"The Earth is our Mother and they have murdered her". The woman speaking is Vietnamese. Those she is referring to are pilots of the US Air Force who, between 1961 and 1971 literally covered South Vietnam with defoliants used to locate their “invisible enemy”, the Vietcong.
We are now dealing with the third generation of victims of dioxin poisoning, this toxic substance which has infiltrated the earth of Indo China, Cochinchine and of Annam, destroyed the flora and the fauna and which continues to give birth to seriously deformed children. Granddaughters and sons of country folk, women, soldiers and civilians alike, have died after long suffering cancers resulting from the toxic substances thrown into the skies of South-East Asia, only to fall as drizzle into the lives of its inhabitants.

“The murder of Mother Earth” does not leave peace seekers/protestors indifferent. They have been fighting this cause for 30 years. Last March, they met in Paris in the Clemenceau Room of the Senate which the France kindly offered as a gesture of a dignified welcome.
The participants came from Vietnam, from European countries which are conscious of this problem, from the United States and Canada, witnesses, specialists, doctors, jurists, historians, journalists, all came to testify and seek some solutions to the problems caused by this “war crime”, as some of them do not hesitate to call it.

How does one win compensation? That is the big question. The Vietnamese victims tried to bring a lawsuit against the producers of these deadly substances which continue to poison the earth and the bodies of so many children, turning an act of love like breast feeding into a death sentence. The lawsuit was rejected by the courts in the United States. It is unimaginable, at least legally, to condemn the American Army’s government. The plaintiffs have appealed. (citent malgré tout en appel.) But they stand little chance. Various participants raised the multiple faceted nature of this problem. Although their experience is vast, is it necessary to keep emphasizing that it is “irreversible” rather than to examine what can and must be done in the short-term and then also long-term?

It is with regards to this subject that AMADE Mondiale became involved “through the voice of its Vice-President”:
By pointing out that women and men volunteer their help to get involved. It is in the field that this crime was perpetrated; it is in the field that we must act. Must we continue to waste money paying for studies when we don’t know that these are necessary? Legal and scientific research is of course valuable and the results added to the research undertaken in the last 30 years, will represent a wealth of knowledge and information.
For AMADE however, the biggest problem is to reach and help those in Cochinchine, in the region of Thayninm, Ben Hoa and in Annam, on the high plateaus situated on the border of Laos, who are working in health care centers and schools to brighten the lives of children born without arms or legs, with facial deformities, and sometimes also brain damaged.

The census missions for new victims of the last generation are extremely difficult to undertake. In the rural areas and in the minority ethnic tribes, referred to in the past as “hoys” or mountain people, the birth of deformed babies is not declared. In these areas, in some villages and even in some cities, it is believed that babies carry the responsibility for the bad deeds and actions of their ancestors.
Furthermore, the action taken by AMADE Mondiale with regards to the new classification of “Crimes against children, crimes against humanity” could assist the judicial process/steps which many participants at this conference are undertaking.

Expressing this idea of collaboration “in the field”, a “hands on” approach, was welcomed by everyone.
The personal mission undertaken by the President of AMADE Mondiale, HSH the Princess of Hanover, was mentioned and applauded. The response of the President of the United States was judged accordingly (jaugée à sa juste valeur). The Assembly also understood just how similar the fight to save the children in the Philippines was to the situation in Vietnam. Many Vietnamese delegates expressed their high opinion and hopes for an alliance which would benefit the children directly, those already born with deformities and for those who would be born into these same conditions.
Amongst them was Mrs Nguyen Thi Binh, the Vice-President of the Vietnamese Republic.

Almost 300 people participated in this Conference. An important Vietnamese delegation, led by Mr Trinh Ngoc Thai, ex-ambassador of Vietnam in France, including Mr Dang Vu Minh, President of the Science Academy in Vietnam, as well as the representatives of the Vietnamese Association of Victims of Agent Orange, were all in Paris. Mr Nguyen Dinh Bin, Vietnamese Ambassador in France, was also present. Many NGO’s, French or European and in solidarity with Vietnam, also took part in this meeting.