Nhan Dan Online - A ceremony was held on June 12 at the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) to admit Mr Len Aldis, secretary of the Britain-Vietnam Friendship Society as an honorary member.

Mr Len Aldis expressed his pleasure to join the association. He stressed that the active efforts of VAVA helped attract increasing concern from domestic and global public towards the consequences of Agent Orange affecting seriously the environment and people in Vietnam.

“Supporters of Agent Orange victims find VAVA a good way of expressing their concerns and raise aid to help them,” he said.

Mr Len Aldis, 76, first came to Vietnam in 1989. Since then, he has carried out many activities, even “more active than many Vietnamese people” as noted by VAVA Vice President Nguyen Trong Nhan, to help Agent Orange victims in their daily lives and in the struggle for justice.

He is the author of the website http://www.petitiononline.com/AOVN/petition.html which is designed to collect signatures of those who want to support Vietnamese Agent Orange victims.

Mr Nhan said that it would take time to list the initiatives worked out by Mr Len to support the victims.

Mr Len has visited colleges in Britain, giving speeches and showing films about Agent Orange victims in Vietnam. He has also mobilised British MPs for the support towards the victims.

His website has been signed by over 700,000 people around the world, much higher than expected. This shows that his patience has helped many people gain an understanding of Agent Orange and its serious consequences.