August 8, 2012 - Vo Duoc fights back tears while sharing the news that broke his heart: A few days ago he received test results confirming he and 11 family members have elevated levels of dioxin lingering in their blood.
The family lives in a two-story house near a former U.S. military base in Danang where the defoliant Agent Orange was stored during the Vietnam War, which ended nearly four decades ago. Duoc, 58, sells steel for a living and has diabetes, while his wife battles breast cancer and their daughter has remained childless after suffering repeated miscarriages. For years, Duoc thought the ailments were unrelated, but after seeing the blood tests he now suspects his family unwittingly ingested dioxin from Agent Orange-contaminated fish, vegetables and well water.
Dioxin, a persistent chemical linked to cancer, birth defects and other disabilities, has seeped into Vietnam's soils and watersheds, creating a lasting war legacy that remains a thorny issue between the former foes. Washington has been slow to respond, but on Thursday the U.S. for the first time will begin cleaning up dioxin from Agent Orange that was stored at the former military base, now part of Danang's airport. read more>>>
August 8, 2012 - An international exhibition and art auction to raise funds for Vietnamese Agent Orange/dioxin (AO) victims opened at Mori Gallery in Sydney, Australia on August 7.
Organized by the Agent Orange Jutice (AOJ) under the Australia -Vietnam Solidarity Network, the exhibition with the theme “Beautiful Art for Innocent Children” is showcasing about 100 works by more than 80 popular Vietnamese and Australian artists.
The Governor of New South Wales, Marie Bashir, the Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia, Hoang Vinh Thanh, the Vietnamese Consul-General in Sydney, Mai Phuoc Dung and hundreds of viewers have attended the event. read more>>>
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