L'Humanité frontpages an article headlined “A story of an American war crime tried 55 years later in France”, reflecting on the lives of Nga and millions of other victims of AO/Dioxin and her enduring fight for justice over the last six years. Screenshot of L'Humanité. (Photo: VNA)L'Humanité frontpaged an article headlined “A story of an American warcrime tried 55 years later in France”, reflecting on the lives of Nga andmillions of other victims of AO/Dioxin and her enduring fight for justice overthe last six years. The article said the historic trial against 14 Americancompanies, including Dow Chemical and Bayer-Monsanto, is now entering a newphase at the Crown Court of Evry.
The lawsuit has been called a David-and-Goliath struggle, as dozens oflawyers for the multinationals have deployed all possible strategies to slowdown the progress of the trial, it said, adding that a few years ago theturnover of Dow Chemical alone exceeded Vietnam’s GDP.
It also said the challenge is to have a French court recognise theassociation between human exposure to the ultra-toxic pesticides used by the USin the Vietnam War and the health problems experienced by Vietnamese victims.If confirmed, millions of AO/Dioxin victims could demand compensation.
Le Monde, meanwhile, emphasised that Nga knew she would have to handle aprolonged legal battle and there would be appeals and all kinds of examinationsto establish whether there is a link between her health conditions and the US useof herbicides in her homeland. It said there is no other lawsuit against these agro-chemicalfirms who were aware of the toxicity of their products sold to US armed forces.
Screenshot of Le Monde. (Photo: VNA)If Nga wins, the case would indeed recognise the responsibility of thesemajor firms in harming human life and the environment, the newspaper added.
Liberation, meanwhile, quoted Dow Chemical’s own words as saying AgentOrange is extremely powerful with an “exceptional toxicity”. The defoliant wasat the heart of the largest chemical warfare programme in the 20th century, conducted by the US not only in Vietnam but also in neighbouring Laosand Cambodia. Its lasting effects are still being felt today.
Franceinfo called Nga “an old lady” who moves slowly, but behind the fragileappearance is a grandmother who has shown all her life that she has “the soulof a fighter”. Nga lost her first daughter, it said, while the second suffersfrom a malformation and her grandchildren have breathing problems. For years,diseases linked to AO/Dioxin have been hidden by families in Vietnam. One ofthe challenges for the case is “to make visible this part of history by recognisingthe nature and the extent of the damage”.
Screenshot of Reporterre. (Photo: VNA)It added that whatever the outcome of the trial, there will be an appealfrom the chemical giants who cannot afford to lose, or from Nga who has nothingmore to lose, it added.
Tran To Nga graduated from a Hanoi university in 1966 and became a warcorrespondent with the Liberation News Agency, now the Vietnam News Agency. Sheworked in some of the most heavily AO/Dioxin-affected areas in southern Vietnam,such as Cu Chi, Ben Cat, and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, ultimatelyexperiencing contamination herself.
From 1961-1971, US troops sprayed more than 80 million litres ofherbicides - 44 million litres of which were AO, containing nearly 370 kg ofdioxin - over southern Vietnam.
Around 4.8 million Vietnamese were exposed to the toxic chemicals. Manyof the victims have since died, while millions of their descendants are livingwith deformities and diseases as a direct result of the chemical’s effects./.
VNA
