Vietnamese lawyers gathered in Hanoi on June 14 to affirm their support for Agent Orange victims in their lawsuits against US chemical companies.

The rally was held before the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit opens a hearing, scheduled for July 18 in New York.

“The US Government should take specific actions to help ease pains and injuries that the US army caused to AO victims in Vietnam,” President of the Lawyers’ Association Pham Quoc Anh told the rally.

The same day, the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association issued a statement opposing the US lower court’s decision to reject the Vietnamese plaintiffs’ petitions.

It proposed that the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ask US chemical companies to compensate Vietnamese AO victims.

Between 1961 and 1971, the US troops sprayed 80 million litres of defoliant onto Vietnam, with more than half of it Agent Orange, including 600 kg of dioxin.

Around 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to the dioxin and over 3 million of which suffered from physical conditions as a result. (VNA)

Some images of the chemical war and Agent Orange victims:
 

US troops prepare for the spraying of toxic chemicals in South Vietnam.	Containers that held US toxic chemicals sprayed in Tri Thien.
A farmer exposed to US chemicals who died in the fields in Ben Tre.	US chemicals eradicated thousands of hectares of mangrove forest in Ca Mau.
A mother's pain. - Do Thi Hue, 13, a native of Quan Dinh Bac hamlet in Thai Binh province, in her mother's lap. Like their mother, Hue and her younger brother Do Van Lai are affected by Agent Orange-related illnesses. They are the 3rd generation of victims. Their maternal grandfather fought in Quang Tri from 1962-1972. Year round, Hue squats in their wooden cot in the corner of the room, biting the worn wooden bars. Her 6-year-old brother, suffering from the same problems, remains in the care of his grandpa. Do Thi Hue & Do Van Huy's grandfather and mother feed them.
Do Thi Hue spends her days staring out at the world.	Nguyen Thi Nghien, 54 (centre), in Nghia Loc commune, Nghe An province. Her husband fought in south Vietnam. All of their children are affected by Agent Orange.
In 1984, military nurse Luong Thanh Xuan from Division S7 of Army Corp 4 in South Vietnam retired from service and returned to his native village in Dong Quan commune in Yen Bai province. The father of three children who were all affected by deformities and mental illness.	Le Van Hung, from Dong Thinh commune, Thanh Hoa province. His legs have both atrophied and he gets around using his hands. His parents are Le Van Thanh and Tran Thi Hoa, both soldiers in a battle in Quang Nam in 1971.
Dinh Thi Hoa, born 1984, in Duc Minh commune in Quang Ngai province, in her mother's arms. Her mother Le Thi My Hanh was a youth volunteer during the Quang Ngai battle.	Bui Ngoc Be, 86, from Binh Tan district of Ho Chi Minh City, was a former commando and senior Lieutenant of the Saigon - Gia Dinh military Zone. He has suffered due to his contact with Agent Orange Dioxin.

Photos: From the VNA's book For The Victims of Agent Orange