For immediate release 10/17/2008

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VIETNAMESE AGENT ORANGE VICTIMS VISIT CHICAGO
Monday 10/20 - 6:30 PM
Roosevelt University - Gage Gallery
18 S. Michigan Ave.

Agent Orange Victims speak about lawsuit against U.S. government and chemical companies
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Press Contacts: Bob Gronko (630) 328-3103
bobgronko (at) yahoo.com
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Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange Tran Thi Hoan and Dang Hong Nhut will speak in Chicago at Roosevelt University’s Gage Gallery on Monday October 20th at 6:30pm. They are visiting the United States as part of a campaign to raise awareness and demand accountability for the suffering caused by U.S. government use of Agent Orange in Vietnam
Tran Thi Hoan is a 21-year-old college student who was born without legs due to her mother’s exposure to Agent Orange. Dang Hong Nhut, from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam suffers from cancer and has had multiple miscarriages due to Agent Orange exposure.

Three million Vietnamese, thousand of U.S. soldiers and Vietnamese-Americans were affected by Agent Orange, which was used as a defoliant by the U.S. during the war. Agent Orange causes cancer, other chronic illnesses, and birth defects in children. It continues to poison the natural environment of Vietnam.

“America has tried to put Vietnam behind it, but in Vietnam children are still being born deformed and people are still dying of cancer because of our use of Agent Orange 30 years ago. Recognizing the victims today is essential if we are truly going to put the war behind us,” says Barry Romo, a Vietnam veteran and long time member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War.

Victims have launched a lawsuit and a corporate campaign to demand meaningful compensation from the makers of Agent Orange, Dow and Monsanto, and the U.S. government for both Vietnamese and U.S. victims of Agent Orange. U.S. victims have been given some relief by the courts, but Vietnamese victims have been rebuffed. The campaign also includes efforts to build friendship between U.S., Vietnamese-American and Vietnamese Agent Orange victims and support the work of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA).

Sponsored by the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC)
EMAIL: info (at) vn-agentorange.org • WEBPAGE: www.vn-agentorange.org
Co-sponsored by Mansfield Institute for Social Justice & Transformation, Vietnam Veterans Against the War