Bombs that were dropped by the u. S. Military during the vietnam war. Panelists include an environmentalist, a vietnam veteran, and several Staff Members from project for new, a vietnambased educational and bomber moving excavation bomb removing excavation. This was hosted in conjunction with the vietnam traveling exhibit. Hello. Interlude, an interlude that will remind us of 50 years ago in a very different way, but i want to first make two informational points. One is, you see that poster that is over there . What that is is imagining the wall if it represented all of vietnamese, lao, and cambodian that were killed. Our numbers were the different than the ones we heard today, but in any case, the white is there, that recognition of all of the deaths is a far more massive issue. I would like to introduce mary poster, if she will stand up. You will hear her at the white house tonight. Poignantlyer speak about her situation. Mary is from ball state university, where they organized the only commemoration of moratorium that we are aware of in the middle of october. That is all, like Everything Else come online, and you will get information about how to see it. Uh it is an honor to introduce peter. Peter and i traveled together in vietnam three times, where he was doing public concerts to raise attention, International Attention to the agent orange problems and landmines in uso. And his unstoppable, ability to connect things together is unique. Ask peter tong to sing two songs now. Downstairsg one song and at least one, maybe more, at the white house. We will just see how things go there. Yarrow, i dont have to say much more than your name, but [cheers and applause] peter thank you. We are going to have a song now. When we finished the program, we are going downstairs. We will sing again. And when we get to the white he is goingis when to really sing. Thank you, peter. Where have all the . Owers gone long time passing where have all the flowers gone . Long time ago where have all the flowers gone . Young girls have picked them every one when will they ever learn . When will they ever learn . Where have all the young girls men gone . Where have all the young men gone . Longtime long time passing where have all the young men gone . Long time ago long where have all the young men gone . Where have all the young men gone . Gone for soldiers every one when will they ever learn . When will they ever learn . I was on reconciliation and development on three trips. Because noah, paul, spent close and i involvedde very deeply in the antiwar movement. In fact, there was a very important statement that was how were going to how we are going to let people know about what has happened, so that it moves them . Can you pull the door, please . Thank you. People may not move by statistics. I mean, they are informed by statistics, but let me tell you a quick story, and then i will go back to the songs. Vietnam, therip to first day that we were out there, we went to friendship thatge, where it is judged 50 of the children, at least, deformities as a legacy of agent orange. And i sang for them. When you sing for these children, and you see what the deformities are, they are not unsimilar to florida floridamide, then you hold these children with deformities in your arms, and it is a child. They are not deformities, it is life and love. And it is devastating. Was run byvillage vietnamese and american g. I. s. And the kids were ecstatic singing. For a few minutes, there was only just the joy of singing together. Indid not have to sing vietnamese or in english. To that evening to the hanoi opera house, which is threequarterr reproduction of the paris opera house. It was built during the occupation by the french. And i got up in front of the audience, and i came to a was timeoint when it for me to sing blowing in the and i said to everybody, i cannot sing this song. I cannot sing that song after what i experienced, until i tell you how i feel. I am not speaking for america. I am not speaking for other people on this stage. As a person who was at friendship village, and i told them a bit about it. And i said, from one american to all of you, i cannot tell you how horrified i am from just what i have experienced, to see what my country has done. , am horrified, beyond ashamed and then i think. I said ok, now i can do it, and then i think blowing in the wind, which i will do in a second, but all of Southeast Asia picked up on this story. It went crazy. Why . Ecause somebody was saying the emperor has no clothes. And that is why it frightens. And this is what i want to tell you, john, and you, susan. Idea, for the next time that we go to vietnam, learning from that and seeing it, do you know what, when it hit the ap, do you want to know some of the things that were said to me, about what i should do with my head when it was cut off . And that was before the era of facebook. It was extraordinary. Extraordinary. Two more times and i made a film that was too grotesque to prevent present to pbs. It was called legacy of denial. If wes what we must alter are going to end this cycle. If we do not acknowledge the injury we have done, and we do it in one specific way, it will break through. It was not just one way. Was plutonium or uranium bullets in syria. We say we did this. Guess what. Dont forget about it. Acknowledge what it will do to people who are being acknowledged. What it will do for us is give us the chance to capture our humanity, how morality once more. If we dont do it we are condemned to continue this cycle. Now we will sing blowing in the wind. Everybody he was going to join us on that trip. I want everybody to raise your hands. I will not sing blowing in the wind until you do. You are not raising your hand. You want to hear bob dylan. [laughter] ok, here we go. The house is filled with expats. They knew peter, paul and marys music with vietnamese. Said, wend the adults dont need your apology, peter. Just let us live our lives in peace. The young people said, thank you. Answer, my friend is blowing in the wind in thewer is blowing wind how many roads must a man walk down man . E they call him a must the light of sail how many seas mostly white dove sleeps in thee sand themany times must before theyre forever banned . The answer my friend is blowing in tehe wind the answer is blowing in the wind times must a man look he can see the sky . One man have must cry . E he can hear people deaths will it take , let me know too many people have died is blowingmy friend in the wind theanswer is blowing in wind years can a mountain thet before it is washed to sea . A mountain of hatred and ignorance. How many years can some people allowed toe they are be free . How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesnt that is what we are talking about. How many times we have to see this . We cannot test. In eight years the dioxin goes out of the body. Space you havehe a 75 chance. 85 or 95 . How many times are we going to turn away from this reality . We want to deny it. We want to deny responsibility for the horrors we have done. Until we do that we cannot wash ourselves clean. This is what i want to do with john. I want to go there and do what i did on the stage in hanoi. I know you dont want to hear my words but you will have to listen for a moment. I am older than you are. Go and then i will do the last course. There just as citizens, concerned citizens. We go to the various places to make an apology and we make a gesture. We say it out loud. Just shut up and sing. [laughter] that is what they are going to say. They did it to the dixie chicks and they will say to us. They will say you are an american unamerican. We say we are the essence of america. How many of you will consider coming . Raise your hand. You dont have to come. Just consider doing it. [laughter] the answer my friend is blowing in the wind blowing in the wind. Last time. The answer my friend is blowing in the wind. Ng in ther is blowi wind [applause] we hope you are hungry for and thating by peter you will join us in the lobby afterwards. He will sing before we had to the white house. He is going to sing when we get to the white house. Folks fromall up the the next panel, the last panel of the day. Including Myra Mcpherson will moderate. While they are coming up here i want to mention that there are three or four websites you should keep in mind in the spirit of the g. I. Resistance movement. Thats the organization chuck joined when he came back from vietnam. Went to the university of georgia in athens and met with other soldiers, veterans who are equally distressed with the war. That is the Vietnam Veterans against the war. Vvaw. Org. Ite is website is wagingpeaceinvietnam. Org. Out for thell veterans for peace veteransforpeace. Org who have helped with many organizations. All was the president of the new york city chapter of the veterans for peace and has been with us at every presentation and every university so far. Vietnamfulls disclosure. Org. Its a really crucial site. They have been highlighting the problems with the ken burns vietnam series. If youre looking for more information on how to talk to friends and family about what is wrong with that series on vietnam, thats a good place for information. But also i want to highlight that they now have a very interesting blog there put together by Jeff Patterson with firstperson interviews. This is on tape with many of the folks who are here in this room now. Schnallarcy, susan and others. Its a very fine, very professional, very interesting set of blogs. With that i want to turn it over to myra. Thank you. Myra we have another stellar panel. That ito say to peter was lucky to be a friend of mary travers. One day i was driving in my car and i heard where have all the flowers gone . I got goosebumps. Got a hold of my friend and said that is the title of my book. Passingow long time king. Thank cam. Thank you very much. I want to introduce two wonderful men who Work Together with chuck. I want to talk about chuck later years after the vietnam war was over, lai was severely byured at the age of 10 eight u. S. Close tribute addition that exploded at the beach near his house a u. S. Munition. Lai and his brother were killed in a 2002 accident. He lost his right arm, part of his left hand and one eye. He is now 27 and is a member of the staff it project renew and works with the mine Action Visitor Center to teach children which is education, how to protect themselves from the threat of explosives ordnance. It is still a tragic menace long after the war. Ngueyn fu. Charge of the mine Action Visitor Center and the Education Program at project renew. He works with the youth union and other vietnamese institutions. His network reaches thousands of children and adults annually and teaches them how to be safe from bombs and mines and had to report explosive ordinances to Response Teams. The Response Teams do a fantastic and brave job at detonating mines before they can explode. To do ad you two Like Double Team and talk a little bit about your life and what you are doing . Good afternoon everyone. I am from vietnam. I am 30 years old. I am a survivor of a bomb accident. Volunteer with project renew and i very happy happy toere and im speak my story. Good so i needot help with mr. Fu. You need it translated into vietnamese . [laughter] good afternoon. Lai [speaking vietnamese] i feel leery very frightened after my tragic accident. Lai [speaking vietnamese] 2000, we were playing. Going out for playing. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu as we were going out in the sand dunes not far from where i was living i recall there were a missions. Ms that were lai [speaking vietnamese] because of our curiosity knowledgeck of proper we played there. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu i took a rock and i hit one of those items. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu it was followed by a blast right after that. Lai [speaking vietnamese] i fell after that, miky clothes tore apart. Lai [speaking vietnamese] yes. A black into my e my cousin passed away. Lai [speaking vietnamese] i was hospitalized by the People Living in my village living close by. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu in the hospital my parents cried a lot. They believed i was dying as a result of the blast. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu it took me four months in the hospital. I had nine told operations in the hospital. Lai [speaking vietnamese] like tragics more for what i have been through mental and physically. Lai [speaking vietnamese] felt every time the doctors and nurses came to me for a medical lai [speaking vietnamese] especially when i have to come for another operation. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu i was 10 years old then. Lai [speaking vietnamese] hospitallife after the was totally changed. Lai [speaking vietnamese] died. Was told my cousins lai [speaking vietnamese] phu another big loss for myself. Lai [speaking vietnamese] the bombs totally destroyed my life. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu from what is a normal person into a person that is handicapped. Lai [speaking vietnamese] right upper leg is mutated. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu also with my right arm. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu my right eye is also destroyed. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu and my left foot was taken away. Lai [speaking vietnamese] arm has a few fingers left. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu and also damage my left eye. Lai [speaking vietnamese] since then my life basically has to rely on wheelchair and crotches or i uches or i will be sitting in the wheelchair all day long. Lai [speaking vietnamese] lai [speaking vietnamese] all of that makes my life worse and worse. Lai [speaking vietnamese] i just dont want to make any friends. My life had been closed. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu i find it challenging in daily communication in the community. Lai [speaking vietnamese] that makes my life closed. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu in my night i have a lot of bad dreams about it. Lai [speaking vietnamese] recall from time to time about the big bang and the result of the accident. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu that makes me awake from time to time in the night. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu that is another nightmare for me. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu and being alone. Lai [speaking vietnamese] all of those coming to those challenges i try to get back to the community, to the school. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu it was challenging for me to try to get back into the school, to the community. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu it is because of my disabilities. Lai [speaking vietnamese] arms. Nd also my it is difficult for me to hold the pen for writing. Lai [speaking vietnamese] i did not see any kind of future for my life. Things for my life in the future. Lai [speaking vietnamese] like toever i would appreciate the generous and kind hope in caring support of my parents, my School Teachers to get me through. Lai [speaking vietnamese] to all of that i was able participate in secondary high school and even entrance enrollment into the university. Lai [speaking vietnamese] today i became a communicator at project renew. Lai [speaking vietnamese] i really like this type of job because it gives me an opportunity to interact and socialize with people. Lai [speaking vietnamese] what is more important is the war ended. Lai [speaking vietnamese] legacies ands consequences are still there. Lai [speaking vietnamese] learned there are many areas in vietnam which are still impacted as a result of unexploded ordnance. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu they impose a daily threat to the lives of those in vietnam. Lai [speaking vietnamese] thousands ofult Vietnamese Civilians were killed or maimed in tragic accidents because of u. S. Ordnance. Lai [speaking vietnamese] are my cousin and myself among the dead. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu for those who passed away and cannot see any kind of future in their life. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu and for those who are survivors and have become a burden on society, the community. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu it is a big pain. It is a big loss. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu the war has been ended many years ago. Lai [speaking vietnamese] it is still a problem in my country, my community. Lai [speaking vietnamese] i dont like any other o. To be out there in our land. Lai [speaking vietnamese] nmr future casualties and no more future casualties. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu however there are some efforts that have been underway in vietnam. Some organizations have been working on that. Of ing the efforts lai [speaking vietnamese] got one of the funding we this from the u. S. Government. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu their work had been on to release the safe land. Lai [speaking vietnamese] safe to be land is released for community development. Havee Community People can safer, better lives. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu for me being a community communicator, for years i became committed to this kind of work. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu i am very willing to share my knowledge, my personalized knowledge being a person who survived to a wider audience. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu so the community can live in a safer way. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu that is my daily job. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu by working along with children on a daily basis i am helping them by showing them how a be safe and showing them way from the uso. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu so basically they know how to protect themselves from the danger. Lai [speaking vietnamese] so they can have a better future. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu and they dont have to go like i was in the past. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu that is what it is all about. What i would like to share with everybody here tonight. Lai [speaking vietnamese] phu thank you very much. [applause] myra can you tell us about your life . Phu good evening, everyone. This is my first trip to d. C. And the u. S. Every day is a new experience for me. I feel great. So far, so good. Born in the same place. The dividing line between north and south of the country during the years of the war. Born i was raised right below the line, the dmz. Key major the during the wartime. In my family, my father served s, what a lot of people call the viet cong. He was a listed a few much after the tet offensive in 1968. He spent most of his time in prison. Soon after he joined the Guerrilla Forces he was arrested. Transported to danang for work. One of the biggest islands in southernmost vietnam. A huge prison there. Father was imprisoned the family had no idea. Nokia medication or contact with him. His younger brother came of age and he was enlisted into the army of the south, arvn. That is how the situation in my family. My father stayed there for basically about five years. Accord. Until the peace at the pri