The United States Congress held a hearing at 2:00 PM on July 15 about Agent Orange used in Vietnam. This public hearing is considered a success for the Vietnamese representative team based on the comments of the hearing’s participants.
Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong, vice chairman of the Victims of Vietnam Agent Orange who previously attended two hearings about Agent Orange, has asked the U.S. Congress, government officials and nongovernmental organizations to take more realistic practical actions to help the three million victims of Agent Orange in Vietnam. The U.S. should not just provide medical services for the care and rehabilitation of victims of Agent Orange; it is more important that they help Vietnam clean up and scour places that were polluted by it.
In the 10 years from 1961 to 1971, approximately 10 million liters of Agent Orange produced by U.S. chemical companies were sprayed in Vietnam by the U.S. military. The data collected by the UN Development Program showed that about $5 million (approximately 4 million Euros) is needed to clean up the contaminated areas in Vietnam. The UNDP also reported that the three locations that need to be “cleaned up” next are the areas around Bien Hoa, Da Nang and Phu Cat airports. This is only considering the environmental damage; the dire consequences of long term damage on humans are much more severe.
At the third hearing held recently in Washington, Dr. Phuong also continued his request for the U.S. chemical companies that produced the deadly poison to accept responsibility for the victims in Vietnam, and to help and support them effectively. A girl named Tran Thi Hoan, one of the victims of Agent Orange in Vietnam who testified in the first congressional hearing, has expressed her desire for U.S. government officials to understand the harmful effects of Agent Orange, and the pain and suffering the victims must endure daily. She wishes the U.S. government would take quick action in cleaning the affected environment for future generations so that no one is born like her or has to bear the suffering due to the consequences of Agent Orange contamination.
Also at the hearing, Mr. Matthew Palmer, deputy assistant secretary of state, an authority in charge of issues in East Asia and the Pacific under the U.S. State Department, and Dr. John Wilson, director of the Office of Technical Assistance Division in charge of issues in Asia and the Middle East for the U.S. Agency for International Development, presented more information about the cooperation between the two countries in addressing issues related to victims of Agent Orange in Vietnam. They want the U.S. government and lawmakers to study the related financial implications and take action. U.S. Congressman Eni F. H. Faleomaveaga, who proposed and chaired all three hearings on the issue of Agent Orange, said that the speech of Dr. Phuong has provided enough scientific information on the consequence of Agent Orange in Vietnam.
At the hearing, Mr. Palmer acknowledged that the Agent Orange problem was a sensitive issue in American-Vietnamese relations, but both countries are now moving from talk to action in repairing the environment to improve the health of the people of Vietnam.
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