Meaningful activities for Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin in France

The Jazz Bond Association recently coordinated with the Tieng To Dong Association and the Van Canh Friendship Village/Vietnam (Village de l'Amitié - Van Canh/Vietnam, branch in France) to organize a charity concert to raise funds for children infected with Agent Orange/dioxin in Vietnam at a small theater in the beautiful city of Le Perreux sur Marne, a suburb of Paris, France.

This is a colorful musical activity with many performances with the participation of many performing groups such as Jazzman group, “music for children” group, music therapy group and especially guitar classes, with students from 7 to 77 years old.

With admission tickets priced at only 7-11 euros (7.49-12.48 USD), the music night attracted the participation of many French friends and the Vietnamese community in France.

Coming to the music night, the audience not only enjoyed the melodious melodies from Vietnamese traditional musical instruments performed by members of the Tieng To Dong Association, but also immersed themselves in the modern musical space of guitar, piano...

Introducing himself, Mr. Marc Béhin said that he and his wife, Mrs. Véronique Béhin-Carlier, founded the Jazz Bond Association in 1992. The association is a music school operating in the Le Perreux sur Marne area, focusing on two main areas: one is music teaching, acoustic architecture and music therapy; the other is music production, specializing in producing live concerts and releasing music records.

Previously, the Association often released music CDs, but has now gradually shifted to digital music projects.

Mr. Marc Béhin shared the reason why by chance he, his wife and friends in the Association came to charity music activities to support Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin.

He said: “The meeting with Vietnam was quite unexpected. I was invited to Hanoi to perform a series of music programs. During a concert in Paris, someone came to me and said: 'I know you will perform in Hanoi, so would you like to come and play music for children from an organization supporting Agent Orange victims?' A year later, we were there. At that time, I did not fully understand the terrible consequences of chemical warfare in Vietnam.

After visiting with my wife and learning more about the consequences of chemical warfare, we decided not only to perform, but also to organize activities for children and adults affected by Agent Orange. We organized a month-long tour, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, passing through many small towns and cities. From there, we focused on the consequences of that chemical warfare."

Mr. Marc Béhin said that over the years, the Bond Jazz Association has organized many concerts in many locations in Hanoi, Yen Bai, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue...

The Association has also held working sessions with museums, organized music meetings and masterclasses at the Hanoi Conservatory of Music.

The most recent musical event in Vietnam that the Jazz Bond Association was invited to participate in was the Lotus Festival in July 2024 in Hanoi - which Mr. Marc Béhin assessed as a festival full of culture and art.

In addition to organizing charity music performances, the Jazz Bond Association also develops music therapy projects in Hanoi for Vietnamese child victims of dioxin, with support from the organization “Friendship Youth” (Les Jeunes Amitiés) in France.

Mr. Marc Béhin said that in order to maintain effectiveness, the Association has decided to focus its activities in Hanoi, instead of spreading across the country as before. Here, the Association organizes continuous training courses for medical staff and families with affected relatives, because the need for psychological support in Vietnam is very large.

Sharing about his upcoming plans for Vietnam, Mr. Marc Béhin said: “We plan to return to Vietnam to continue providing psychological care through music therapy for patients. We also plan to return to Hue to perform and organize music therapy sessions. We have been to Hue before, and we really want to be able to return to Hue. We really love Vietnam, you could say we almost fell in love with this country, because Vietnam is an important part of our hearts.”

For his part, Mr. Alain Bonnet, from the Van Canh/Vietnam Friendship Village (France branch) - the co-organizer of the concert, shared: “We are not the only ones involved in this fundraising work. There is an international committee consisting of Americans, Germans, Japanese, and of course veterans, along with our French Committee. We not only contribute to the maintenance of the Friendship Village, but also strive to fight so that one day, the right to compensation for Agent Orange victims will be recognized."

Mr. Alain Bonnet said that the Van Canh Friendship Village organization was established in 1998 and will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2028. Since 2008, the organization has been involved in providing financial support to the Van Canh Friendship Village - which not only accepts disabled children, but is also a rehabilitation center for veterans - who, after experiencing war, have to endure the pain of not being able to start a family, or if they do, their children are born with serious illnesses, malnutrition or disabilities.

Mr. Alain Bonnet shared that this is unacceptable and is the reason why he and like-minded people conduct fundraising activities to support humanitarian activities and the fight for justice for Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin. For the simple reason, according to Mr. Alain Bonnet, justice needs to be served.

In addition to the performance, the Bond Jazz Association and the Van Canh/Vietnam Friendship Village (branch in France) also organized an exhibition of some images of humanitarian activities to support Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin that have been carried out over the years.

It is known that all proceeds from the concert will be used for activities supporting victims of Agent Orange/dioxin and other charitable activities in Vietnam./.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/hoat-dong-y-nghia-vi-nan-nhan-chat-doc-da-cam-dioxin-viet-nam-tai-phap-post1040987.vnp