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Agent Orange victims get raw deal
Viet Nam News - August 10, 2010
Ho Chi Minh City – The struggle in support for Agent Orange victims has seen some progress but more efforts are required to deliver them justice, a seminar held in HCM City yesterday to mark Orange Day, August 10, heard.
Doctors, scientists, lawyers, and AO victims attended the seminar, Agent Orange - Message from the Heart, held ahead of the 49th anniversary of the day the US began a 10-year campaign to spray 80 million litres of the deadly dioxin on Viet Nam.
They discussed the responsibilities of the US Government and chemical companies that produced the AO that was used.
Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong, vice president of the Viet Nam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA), who has returned after recently testifying in Washington, said there was an improvement in the US attitude, explaining it was the first time an AO victim was invited to speak at a hearing.
The US's tone had changed and it was speaking about co-operation between the two countries and has promised to help clean up the environment in Viet Nam and assist with rehabilitation of AO victims, she said.
"Inviting representatives of VAVA and AO victims this time means the US Government has changed its mindset over the relationship between AO and health."
Viet Nam has 28 spots where the chemical was stored that need to be detoxified and people living in their vicinity are still affected by the chemical.
"I was happy because the US Government has seen its responsibility to AO victims," Phuong said. "But they still refuse legal liability."
The US has admitted than annual aid of $30 million for 10 years is not enough to resolve the problem, she said, adding she proposed $3 billion a year. Every year the Vietnamese Government spends $100 million to assist victims and clean up the environment.
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