Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Secretary of the Britain-Vietnam Friendship Society on Oct. 19 publicized a letter he had earlier sent to the CEO of U.S-based Monsanto chemical company, urging him to compensate Agent Orange/Dioxin victims.

Len Aldis had sent a letter to Hugh Grant, the company chairman and CEO, dated Oct. 1, 2004, which began: “You were born just three years before the American forces, in 1961, began the spraying of chemicals in areas of South Vietnam, and were fourteen years of age when the spraying ended in 1972. In those 11 years while you were a growing lad and going to school, the chemicals that Monsanto, Dow and other companies manufactured, were being used to destroy the forests, contaminate the land, lakes, streams and rivers of South Vietnam. But, a bigger crime than the above was the agonizing deaths the chemicals caused to the many thousands of innocent Vietnamese, including youngsters like yourself who would have liked to have reached the age of 14.”

“You would not have known, as a lad of 14 years, that the company you were to join in 1981, nine years after the spraying ended, had caused the deaths of so many Vietnamese and left so many more suffering from various illnesses and disabilities.”

“You surely would and should have known in 1981. Certainly, in 1984 you knew for in that year, American Vietnam Veterans took your company and others to court in New York for the terrible damage Agent Orange had done to them and their families. The Judge in his ruling said that Monsanto would pay a greater percentage of the settlement of 180 million USD, than the other chemical companies.”

“Today, you hold the top three positions in Monsanto. In January of this year, another lawsuit against your company and others began, brought by Vietnamese, seriously ill through Agent Orange. Behind them, there are three million Vietnamese also seriously affected by the chemicals that your company manufactured.”

“In my visits to Vietnam I have seen and met with many victims of Agent Orange. I have also seen the effects on their families. This year, 32 years after the spraying stopped, I met children from 10 months, to adults of 25 years, ill and with disabilities that are painful to witness.”

“At 14 years of age, you may not have been aware of the Vietnam War, let alone the damage caused by chemical weapons. But today in Vietnam, the legacy left by your chemicals and others can still be seen in the people and the land. In Ho Chi Minh City, there is the Tu Du hospital, where I have been a few times and seen some of the young children with disabilities from Agent Orange. Also in Ho Chi Minh City, on the 14th floor of Sun Wah Tower is an office of Monsanto.”

Mr. Aldis suggested in the letter that Grant send the director/manager of his HCMC office to visit the Tu Du hospital to see the special room and wards where the children affected by the chemicals could be seen.

More than 610,000 people in many countries have signed an online petition calling for justice for victims of Agent Orange, and for compensation to be paid, said Mr. Aldis, who also created the petition.

The text of the petition and their signatures can be viewed at: http://petitiononline.com/AOVN/, he added.

He ended his letter with an appeal to Monsanto and other companies involved in the manufacturing of Agent Orange to compensate the victims of the chemicals that the U.S. government used in the Vietnam War.

He also urged the companies to establish research facilities in Vietnam to study and seek solutions for the long-term effects of Agent Orange and the other chemicals used as well as to fund the establishment of clinics in agreed areas of Vietnam and help clean up contaminated areas in southern Vietnam.

(Source: Vietnam News Agency)
Story from Thanh Nien News
Published: 20 October, 2004, 20:39:17 (GMT+7)
Copyright Thanh Nien News