VOA Article on AO

President Nguyen Minh Triet has wrapped up his visit to the United States. He returns to Vietnam with the promise of increased help on the issue of AO from President Bush.

For many years, the United States rejected Vietnamese appeals for compensation for these victims, saying claims that diseases were caused by Agent Orange were not supported scientifically.

But recently, the U.S. has increased funding for medical aid to people with disabilities in Vietnam, and the U.S. Congress has appropriated $3 million for cleanup and treatment of dioxin-related illnesses.
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in Danang

Kacey and Ashley spent Friday at two different group homes in Danang. Read more on Kacey's blog.

Earthtimes.org

Earthtimes has an informative article on the growing movement to address AO issues.

Ford Foundation Supports AO Work

The Ford Foundation has announced it is giving $7.5 million to support AO initiatives:

More than thirty years after the mountains and coasts of south and central Vietnam were sprayed with millions of gallons of Agent Orange and other toxic herbicides by US military forces, a joint American-Vietnamese humanitarian initiative has been launched to support the growing movement to resolve this remaining legacy of the war. The joint initiative comes just days before Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet is scheduled to visit the White House on the first visit of a Vietnamese head of state since the conflict ended.
More information in the Press Release

Intellasia on the AO Lawsuit

Intellasia files the following report in their daily news email:

...Jonathan Moore, the lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the chemical companies knew that the "agent orange" herbicide containing dioxin was harmful but did nothing. "They knew how it was going to be used and they had reason to believe the effect would be disastrous and they did it anyway," Moore told the panel of three judges for the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals. "We are now seeing years later the fruit of that terrible poisonous product."
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BBC article

BBC has posted an article about the pending Agent Orange lawsuit as well as President Triet's visit to the U.S.:

A US court has been hearing an appeal by Vietnamese plaintiffs about the use of Agent Orange by American forces during the Vietnam War.

They hope to overturn a 2005 ruling by a lower court that decided there was no proof Agent Orange caused ill health.

The lawsuit, brought on behalf of more than three million Vietnamese, is seeking compensation from companies that manufactured the chemical.

The hearing comes as Vietnam's leader makes a landmark visit to the US.

President Nguyen Minh Triet is first Vietnamese head of state to make the trip to the US since the war ended in the 1970s.

The court was told he was expected to discuss the Agent Orange case and the effects of the chemical with US President George W Bush when they meet later in the week.
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to Danang

Ashley and Kacey are currently on an overnight train to Danang. Follow their trip here.

NY Times Op-Ed

Danielle Trussoni has an Op-Ed in Monday's New York Times:

...Today the federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in Manhattan, is scheduled to hear oral arguments against Dow, Monsanto and 35 other companies that manufactured Agent Orange and related herbicides used during the Vietnam War. In addition, 16 appeals by American veterans will be heard, as well as an appeal by a group that represents Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange.

The veterans and the Vietnamese are seeking the reinstatement of lawsuits dismissed in March 2005 by Judge Jack Weinstein of Federal District Court in Brooklyn. The plaintiffs are asking the court to acknowledge that Agent Orange has damaged the lives of thousands of people in both the United States and Vietnam.

One of the Vietnamese civilians taking part in this appeal is a woman named Dang Hong Nhut, who lived in Cu Chi during the war, the very same part of Vietnam where my father spent his tour. After losing numerous babies to miscarriage and deformity, Dang Hong Nhut sent a biopsy abroad for analysis. The results showed that, years after the war, her body still retained traces of dioxin. In a television interview, she said: “It doesn’t matter if the companies won’t admit their crimes. What really counts is that people see that a crime took place.”

It has been eight years since I went to Vietnam, and I am just starting to understand that my trip was less about changing the past, an impossible pursuit by any stretch of the imagination, and more about taking the time to understand and recognize the mistakes of the Vietnam War. Perhaps now, after 40 years, the victims of Agent Orange will finally get such recognition.

to Vietnam!

Ashley and Kacey are off to Vietnam on Saturday morning. After a stop in Saigon, they will move north to Danang. Kacey is blogging regularly here.

Ashley and Kacey are both art teachers who have already raised several hundred dollars for Vietnamese children suffering from the effects of Agent Orange. Next week, they will visit with some of the children they have helped and kindly spend some time working with them on art projects.

Blog

Kacey, Ashley's friend who is traveling with her, is keeping a blog of their travels to Thailand and Vietnam. Read more here.

AO article in the New York Sun

Here's an excerpt:

A federal appeals court will soon hear oral arguments in lawsuits brought by citizens of Vietnam and American Vietnam War veterans who say their health has suffered from exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange.

The appeals are being brought under a variety of legal theories, and the court could arrive at opposite conclusions about whether the Vietnamese or American plaintiffs may go forward with their claims against the chemical companies that manufactured Agent Orange.
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Ashley to Danang

Our friend Ashley left yesterday, June 11, for Thailand and Vietnam. Ashley is an artist and art teacher in Ohio and will be visiting the group home in Danang to spend a couple of days working with the children. Photos should be posted in the coming weeks.