US Government Donation Not Enough: Activist

While the US government’s donation of US$400,000 towards a $1 million study into removing toxic chemicals from the environment and cleaning up a site in Da Nang is welcome, it’s not enough, said Len Aldis, general secretary of the UK-Viet Nam Friendship Association.

It is a very small step – and long overdue – on the long road to the eradication of the legacy left by the use of millions of litres of Agent Orange and other chemicals used and sprayed by the US," he said.

In a letter to the Viet Nam News Agency bureau in London, Aldis wrote, "Today in Viet Nam there are over three million living victims including newborn babies, suffering from illness, many with severe disabilities caused through Agent Orange. Of what benefit to them will be the $400,000 or $1 million?".