Argentine architect honoured for support to Vietnamese Agent Orange victims

Speaking at the ceremony in Buenos Aires on January 7, Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina Nguyen Dinh Thao delivered his sincere thanks to Goldadler’s sentiment to Vietnamese people, especially the victims of AO/Dioxin. The ambassador affirmed that his support for the VAVA has contributed to strengthening the solidarity and friendship between the two peoples.

For his part, the Argentinian recalled his 17 visits to Viet Nam, highlighting that he is especially concerned about Vietnamese people who were exposed to dioxin, which has left excruciating pains to the country.

Looking back on his memories and feelings during his 17 missions working in Viet Nam, Goldadler, 69, said he was particularly concerned about AO issue as even though the war ended 40 years ago, its consequences still leave much grief and loss for Viet Nam.

From 1961 to 1971, the US military sprayed over 80 million litres of toxic chemicals, mostly AO containing 400 kg of dioxin, on more than 10% of the land in southern Viet Nam. Nearly 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to the chemicals and about three millions and their descendants suffer from health problems as consequences of the exposure until today.

When young, he actively participated in socio-political movements to oppose the war in Viet Nam. In late 2015, through the Viet Nam Embassy in Buenos Aires, he donated US$1,600 to VAVA to support AO victims.

The architect was invited by the Italian Foreign Ministry to work in a project to restore the Temple of Literature in Ha Noi. He also joined the teams designing Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology and some projects to preserve Ha Noi’s Old Quarter.

In 2006, he founded a Viet Nam House in Argentina and collaborated with the Vietnamese Embassy to popularise Viet Nam’s culture in Argentina.

                                                                                                    By Vien Nhu