An international scientific symposium to review the harms of Agent Orange/dioxin used by the US Army in Vietnam was held on August 8th, 2016, on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the Agent Orange/dioxin disaster with the participation of Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, senior diplomats in Vietnam, and domestic and international scientists.
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At the symposium, the Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister made a keynote speech, wishing that scientists, organizations, individuals, governments and the international community as a whole would speak the “truth,” “conscience” and “science” to claim justice for Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange, as well as have empathy for and provide more support for them.
The Agent Orange Magazine presents the keynote speech in English made by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, as follows:
Distinguished delegates,
First of all, I would like to welcome and thank the former Japanese Prime Minister, senior diplomats and scientists for your participation in this significant scientific symposium. I also acknowledge and thank the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) for its consistent effort to provide various supports for Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange and claim justice for them.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As many other Vietnamese villages, my home village saw off a large number of youths who left their homes and went to war for national independence, freedom and unification. Many of them laid down their lives in the battlefield while others came home with different injuries. When I grew up, I knew that quite a few of the returners were exposed to Agent Orange (AO).
As a school boy, my parents and teachers usually told me: “When you meet difficulty or cannot have what you want, you should remember that many people out there meet more and more difficulties and have more sufferings. So you should think that you are much luckier and happier, and that you should live so as to deserve the blessing.”
I always tell myself this philosophy every day, every hour, every minute.
Today, I feel that my life is even much luckier when I’m at the symposium discussing issues related to AO victims. I have visited a number of families, whose three generations are all AO victims. Of the families, some have only two members that still have some working ability while other members are not normal in terms of appearance, psychology, physical and mental health. Those I have visited are only a small number among three million Vietnamese AO victims.
The after-effects of AO are now passing on to the fourth generation while many areas in Vietnam have still remained “dead land” as they are seriously polluted with the lethal poison.
All supports in any forms for AO victims from any individuals or organizations are valuable and appreciated. Any material support is highly valued even thought it is a pence from an American donated for the dioxin detoxification project in Da Nang Airport or medicine, clothing and necessaries sent to Vietnamese AO victims.
But the fact is that supports from all sources, including VND 10,000 billion earmarked per year by the Vietnamese Government for various projects to overcome the consequences of AO/dioxin in the country, are still insufficient to meet the real need. Nevertheless, what is more important to AO victims, particularly Vietnamese ones, is justice.
The Vietnamese people have not produced, purchased, imported nor sprayed AO/dioxin in their country, but many have been, are and will be victims of this dangerous poison. We all do not want to talk about war. We want to close the past and look forward to the future but we cannot forget the past’s pain. Talking about war is not always good for peace, but we should sometimes mention war as a way to seek peace, cooperation and partnership.
There have been a large number of literature and art works as well as poems and songs composed during our national protection wars, and many keep going with the time. In his poem “Có thể nào yên” (If peace could come), late poet To Huu writes: Elsewhere in the world is like South Vietnam, which suffered a lot but was still loyal to the nation, and brave and fearless in fight against enemy.
On average, each person in the South had somehow to bear three liters of the poison dioxin. Furthermore, each Vietnamese had to suffer an amount of bombs and ammunitions 10 times heavier than their weight. During the war, the country had to suffer 15 million tons of bombs and ammunitions, four times as much as in WW 2.
40 years has passed but merciless legacies of the war still exist here and there across the country. A large number of the Vietnamese families are victims of the war, including AO victims.
Vietnam alone cannot resettle the issue in several years ahead. Vietnam calls on friends, organizations, government and the international community to join hands with the Vietnamese people in overcoming the aftermath of war, to voice the truth, the conscience, and scientific evidence to help Vietnamese AO victims gain justice and fairness.
I was honored to have met former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama several times. In a talk with him today, the former Japanese Prime Minister said that he has for the first time attended an event related to AO/dioxin, and wondered if the topic of this scientific symposium was suitable for him. I spoke to him that this meeting is suitable for all as it aims to claim justice for people in need, to promote cooperation, to close the past and look forward to the future without war.
I thanked former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, ambassadors, scientists and all other delegates for your attendance and contributions to the scientific symposium.
The struggle for Vietnamese AO victims may endure but I still believe that the truth will finally win if we join efforts and unite together in claiming justice for Vietnamese AO victims.
Thank you for joining me!
Remarks by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam at an international scientific symposium on harms of AO/dioxin/
