuals who are still suffering the unspeakable consequences of Agent Orange. The greatest tragedy is that the second and third generations of babies are being born with the same horrible deformities. This experience increased my determination to work very hard within our political system to bring about an adequate response to heal the hurt that we caused.

The post Bishop Thomas Gumbleton visits Agent Orange victims in Vietnam appeared first on VAORRC.

“Victims in connection with America’s spraying of Agent Orange during the American War in Vietnam must be assisted more, especially from the US side,” said U.S. Congressman Bob Filner during a visit to Vietnam this month.

Congressman Filner, the sponsor of H.R. 2634, the “Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2011,” visited Vietnam from January 5-11, 2012 to study the impact of Agent Orange on the Vietnamese people. Congressman Filner was hosted by the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin (VAVA) and coordinated by the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign. The International Association of Democratic Lawyers provided funding assistance.

Congressman Filner visited Agent Orange victims in Ho Chi Minh City, Vung Tau, Cu Chi, Danang, Quang Ngai, Quang Ninh and Hanoi. He saw daycare, homecare and rehabilitation projects run by the representative of Vietnam’s victims, the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin. In Vung Tau, Congressman Filner visited a VAVA project which cares for former ARVN (U.S. allied) soldiers and their families effected by Agent Orange.

Congressman Filner met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Vice President of the National Assembly as well as with medical and scientific experts on Agent Orange. He also visited a pagoda and spoke with Buddhist monks.

H.R. 2634 provides for assistance to Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange, cleanup of the toxic hot spots where dioxin still endangers lives and the environment, and health care assistance for offspring of U.S. veterans and Vietnamese Americans affected by Agent Orange.

Photo Album

Meeting with VAVA

Museum visit

Visiting the Hoa Binh Village at the Tu Du Hospital

Danang Agent Orange daycare center

Danang Agent Orange daycare center

Visiting the Danang Agent Orange center

Meeting with Vietnamese Premier Nguyen Tan Dung

Visiting a buddhist temple

The post Congressman Bob Filner visits Vietnam for Study Tour on Agent Orange appeared first on VAORRC.

From November 22nd to December 4th, 2010 a delegation of leaders of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin (VAVA) visited the U.S. at the invitation of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign. The group, headed by VAVA President Nguyen Van Rinh, will visit the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City and Washington DC. They will meet with veterans, Vietnamese Americans, environmental, public health and peace activists in our communities and members of Congress.

VAVA is the only organization representing Vietnam’s millions of Agent Orange victims, with over 300,000 members and chapters in almost every province in Vietnam. VAVA advocates for the victims and provides assistance to them and their families – from health care and rehabilitation, to education and day care.

The visit strengthened the cooperation between our Campaign and VAVA and allow VAVA to make contacts with a wide range of organizations and individuals concerned about achieving justice for Agent Orange victims.

San Francisco and San Jose Chapters of Veterans for Peace, VAORRC Welcome VAVA to California

Monday, November 22, 2010, we welcomed Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) on their arrival from Vietnam with a Reception at the Veterans War Memorial Building. Members of the delegation spoke of their efforts to convince congress to live up to their obligation to clean up the mess created by the use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam conflict.

Paul Cox from VFP and VAORRC also spoke and described the use of Agent Orange and its devastation upon the land, the food chain and the people affected by it then and now. Citizens of Vietnam even today suffer disastrous health problems because of the Dioxin remaining in their soil poisoning their soil and food supplies. The delegation is heading to Washington, DC to meet with congresspeople and others.

Visitors

Nguyen Van Rinh

Mr. Nguyen Van Rinh was born into a family of several generations of poor farmers in Tu Ky District, Hai Duong Province, in the northern part of Vietnam. Mr. Rinh’s father was active in the guerrilla movement against French colonialism and was killed during a French attack on his village. Mr. Rinh was eight years old. In 1961, Mr. Rinh joined the People’s Army of Vietnam and participated in almost all the major battles and military campaigns and fought in the areas most sprayed with Agent Orange. He served as a gunner in an artillery battalion, and rose through the ranks from battalion commander and corps commander to deputy minister of Vietnam’s Ministry of Defense. After his retirement as a Senior Lt. Gen. in 2008, the 2nd National Congress of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) elected him as President of VAVA. Nguyen Van Rinh has two daughters. His wife is a retired social worker.

Mrs. Dang Hong Nhut

Dang Hong Nhut Mrs. Dang Hong is a veteran of the war. Born on December 12, 1936, married in 1959 and gave birth to a healthy son in 1960. Between 1961 and 1966 she joined the resistance forces in the Southeastern region of Vietnam (included Tây Ninh, Bình Dương, Củ Chi) and she was directly exposed to Agent Orange. Between 1966 and 1972 she was arrested and imprisoned by the US-supported government. In 1973 and again in 1975 Mrs. Nhut suffered miscarriages early in her pregnancy. In 1975, she again suffered a miscarriage. In 1977, she gave birth to a congenitally deformed still-born child. In 1980, she had another miscarriage. In 2002, she had surgery to remove an intestinal tumor. In 2003, she underwent another operation to remove a tumor from her thyroid. She now has cancer.

Mrs. Nhut’s husband was a veteran who was also exposed to Agent Orange. He was later diagnosed with intestinal cancer, metastasizing to the lung and the liver. He died in May, 1999.

Mrs. Nhut is a member of the Central Board of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) and Director of Ho Chi Minh City chapter of VAVA. Read more about Ms. Nhut’s story at www.guardian.co.uk

Nguyen Minh Y

Nguyen Minh YMr. Nguyen Minh Y is a veteran of the U.S. war in Vietnam, serving in the battlefield in the areas of heaviest fighting. After 1975 he served as an Army leader in political/military strategy and civilian affairs. Since his retirement, Minh Y has served in the Veterans’ Association of Vietnam and is now director of international affairs and a member of the Central Board of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA). Minh Y is married to an artist and is the father of two sons.

Pham Truong

Mr. Pham Truong is an alternate Central Board member of VAVA.

Nguyen Tuan Minh

Mr. Nguyen Tuan Minh is the interpreter. He works at the the People’s Aid Coordinating Committee.

Report Back

Dec. 9, 2010, Hanoi, Vietnam

The US Government should be responsible for assisting and compensating Agent Orange victims, said senior lieutenant-general Nguyen Van Rinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA). General Rinh, who has concluded a visit to the U.S., emphasized this at a press briefing.

The post Leaders of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin visit the U.S. appeared first on VAORRC.

VAVA (Vietnam Assocation of Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin) testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommitte on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment. This was the first time a victim of Agent Orange had spoken to Congress. The victim, the well-received Ms. Tran Thi Hoan, received a lot of attention.

The delegation visited Congressman Al Franken, MN. Written testimony submitted by Susan Schnall and Merle Ratner for VAORRC.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong
Doctor, Professor, Researcher

Ms. Tran Thi Hoan
Agent Orange Victim, Student

The post Third Hearing on Agent Orange in Vietnam: Recent Developments in Remediation appeared first on VAORRC.

The post U.S. Vets Return to ‘Nam: Pledge justice for victims of Agent Orange appeared first on VAORRC.

Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC), a project of Veterans for Peace (VFP), is sponsoring a fact-finding delegation of US veteran leaders that will be in Vietnam from March 28 to April 8, 2010. The delegation will survey the lingering effects of dioxin-laced herbicides like Agent Orange sprayed by U.S. forces during the American War on the people, animals and environment of Vietnam. The delegation will be hosted by Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin (VAVA).

Members of the delegation are: Michael Ferner, President Veterans for Peace Geoff Millard, Chair/Board of Directors, Iraq Veterans Against the War and journalist Michael Uhl, Veterans for Peace Board Member and author Ken Mayers, Veterans for Peace Board Member, and accounting consultant Susan Schnall, VAORRC Board Member and public health nurse Paul Cox, VAORRC Board Member, Vietnam Veterans Against the War member, and civil engineer.

The delegation will visit Agent Orange victims in hospitals and care facilities, and in particular meet with affected families living in rural areas where health-delivery resources are less available and poverty persists. Estimates of Vietnamese ill from widespread and persistent dioxin residues, now reaching into the third generation since Vietnam’s reunification in 1975, range from three to five million victims. Herbicides contaminated by dioxin were sprayed from 1961 to 1971 over approximately 1/8 the land area of southern Vietnam as a part of the US arsenal used against the Vietnamese resistance.

Delegation members are available for interviews upon their return home to the U.S. “Agent Orange is not an artifact of a long-ago war, it is a bomb that continues to explode in the lives of the people of Vietnam, today,” said Vietnam veteran Paul Cox. “It is time for the US to step up to help the Vietnamese as they have finally done for US veterans.” For more information, or to interview delegation members, email info@vn-agentorange.org.

The post Spring 2010 US Veterans Visiting Vietnam appeared first on VAORRC.