Volunteers come to play with children at the Vietnam Friendship Village. (photo: qdnd.vn)

Children are playing happily at the Vietnam Friendship Village, where hundreds of war veterans and Agent Orange/dioxin victims are being cared for. The children are doing exercises, dancing, and singing with young foreign volunteers. Delegations from many countries – including young volunteers – come here to visit the victims and learn about the effects of Agent Orange/dioxin.

Maelle Leroux, a French volunteer, said: "I'm doing childcare. I did not know I'd be here. But when I arrived here I discovered the Vietnam Friendship Village and I volunteer to take care of the children."

Isobel Burns, a British volunteer, said: "I volunteer here. I'm going to study child nursing. The concept of the Vietnamese war and Agent Orange affected children really interested me. I like to work with children. So mixing my interests, I come to see how I can help the kids."

The Friendship Village and other centers for victims of Agent Orange/dioxin across Vietnam have received regular support from international friends, organizations, social activists, and American veterans who fought in the war in Vietnam. Thanks to their support, many projects on health care, rehabilitation, education, vocational training, and job generation for AO victims have been deployed.

Last May, the Belgian Chamber of Representatives passed a Resolution calling for support Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin. This is the first time that a foreign Parliament has passed a resolution to support Vietnamese AO victims.

The Belgian Chamber of Representatives passed a Resolution calling for support Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin. (photo: baoquocte.vn)

MP André Flahaut, who played an important role in lobbying the Resolution, said:  “We have thought about a document determining responsibility and especially emphasizing that the Agent Orange used by the US military in the war in Vietnam has caused consequences until today and there will be more victims in the future. We aimed to gain high consensus for the document, but indeed, we did not think it would have very high support from all parliamentarians and the government. The adoption of the document sent a strong message of the need for accountability and compensation for the victims. We need to continue support Vietnam's efforts on this journey. We must also do everything possible to clean up contaminated land in a sustainable way. We need to make the American side understand that they can do more and better for the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange.”

International friends have taken action to fight for justice for Vietnamese AO victims. Many people supported Ms. Tran To Nga, a French citizen of Vietnamese origin, in her lawsuit against American companies that produced and marketed Agent Orange/ dioxin for the US military during the war in Vietnam. French lawyers Bertrand Repolt and William Bourdon volunteered to provide legal support for Ms. Nga.

Hundreds of French friends attended rallies to support Ms. Nga. One of them said: "Today Tran To Nga's lawsuit filed against companies that produced or marketed Agent Orange/dioxin, including Monsanto, for environmental destruction takes place. I believe that this was a crime against humanity because Agent Orange/ dioxin was sprayed on Vietnam for many years, causing permanent effects for at least 5 million people and the consequences cannot be forgotten. This is an important fight. For that reason, as a MP of La France Insoumise, I’m here today to support Tran To Nga.”

"As an environmentalist, I totally support Tran To Nga and hope she will win. I’ll use all my influence to help her win, a victory of justice and politics to have acknowledgement, compensation, and resolution,” said a supporter of Tran To Nga.