Second AO Plaintiff Passes Away

IntellAsia has the story:

Vietnamese Agent Orange victims who are suing US companies that produced the chemical passed away in HCM City Friday July 20. Nguyen Thi Hong died at the ulcer and tumor hospital.

The 60-year-old woman is the second of a four-member delegation to pass away since returning home from a US trip last month where it fought court battles and held public meetings in connection with the US's use of the dioxin during the war with the US.
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AO Spokesman Passes Away

Nguyen Van Quy, one of the four Vietnamese plaintiffs in the AO case currently in the U.S. courts, has passed away. More.

Ashley and Kacey

Ashley and Kacey are back in the U.S. They have returned with some additional artwork and photos so the fundraiser should move forward from here. With several work trips coming up and Ashley not set to move to NYC until October, the fundraiser is still some months off but the wheels are spinning.

Volunteer Tourism

I recently wrote an article for away.com about volunteer tourism, focusing on our trip to the AO group home last year.

You can read it here: A Small Gesture: Eyewitness Voluntourism in Vietnam

Chicago Tribune on AO

The Chicago Tribune has an article about the recent visit to the U.S. by some of the plaintiffs in the AO case currently in the courts:

Nguyen Thi Hong, 60, is in the last stages of terminal breast cancer, her legs covered in a scabby rash.

Nguyen Van Quy, 52, weighs just 83 pounds because of his stomach cancer. At home in Vietnam, his two children are severely disabled and a third child died of congenital defects soon after birth.

Hong and Quy, along with two other Vietnamese citizens, are stopping in four American cities, including Chicago, this week to drum up awareness for their illnesses, which they say were caused by Agent Orange, a defoliant the U.S. sprayed on the Vietnam landscape during the Vietnam War.
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There is also a video of a U.S. Vietnam War Veteran advocating on behalf of the Vietnamese plaintiffs.

(h/t Viet Q)