VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) has voiced its strong support for a Vietnamese born French national’s lawsuit against US chemical firms.

The Paris-based William Bourdon & Forestier law firm representing Vietnamese French national Tran To Nga who was exposed to the toxic chemicals during the Vietnam War on June 11 filed a lawsuit against US chemical companies in a local court in Evry City, demanding compensations.

VAVA President Nguyen Van Rinh said on June 13 that VAVA, a non-governmental organisation that legally and morally represents dioxin victims in Vietnam, supports Nga’s lawsuit and considers possible material assistance to help her pursue the case.

He called on the Evry court to complete necessary procedures to bring the case to light for the sake of Nga’s interests. He also called on dioxin victims to unite and strive for the common goal of preventing the use of chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction to bring ever-lasting peace to the world.

In the lawsuit, lawyer William Bourdon made a list of 15 illnesses Nga has contracted that the US has recognised as a consequence of dioxin. Since May 2014 the suit has been sent out to more than 30 relevant chemical companies, including Monsanto and Dow Chemical.

During the Vietnam War, the US sprayed nearly 80 million litres of defoliants, 61% of which were Agent Orange, over southern Vietnam between 1961 and 1971. As many as 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to the toxic chemicals.

Nga, born in 1942, worked as a Vietnam News Agency war correspondent during the Vietnam War. Since 1966 she worked in defoliants-contaminated areas like Cu Chi, Binh Long and along the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail.

She has three children, but the elder died of congenital heart defects, and the second contracted Alpha Thalassémie - an inherited hemoglobinopathy characterized by impaired synthesis of alpha-globin chains.

VNA/VNN