Italian organisation blows up balloons to support AO child victims

The Italian community in Viet Nam together with dozens of children with birth defects as a result of their parents' or even grandparents' exposure to AO/Dioxin, living in Hoa Binh (Peace) Village in Ha Noi's Thanh Xuan district, blew up 300 orange balloons carrying the message: "Do not forget Vietnamese AO child victims".

Addressing the event, Dr. Enzo Falcon, president of Care the People, appealed to the international community and non-governmental organisations to carry out practical activities to help Vietnamese people, who were exposed to Agent Orange (AO)/Dioxin during the war and their families.

Responding to the appeal, Falcon said, was an obligation for peace and justice lovers, who should raise their voices against the use of chemical weapons.

"We demand that those people who have caused this man-made catastrophe be responsible for providing social, financial and medical support to AO/Dioxin victims," Falcon noted.

According to Tieu Van Man, President of the Ha Noi Association for Victims of Agent Orange, about 4.8 million Vietnamese people have been exposed to AO in Viet Nam, including 3 million adults and 300,000 children who suffer from diseases caused by Dioxin. Apart from suffering various pains, the majority of AO victims in the country are living under the poverty line.