Art to expose Agent Orange disaster
John Percy
Australian and Vietnamese artists are contributing works to an art exhibition to be held in Sydney in August to expose the ongoing horror of the Agent Orange chemical warfare inflicted on the Vietnamese people by the American war in the 1960s and '70s. Agent Orange Justice hopes to take the exhibition to Melbourne and Brisbane also.
Eighty million litres of "herbicide" were sprayed on the forests, fields and people of Vietnam over 10 years, to deny shelter to the Vietnamese freedom fighters, and to deny them food and support from the local community. More than three million people were killed or affected, with terrible birth defects inflicted up to the third and fourth generations. US and Australian service men and women and their children have also been affected.
The exhibition aims to raise consciousness on the Agent Orange issue and to raise funds for Vietnamese victims. NSW state Governor Marie Bashir will open the exhibition and Vietnam's consul general in Sydney, Mai Phuoc Dzung, will speak at the opening.
In addition to original artworks and cartoons, the exhibition includes photographs from Vietnam of the impact and results of Agent Orange spraying, as well as a display of anti-war posters from the campaign against the war in Vietnam. Over the four days of the exhibition there will be seminars and film showings each evening.
Organisers will also launch a petition calling for support of victims, land remediation and recognition of Agent Orange health issues for all veterans, and calling for the governments involved to acknowledge their responsibility.
The exhibition has been initiated by Agent Orange Justice – Australia Vietnam Solidarity Network. AOJ was established in June 2011, with a launch meeting addressed by Mai Phuoc Dzung, Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon, green bans activist Jack Mundey and Mike Karadjis from Agent Orange Justice.
Agent Orange Justice is the Australian section of the international campaign to hold the United States government responsible for the disaster it created for millions of Vietnamese people through its 10-year spraying of Agent Orange in Vietnam between 1961 and 1971.
This international campaign is spearheaded by the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange / Dioxin (VAVA) and aims to pressure the US government and the chemical companies that produced Agent Orange to pay to clean up the toxic mess still contaminating parts of Vietnam's environment and to provide adequate compensation to the Vietnamese who are affected.
The exhibition will be held from August 8-11 at Mori Gallery, 168 Day Street, Sydney. Agent Orange Justice is inviting artists and cartoonists in Australia and Vietnam to contribute artworks to the exhibition, and supporters to volunteer to publicise and help staff the exhibition.
Contact Agent Orange Justice to help build or contribute to our events, or to join or affiliate:
info@agentorangejustice.org.au
PO Box 290, Enmore NSW 2042.