Society

Vietnamese-French honoured with medal of merit

Vietnamese-French Nguyen Phuc Ky, a founding member of the Van Canh Friendship Village in Hanoi, has been awarded a Medal of Civil and Military Merits (French: Medaille d’Or de l’Office republicain des Merites Civiques et Militaries) of France for his part in the village’s construction.
Vietnamese-French Nguyen Phuc Ky, a founding member of the Van CanhFriendship Village in Hanoi, has been awarded a Medal of Civil andMilitary Merits (French: Medaille d’Or de l’Office republicain desMerites Civiques et Militaries) of France for his part in the village’sconstruction.

The medal was presented by theCommittee for the Van Canh Friendship Village in Essonne Province andthe provincial Association of Republic Veterans (ARAC) in Paris’soutlying city of Palaiseau on April 10.

As a memberof the General Union of Vietnamese in France, Ky joined streetdemonstrations against the American war in Vietnam and made donations tothe home country.

Later, he joined architect VoThanh Nghia in designing the building of the Vietnamese Embassy inFrance at 62 Boileau Street in Paris.

He alsoserved as a technical advisor for the embassy and was then honoured withthe War Resistance Medal, second class, by the State of Vietnam.

When elected to the ARAC Executive Committee in 1993, he proposed thatthe ARAC engage in practical actions to support Vietnam, which led tothe establishment of Van Canh Village, one of the facilities that carefor war veterans and Agent Orange/dioxin victims.

Raphael Vahe, ARAC President and Chairman of the French Committee forthe Van Canh Friendship Village, spoke highly of Ky’s role in increasingthe friendship and solidarity between France and Vietnam.

He stressed that the decoration is a demonstration of the friendship between the two countries.-VNA
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