A delegation of the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) visited the U.S. from Nov 22 to Dec 4 at an invitation of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC) and Veteran For Peace (VFP). The delegation, led by Senior Lieutenant-General Nguyen Van Rinh – president of VAVA, worked with the VFP’s management board and VAORRC’s Executive board on supports for Vietnam’s Agent Orange victims and formed the program in next period. It also met U.S.’s Congressmen John Conyers Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary; Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment; and Bob Filner. At the meeting, the U.S.’s Congressmen expressed their supports for Vietnamese affected by the AO. Around 4.8 million Vietnamese people are exposed to the deadly toxic chemical, estimated at 80 million liters, sprayed by U.S. troops during the Vietnam War and more than three million of them are facing health problems resulted from the exposure. A statistics by the VAVA showed that 70% of households having AO/dioxin victims are needy while 90% of total victims are jobless. The U.S. government had not yet admitted legally responsibility to the Vietnamese AO victims, but it has taken a number of practices to help Vietnam overcome the consequences. The U.S. spends about $3 million yearly for Vietnamese AO/dioxin victims. (hanoimoi.com.vn Dec 6)
