|
Photo exhibit leads into Agent Orange day
Do Duc Diu, a war veteran from Quang Binh Province, walks with his two surviving children. Of his 15 children, 12 have died due to what were suspected to be Agent Orange-related maladies.
A photo exhibition documenting the crippling effects Agent Orange has had on millions of Vietnamese victims opens in Ho Chi Minh City today as the country prepares for its first Orange Day, August 10.
The 200 photographs on display at the Youth Culture House, entitled “Where has my beautiful life gone?” were selected by the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin.
Also at the culture house, the association will be accepting donations to the 3-4 million victims of the dioxin-laden defoliant, millions of gallons of which were dumped on the country by the US military during the Vietnam War. Visitors will be encouraged to make paper stars to be auctioned on August 10, with the proceeds going to benefit those suffering from Agent Orange-related afflictions.
CRY FOR JUSTICE
Forty-eight years after the US military began spraying Agent Orange on Vietnam - August 10, 1961 – Vietnam organizes its first Orange Day to spread awareness of Agent Orange’s lingering afflicts through several events this week until next Monday.
To mark the event, Thanh Nien Daily will be running a week-long series of articles and interviews shedding light on the history of Agent Orange and what it means Sunday
Agent Orange victims and activists will also march on Le Duan Boulevard in District 1 on August 9 to create awareness of the issue. Some of the city’s most popular singers will perform at a live charity benefit the next day, said the association.
The city is home to around 4,000 victims of Agent Orange, half of whom are children, according to the group.
August 10th marks the day 48 years ago when the US began spraying the toxic chemical on southern Vietnam.
The Youth Culture House is located at 4 Pham Ngoc Thach Street, District 1.
A message to US audiences
To commemorate the day, Vietnam Television’s English-language station, VTV4, will run 24-hours of Agent Orange-related programming on August 10th.
As over three million Americans have access to VTV4, Orange Day organizers said they hoped the program would help Americans better their understanding about the devastating effects of Agent Orange on Vietnamese victims as well as their ongoing fight for justice.
Eight documentaries and three other films would be shown throughout the day, said Bach Ngoc Chien, the program’s general director.
The station will be calling for donations to help the victims throughout the day.
Among the documentaries will be “Agent Orange – A Personal Requiem” by Japanese Director Sakata Masako.
The documentary chronicles the history of the lethal herbicide and features heartrending scenes of generations of Vietnamese children with congenital disabilities and physical deformities.
“The Last Ghost of War,” a documentary narrated by Kevin Kline on the plight of Agent Orange victims and their lawsuit filed against American chemical companies in US courts, will also be screened on Orange Day.
VTV4 and VTV1 will also broadcast a live talk show on Agent Orange, featuring victims, officials and activists.
The Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin is looking to raise around VND60 billion (US$3.4 million) from the Orange Day.
Between 1961 and 1971, the US Army sprayed some 80 million liters of the defoliant, containing 366 kilograms of the highly toxic dioxin, over 30,000 square miles of southern Vietnam. By the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, nearly 4.8 million Vietnamese people had been exposed to Agent Orange, causing 400,000 deaths. Millions more have suffered devastating long-term health effects, including cancer and genetic defects.
A MONTH TO REMEMBER
On August 6th we shall commemorate the 64th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima that caused the instant death of 100,000 and left many thousands severely scarred by radiation.
Three days later on August 9th, the second atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki and caused the death of 70,000, again leaving many thousands severely scarred.
On August 10th the people of Vietnam and its friends around the world will commemorate the 48th anniversary of the beginning of the spraying of the chemical Agent Orange. For ten-years the spraying continued over areas of South Vietnam resulted in the deaths of many thousands in the wombs of the mothers, and many thousands of abnormal births. Today in Vietnam nearly four million Vietnamese people are seriously affected by illnesses and disabilities as a direct result of the use of Agent Orange. This was a war crime by the United States of America and one that has affected a third generation of Vietnamese, and will soon, if not already, affect a fourth.
It is a crime that remains unpunished despite being taken before the courts in the US including the US Supreme Court. But in the highest court, that of World Opinion, the thirty-seven chemical companies headed by Monsanto, and the US Government, stand condemned.
We cannot and must not allow Justice to be denied to the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange. We call on you, the reader of this appeal, to send letters to the US Embassy, calling upon the US Government to accept their responsibility for the damage caused by Agent Orange and compensate the victims and their families.
Len Aldis
Secretary of the Britain-Vietnam Friendship Society
Newer news items
Older news items |
