Germany’s Frankfurter Rundschau (FR) newspaper runs article on the lawsuit by Vietnamese-French Tran To Nga (Photo: VNA)The author of the article, Stefan Brändle, described 79-year-old Nga asa woman with a robust appearance but suffering from many different severe diseases such as breastcancer, type-II diabetes, high blood pressure, alpha thalassemia and heart-relateddiseases.
When she was exposed to AO/dioxin in 1966, Nga did not know about the fatal effect of the chemical that can transmit to later generations. But when she gave birth to her first child in 1969, the baby girl lived only 17 months and died due to respiratory and skin problems. Her two others daughters are still alive but have poor health conditions, and a grand-daughter of Nga suffers from heart diseases.
The author wrote that during 1961-1971, the US army sprayed80 million litres of herbicides and defoliants, 46 million litres of which were AO producedby many companies, including the US chemical manufacturer Monsanto, which isnow part of the Bayer Group, in order to defoliate entire forests and trackdown Vietnamese soldiers.
Agent Orange, which also contains the poisonous dioxin anddirectly attacks the genetic make-up, has caused hundreds of thousands ofdeaths and millions of sick people in Vietnam.
Even today, in the fourth generation after the end of thewar, around 6,000 babies with deformities and serious diseases are born inVietnam every year, the article stressed.
In 1984, US veterans who participated in the Vietnam warwere paid almost 180 million USD in compensation. However, Vietnamese AOvictims have been paid nothing.
Nga, therefore, filed a lawsuit at Evry, France, where shenow lives, against 14 chemical giants such as Monsanto or Dow Chemical in 2004. Theruling is expected to be issued on May 10.
According to the article, after that day, the defendants canappeal and that would be a disadvantage for Nga, as doctors said that the 79-year-olddoesn't have much time left.
However, the Vietnamese French woman is still notdiscouraged, as she wants to expand the lawsuit to include the offense of“ecocide” - a crime against nature. The French National Assembly included theterm in its new climate law at the beginning of May, the article wrote./.
The author wrote that during 1961-1971, the US army sprayed80 million litres of herbicides and defoliants, 46 million litres of which were AO producedby many companies, including the US chemical manufacturer Monsanto, which isnow part of the Bayer Group, in order to defoliate entire forests and trackdown Vietnamese soldiers.
Agent Orange, which also contains the poisonous dioxin anddirectly attacks the genetic make-up, has caused hundreds of thousands ofdeaths and millions of sick people in Vietnam.
Even today, in the fourth generation after the end of thewar, around 6,000 babies with deformities and serious diseases are born inVietnam every year, the article stressed.
In 1984, US veterans who participated in the Vietnam warwere paid almost 180 million USD in compensation. However, Vietnamese AOvictims have been paid nothing.
Nga, therefore, filed a lawsuit at Evry, France, where shenow lives, against 14 chemical giants such as Monsanto or Dow Chemical in 2004. Theruling is expected to be issued on May 10.
According to the article, after that day, the defendants canappeal and that would be a disadvantage for Nga, as doctors said that the 79-year-olddoesn't have much time left.
However, the Vietnamese French woman is still notdiscouraged, as she wants to expand the lawsuit to include the offense of“ecocide” - a crime against nature. The French National Assembly included theterm in its new climate law at the beginning of May, the article wrote./.
VNA
