HANOI—On Aug. 8, the people of Vietnam marked 63 years since the United States and its allies first dropped the chemical weapon known as “Agent Orange” on their country. Every year on the anniversary, the Vietnamese Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) marks the occasion with events aimed at raising much-needed funds for the care of victims of U.S. war crimes.
To this day, Agent Orange and the other dioxin weapons used by the U.S. during the Indochina War continue to affect the Vietnamese people and many of the U.S. veterans who were forced to handle the dangerous chemicals. Because these chemicals alter the DNA of those affected and can stay in the environment for decades, new victims are still being born year after year.
While the U.S. government continues to partially fund the environmental cleanup in Vietnam, its military and the chemical companies that produced the weapons still avoid their ethical responsibility to help care for the human victims.
This past March, the Communist Party USA’s Hello Comrade Program visited Vietnam. During their time there, the CPUSA group met with the leaders of VAVA and visited one of the care villages the organization manages on the outskirts of Hanoi, where they met the caretakers and the victims.
They learned that although the Vietnamese government and VAVA do everything they can to help these people, the country still lacks all the resources needed to provide the appropriate level of care.
The Hello Comrade delegates were shocked by what they saw. Many were unaware of the long-term effects of Agent Orange or that new generations of victims are still being born.
Arturo Cambron, head of the delegation, said that “because it was our government—the U.S. government—that committed these crimes, it is our responsibility to step up and do everything we can to help.”
On Aug. 11, the Hello Comrade delegates announced that the Communist Party USA is mobilizing its members across the country as part of a broad coalition to fight for justice for the victims of Agent Orange/dioxin, both in Vietnam and in the United States. The goal is to raise awareness about the continuing suffering of the victims and the need to help them.
The CPUSA will be working with the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC). It was founded by the late Merle Ratner, who dedicated her life to this important campaign. VAORRC is an umbrella group of progressive organizations, including Veterans for Peace, and Vietnamese diaspora groups. Professor Ngo Thanh Nhan, Merle’s widower says he is “very excited for CPUSA to join this campaign.”
A similar sentiment was echoed by VAVA’s leadership, who encouraged the CPUSA to “gather friends to support Agent Orange victims” and “continue to condemn the wrongdoings of U.S. chemical companies that produced Agent Orange/dioxin for the U.S. military to use during the Vietnam War from 1961-1971”.
VAVA emphasized that the most important goal is to “lobby U.S. politicians in Congress to pass a bill approving relief to Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin.”
The campaign will work to create grassroots pressure to win passage of the upcoming and most recent version of Rep. Barbara Lee’s “Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act,” which aims to provide aid to victims in the U.S., Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
Lee has submitted similar bills to Congress on multiple occasions in the past, but so far, they have failed to gain enough support to pass. The goal of the CPUSA’s program is to increase awareness about Agent Orange’s victims among other progressive groups across the U.S. and raise the level of pressure on Congress.
Over six decades have passed since Agent Orange was first sprayed on the people and lands of Vietnam. How much longer will the victims have to wait until those responsible are held accountable?
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