US groups to intensify Agent Orange efforts

HA NOI — The two organisations that represent Viet Nam's Agent Orange victims are to intensify their effort to win more help from the United States Congress and Administration to rid contaminated land of the toxic chemical.

War veteran Nguyen Thi Thanh in Quang Tri Province's Gio Linh District with her 16-year-old daughter who is AO-infected. All her other seven children also suffer. — VNA/VNS Photo Duong Ngoc

The effort will be based on the realisation that the US Government carries paramount responsibility for compensating those exposed to the chemical, says the Viet Nam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) and the Viet Nam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC) in a joint statement.

The statement follows a VAVA delegation's visit to the US from November 21 to December 5.

It says both organisations will work together to target the Dow Chemical Company, Monsanto and other makers of Agent Orange that have never paid compensation to their victims in Viet Nam.

The 16-day visit was the sixth the VAVA has made to seek support for the victims from Americans and other people throughout the world since since 2005. {continued}

Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign