Remembering peace activist Merle Evelyn Ratner

On the morning of February 16, the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations held a memorial service for Ms. Merle Evelyn Ratner, a peace activist, anti-war activist, civil rights and progressive activist, a great and loyal friend of the Vietnamese people, who passed away on February 5, 2024.

Photo caption — Delegates observed a moment of silence for Ms. Merle Evelyn Ratner. Photo: An Dang/VNA

The memorial service took place in person in Hanoi and was connected online to many locations in the US with the participation of representatives from a number of Vietnamese departments, ministries, agencies, and organizations; Professor Ngo Thanh Nhan, the life partner of Ms. Merle Ratner; and friends who have close relations with Ms. Merle Ratner's family. Speaking at the memorial service, Mr. Phan Anh Son, Chairman of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, expressed his condolences upon hearing the news of Ms. Merle Ratner's passing after an unexpected accident on February 5, 2024 in New York City, USA. Ms. Merle Ratner was born in 1956 in the Bronx, New York. Since the age of 13, she has participated in peace movements, actively protested against the war in Vietnam, and supported the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam. She, along with other peace-loving Americans, raised banners demanding an end to the war, knocked on doors to spread propaganda, explaining to the people of this country the mistakes of the war and the right to independence of the Vietnamese people. She was arrested many times by the police for participating in protests, but she always felt proud of her actions. “Her love for peace and for Vietnam was so great that she was willing to give up her burning dream of becoming a singer to pursue the fight for peace and justice for Vietnam. The image of a 16-year-old girl waving the flag of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam on the Statue of Liberty in New York to protest the US war in Vietnam and singing the song “Liberate the South” with peace-loving Americans every time they took to the streets to fight for a peaceful and unified Vietnam will forever be unforgettable images in the hearts of many generations of Vietnamese people, a symbol of international solidarity, standing side by side with the Vietnamese people in the movement to protest the US war in Vietnam,” Mr. Phan Anh Son emphasized.

According to the President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, when the war ended, Ms. Merle Ratner continued to follow every step of Vietnam's development, supporting and assisting the Vietnamese people in the country's recovery. She and her like-minded friends fought against the US embargo on Vietnam, demanding that the US respect the Paris Agreement. During the period from 1976 to 1979, Ms. Merle and her husband, Professor Ngo Thanh Nhan, promoted the establishment of the "Association of Patriotic Overseas Vietnamese in the US" to call on the US Government to normalize relations and lift the embargo on Vietnam. As co-founder of the “Vietnam Agent Orange Victims Relief and Responsibility Campaign – VAORRC”, Ms. Merle Ratner has accompanied and helped the Vietnamese people heal the wounds of war, tirelessly mobilizing organizations and individuals to support and seek justice for Vietnamese Agent Orange/dioxin victims, putting pressure on the US Government and chemical companies responsible for cleaning up the environment in hot spots, compensating, providing medical services,education , and creating jobs for Vietnamese Agent Orange/dioxin victims. Over the years, she and her friends have collected tens of millions of signatures to help Vietnamese Agent Orange/dioxin victims file lawsuits. She is also the person who directly organizes trips for Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin to the US, and with her colleagues organizes many educational activities, carries out many communication campaigns, shares information with the community, and at schools in the US to make effective contributions to victims of Agent Orange/dioxin.

She served as program coordinator for the International Committee on Labor Rights and as a board member of the Low-Wage Workers Center in New York and New Jersey, as coordinator of the National Indochina Activists Network, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Brecht Forum/Marxist School of New York, the former left-wing cultural center of Greenwich Village, and as a member of the Correspondence Committee on Democracy and Socialism, a former member of the National Coordinating Committee - CCDS, organized two CCDS study tours to Vietnam and contributed to the CCDS book “Vietnam: From National Liberation to 21st Century Socialism”.

In appreciation of her sentiments and recognition of her tireless and meaningful contributions to Vietnam, the President awarded her the Friendship Medal (2016). She also received the Award “For Vietnamese Agent Orange Victims” (2013); the Commemorative Medal “For the Development of Vietnamese Women” (2010). For the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, Ms. Merle is a loyal and sincere friend and comrade. She is always ready to support the Union and its member organizations in organizing peace, solidarity and friendship activities with left-wing friends and the Communist Party in the US; enthusiastically participating in many activities organized by member organizations such as the Vietnam-US Association, the Vietnam Peace Committee, and the Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation. At the Memorial Service, delegates observed a minute of silence for Ms. Merle Ratner and sent their deepest condolences to her family and relatives, and expressed gratitude for her feelings and contributions to Vietnam.