Joining hands to soothe the pain caused by Agent Orange (AO) is not only a charitable or humanitarian deed but firstly an activity to express gratitude to revolution contributors and the sense of responsibility of each Vietnamese people.

Vietnam marks 61 years since the AO disaster on August 10 this year.

Sen. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Van Rinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Victims of AO/Dioxin (VAVA), said the Party, State, and people have made wholehearted efforts with the highest sense of responsibility to care for revolution contributors, including those suffering from toxic chemicals in the resistance war and AO victims.

Many policies on the settlement of AO consequences have been carried out, he said, noting that the State has spent tens of trillions of VND each year on providing monthly allowances, health care, and functional rehabilitation for AO victims and aiding the AO-hit areas.

More than 320,000 people engaging in the resistance war and their children infected with AO are currently entitled to preferential policies for revolution contributors. Families of the disabled, including AO victims, have also benefited from health insurance or free medical services.

Hundreds of thousands of people with serious disabilities, including AO victims, have received orthopedic surgeries and functional rehabilitation while tens of thousands of children, including those suffering from indirect AO impacts, have been assisted to attend specialised schools.

Those policies have created favourable conditions for AO-infected persons who performed duties in the resistance war and residents in affected areas to have a stable life, Rinh went on.

In addition, VAVA has raised hundreds of billions of VND from domestic and foreign sources each year for helping AO victims build and repair houses, recover corporal functions, seek health examination and treatment, undergo vocational training, pursue learning, and develop livelihoods.

Since the VAVA establishment in January 2004, more than 2.66 trillion VND (nearly 113.7 million USD) has been donated to the Fund for AO Victims, he noted.

There are now 12 peace and friendship villages along with a number of nursing centres for disabled children, most of whom suffer from deformities caused by AO. The reproductive genetic counselling centres in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have also been working actively to reduce the rate of babies with birth defects. Some localities have also conducted psychological trauma surveys and provided mental health assistance for AO victims, he added.

Besides, VAVA has brought into play its role as the core force in fighting for justice for AO victims.

Rinh said the struggle for justice for Vietnamese victims of AO has been carried out in various forms and obtained significant outcomes.

In particular, since 2007, the US Congress has approved an annual budget for its country’s Government to help with the environmental remediation of dioxin contamination in Vietnam. The remediation was completed at Da Nang Airport in 2018 and then moved on to the Bien Hoa airbase.

The US Government also carried out a programme to support AO victims during 2016 – 2020 at a total cost of 21 million USD. Another programme worth 65 million USD for the 2021 – 2025 period is being promoted in some provinces hit hard by toxic chemicals during the war, the VAVA leader noted.
He expressed his belief that with assistance from all-level authorities, sectors, localities, domestic organisations and individuals, as well as international friends, the AO pain will be gradually eased, and more AO victims and their families will surmount difficulties to move forwards.

According to VAVA, the US army sprayed 80 million litres of toxic chemicals on the south of Vietnam between 1961 and 1971, with 61% being AO containing 366kg of dioxin, on over nearly 3.06 million hectares (equivalent to nearly one quarter of the south’s total area).

Preliminary statistics showed that 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to AO/dioxin, and about 3 million people became victims. Tens of thousands of people have died while millions of others have suffered from cancer and other incurable diseases as a result. Many of their offspring also suffer from birth deformities.

Q.Hoa t.h / VNA

The post Agent Orange Day 2022 Statement by Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations appeared first on VAORRC.

53 seconds of silence / 53 seconds of action

August 10th 2014 is the 53th anniversary of the first time the U.S. government used Agent Orange in Vietnam. Millions of Vietnamese people have died. Millions continue to suffer from cancers and birth defects which affect three generations, including babies born every day. Around the world, veterans of the U.S. war in Vietnam also suffer from illnesses and their children, from birth defects.

Those responsible – the United States government and the chemical companies which made this deadly chemical weapon including Dow Chemical and Monsanto – have yet to compensate their victims or clean up the land they poisoned.

In the 8th month, on the 10th day at 12 noon join people across the globe in: 53 seconds of silence to reflect upon 53 years of spraying Agent Orange and 53 years of suffering of the victims in Vietnam and around the world from Agent Orange, as well as all victims of war 53 seconds of action to let your congressional representative know you want them to take action to help the victims:

• Sign and circulate the orange postcard to your congress member asking them to support HR 2519—the Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2013 (click here for a pdf copy), or
• Sign the postcard online,
• Donate to the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign.

The post International Agent Orange Day 2014 appeared first on VAORRC.

51 Years after the Chemical War Began in Vietnam, We Should be Silent in Memory, Then Take Action to Remedy

51 seconds of silence to reflect upon 51 years of spraying Agent Orange and 51 years of suffering of the victims in Vietnam, the U.S. and around the world from Agent Orange, as well as all victims of war;

51 seconds of action to let your congressional representative know you want them to take action to help the victims: write to your representative, asking them to support H.R. 2634, the Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2011; and sign the Orange Postcard to Congress indicating your support for this legislation and send to your representative.

The post International Agent Orange Day 2012 appeared first on VAORRC.

The culprit is the dioxin in Agent Orange. Dioxin is the most toxic chemical known to science. Those directly exposed due to the spraying of this chemical during the war or to dioxin that remains in dozens of “hot spots” in southern Vietnam, suffer from cancers, heart conditions and other illnesses. Their children and grandchildren are born (or die in the womb) from a tragic range of birth defects – both developmental and physical.

Dow Chemical, Monsanto and 35 other corporations knowingly made Agent Orange with unnecessarily elevated levels of dioxin in their greed for greater profits. The U.S. government ordered its soldiers to spray Agent Orange on the Vietnamese people and land while ignoring the threat to the health of the Vietnamese and of the U.S. servicemen and women.

But the tide is turning for those responsible for the immense pain and suffering caused by Agent Orange. U.S. and international public opinion is demanding justice and compensation for the victims of Agent Orange!

The post Agent Orange Day 2010: Time to Act Now! Call to Action. appeared first on VAORRC.

As in the past years, those who concern themselves with the Agent Orange/Dioxin issues again remember to commemorate the Memorial day of August 10, 2008. On that date, 47 years ago (08/10/1961), the U.S forces begun their toxic chemical sprayings in Viet Nam….

On this occasion VAVA calls upon all of our friends through out to provide more support and assistance to our Agent Orange victims in 2008-2009.

The post VAVA on the Memorial Day for Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange 2008 appeared first on VAORRC.

On this day, 47 years ago, the U.S. government began spraying the toxic chemical Agent Orange over the people and land of Vietnam. This use of chemical warfare, prohibited by international law and morality, constitutes a violation of the human rights of those exposed to Agent Orange.

The intended victims – the Vietnamese people – continue to suffer horrendous illnesses and disabilities now extending to second and third generations of their children and grandchildren. The land of Vietnam still contains “hot spots” where the dioxin contained in Agent Orange continues to poison the soil and the crops and sicken the residents….

The Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign renews our commitment to expand our activities in support of justice for Agent Orange victims in Vietnam and around the world! Working together and strengthening each others’ work, we will surely succeed!

The post Statement for Agent Orange Day 2008 appeared first on VAORRC.

Justice Delayed IS Justice Denied!

August 10th is International Agent Orange Day – a day to remember the suffering of 3 million victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin in Vietnam and around the world. August 10th was the first day that the U.S. Army began spraying Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, 46 year ago.

Vietnamese, U.S. and other allied countries’ veterans continue to die on a daily basis from Agent Orange related cancers and other illnesses…

The post Press Statement: International Day for Agent Orange Victims 2007 appeared first on VAORRC.

• Three million Vietnamese and tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers and many Vietnamese Americans affected by Agent Orange used by the U.S. during the war
• Agent Orange causes birth defects in hundreds of thousands of children
• Agent Orange continues to poison the natural environment of Vietnam

About the Tour…

See pictures of the DC Plymouth Congregational Church, Nov 27 2005 11:00 AM.

Can you please do any of the following:

Send the text below, “Publicize” to any lists or individuals in the DC area.
Check the web site below and print out leaflets to give out.
Organize a community meeting on Saturday or Sunday.
Host the group (4 Vietnamese and the national coordinator) for breakfast, lunch or dinner? Saturday and Sunday are needed.
Provide housing for the 5 in DC any of the nights 25th through 28th.
Make a contribution to the cost of travel, food, etc. Send me a check for local costs or make a tax free donation on the National web page.
Contact Walter Teague 301-439-6755

Publicize

As part of the national Vietnam Agent Orange Campaign, they will meet with U.S. Veterans of War in Vietnam and others.

DC Campaign – November 25-28, 2005
Pictures by Walter Teague.

Friday, 11/25/2005 – Dinner with local Vietnamese
Saturday, 11/26/2005 – Brunch with peace activists in VA
Saturday, 11/26/2005 – Dinner privately hosted in DC
Sunday, 11/27/2005 11:00 AM – Join with Plymouth Congressional Church, DC. See pictures.
Sunday, 11/27/2005 07:00 PM – Dinner hosted by veterans in DC
Monday, 11/28/2005 – 10:00 AM – Vietnamese Guests and Veterans at “The Wall” at Bacon Drive & Constitution Ave.
Monday, 11/28/2005 – 12:00 Noon – Luncheon at GT Univ. Intercultural Center, 7th Fl., 37th and O Streets, NW, RSVP with Catherin Dalpino (202) 687 6606.

Monday, 11/28/2005 – 7:00 PM -Public Event – Washington Peace Center, 1426 9th St., NW

Other events TBO or contact us below.
Community Events: Saturday and Sunday (Contact us if you have an event the Vietnamese can attend.)
For more information and leaflets, go to: http://www.redandgreen.org/VAOC
DC Tour Contact: Walter Teague, LICSW – wteague@redandgreen.org
Email or call for updates, background information and leaflets.
Phone 301-439-6755 – Fax 301-439-2436

Information

Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign

Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange Will Meet with U.S. Veterans of War in Vietnam and others.
Veterans Vow to Fight for Justice for Vietnam’s Agent Orange Survivors!

From November 15 – December 12, 2005 a delegation of Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange will be in the U.S. to meet, for the first time, with U.S. veterans also suffering from the wounds they sustained in the war in Vietnam. They will visit New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Raleigh, Chicago, Milwaukee, Santa Fe, Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco.

More than 30 years after the end of the U.S. war that killed more than 58,000 Americans and 3 million Vietnamese, U.S. veterans are demanding compensation for their Vietnamese counterparts. U.S. veterans received partial compensation for their injuries from the chemical companies and the U.S. government but Vietnamese veterans received not one penny from the U.S. government which sprayed them to Agent Orange.

Three million Vietnamese and tens of thousand of U.S. soldiers are affected by Agent Orange
Agent Orange causes birth defects in hundreds of thousands of children.
Agent Orange continues to poison the natural environment, soil and crops of Vietnam.
The members of the delegation who will meet with U.S. veterans are:

Ðang Thi Hong Nhut who suffered multiple miscarriages due to Agent Orange
Ho Sy Hai who suffers from chronic hepatitis, ulcer, enterolitis, unstable blood pressure, and prostate cancer after being exposed to Agent Orange
Nguyen Muoi. the son of an ARVN veteran suffers from Spina Bifida as a result of his father’s exposure to dioxin. His visa was denied by the U.S. government.
Dr. Nguyen Trong Nhân, Former President of the Vietnam Red Cross, representing the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin.
Vietnamese and U.S. agent orange victims will share their personal experiences and their efforts to gain compensation for their and their children’s injuries. They will meet with Iraq veterans and others suffering from chemical weapons.

The sponsor, Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign, is supporting the lawsuit of Agent Orange victims against U.S. chemical manufacturers and will lobby the U.S. government to provide compensation for Vietnamese Agent Orange survivors.

Tour is endorsed by Black Radical Congress, Veterans for Peace, United for Peace and Justice and local groups.

The post 4th Agent Orange Justice Tour – Welcome Event appeared first on VAORRC.