French court hears Agent Orange case

The plaintiff, is 73-year-old Tran To Nga, who was born in the south of Vietnam and is now living in Paris.

“Her first child was affected by Agent Orange/Dioxin and died at 17 months. Nga’s two other daughters, one of whom is living in the US and the other in Australia, are the second generation victims”, said Tran Ngoc Tho, deputy president of Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA).

Nga’s children are only three of millions of Agent/Dioxin victims in Vietnam. For over 10 years, from 1961 to 1975, in order to wipe out food supplies and the protection afforded by brush and tree cover, the US army defoliated 1.7 million hectares land and forests of Vietnam with 44 million litres of Agent Orange, which contained dioxin, the most toxic chemical known to science.

Millions of people were exposed to this chemical and today it is estimated that five million Vietnamese still suffer pain, birth defects, and cancer, as a by-product of the continued presence of the chemical defoliants in the environment.

On June 11, 2014, Nga filed a petition at the French Superior Court based in Evry, a commune in the Aube department of north-central France, suing 26 US chemical companies for producing and providing toxic sprayed in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Twelve of the companies have hired lawyers for the trial, which will take place on April 16.

‘The case could be time-consuming and costly but VAVA will maintain its supports for brave women such as Nga in their battle for justice”, Tho said.

Nga is also receiving help from Bourdon and Rofestier law firm in legal issues and from VAVA in terms of scientific testing and analysis at a German laboratory.  Besides, VAVA has co-operated with Bourdon and Rofestier to handle any financial and legal issues regarding the US chemical companies.

“Suing includes several costs such as litigation, translation, document delivery, and payment for lawyers”, Tho said. VAVA has sent a document to the Vietnamese government to ask for support and met the Embassy of Vietnam in France to call out for the Vietnamese community to raise funds so that Nga can continue the legal action.

VAVA failed in a five-year court case brought in 2004 against 37 US chemical companies, including Dow Chemical, Monsanto Ltd, Phamacia Corporation, and Hercules Incorporated at the US Supreme Court. They said that there was a lack of direct evidence linking the symptoms of sufferers with the dioxin.