AO/dioxin pain, easing efforts featured at Hanoi exhibition

An exhibition on the pain of Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin in Vietnam and efforts to surmount its consequences was opened in Hanoi on August 3.

The event at the Vietnam Military History Museum is held in coordination with the Vietnam Association of Victims of AO/dioxin (VAVA), the Chemical Arms, and the Military Library. It takes place on the occasion of the 55^th anniversary of the AO/dioxin disaster in Vietnam (August 10, 1961).

Visitors at the exhibition. (Source: bienphong.com.vn)

Through the more than 400 items and photos on display, the exhibition gives visitors an insight into the danger and devastation of chemical toxins and the process by which the US army caused the AO/dioxin disaster in Vietnam.

Many of the exhibits show Vietnam’s efforts to address the consequences of AO/dioxin, along with domestic and foreign support for the victims.

The AO/dioxin victims and their families’ exceptional endeavours to weather the difficulties are also featured in the displayed items.

At the exhibition, books, scientific research and newspaper articles written by Vietnamese and foreign authors are also expected to help readers gain a better understanding of the disaster and remedies to the problem.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh, VAVA Chairman, said the event aims to help visitors learn more about the consequences of AO/dioxin, thus calling for practical action to assist the victims and fight for their justice.

From 1961 – 1971, US troops sprayed more than 80 million litres of herbicides, 44 million litres of which were AO, containing nearly 370 kilograms of dioxin, over southern Vietnam, according to the VAVA.

As a result, around 4.8 million Vietnamese were exposed to the toxic chemical, about 3 million of them are AO victims. While tens of thousands of people have died, millions of their descendants are living with deformities and diseases as a direct result of the chemical’s effects.