PANO – The Vietnam Association of Victims of AO/dioxin (VAVA) held a meeting between representatives of the second and third generations of AO/dioxin victims from Vietnam and the USA at its headquarters in Hanoi on July 29th.
Addressing the event, Chairman of the VAVA Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh said that although the war ended many years ago, a large number of Vietnamese people have been suffering from effects caused by AO/dioxin sprayed by the US forces. The meeting is a good opportunity for the two sides to raise their voices to seek justice for AO/dioxin victims in both Vietnam and the USA.
Two AO/dioxin victims enjoy a monochord performance by Nguyen Thanh Tung at the meeting
Mrs. Heather Bowser, Head of the US delegation, shared that this was her second visit to Vietnam. She visited Vietnam for the first time in 2012 only as an AO/dioxin victim, but for the second time, she is the co-founder of the Children of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance (COVVHA). Through the visit to Vietnam, she said, the COVVHA and the VAVA would discuss their cooperation measures to help Vietnamese AO/dioxin victims in the coming time.
The VAVA's leaders take a photo with representatives of the second and third generations of AO/dioxin victims from Vietnam and the USA
Heather Bowser, an activist for AO/dioxin victims’ rights, was born in 1972, two months premature, with defects on both arms and legs, due to her father was exposed to AO/dioxin during the Vietnam War.
Another AO victim of the second generation, Mr. Joshua Daniel Kelley was very moved while reminiscing his father, a US marine, who was exposed to AO/dioxin during his time in Vietnam in 1967-1971. Kelley was born without left leg from below the knee and both arms from below the elbows.
On behalf of the Vietnamese victims, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, a blind monochord player, hoped the two sides would continue connecting AO/dioxin victims to fight against chemical warfare and force the US Government take responsibility for the consequences of AO/dioxin that US troops sprayed in Vietnam from 1961 to 1971.
Pham Huy
Đăng ký: VietNam News