Illustration by Trịnh Lập

by Nguyễn Mỹ Hà

It is deeply disappointing to all who cherish peace and believe in justice for the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange [a chemical herbicide and defoliant] that a Paris court on August 22 dismissed the appeal of a French-Vietnamese citizen seeking to hold the chemical companies that produced Agent Orange accountable.

War correspondent-turned-justice-seeker Trần Tố Nga has been fighting for justice for herself and other Agent Orange victims since 2014, when she launched a lawsuit in Paris against 14 companies that allegedly produced the chemicals used by the US military in its "defoliation" campaign in South Việt Nam between 1961 and 1971.

These companies included giants like Dow Chemical and Monsanto, now owned by the German multinational Bayer.

The irony is that after Monsanto changed ownership, victims of the chemicals Monsanto produced now find themselves seeking justice from one of the world’s largest healthcare providers, which has marketed itself since 2023 as a company that provides "health for all, hunger for none".

This legal battle is truly an unequal one, akin to the Vietnamese saying "Châu chấu đá voi," meaning "A grasshopper trying to kick an elephant." It seems hopeless.

The Paris Court of Appeal’s decision on August 22 mirrored an earlier ruling from 2021 by the Evry Court, located in a Parisian suburb, which claimed it did not have jurisdiction over the case. The court cited the legal immunity of the companies involved, as they were operating under the orders of a sovereign government, specifically the US government.

Madame Nga’s efforts aim to hold these companies accountable for the devastating health impacts that have affected up to the fourth generation, according to the Việt Nam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA).

In Paris, where hundreds of thousands of tourists visit landmarks every day, especially in the weeks following the Olympics, only two hundred people turned out to support Madame Nga’s case—a modest number. Yet she shows no signs of giving up, even at the age of 83, while suffering from health conditions she believes are a result of her years working as a war reporter in jungles sprayed with Agent Orange.

Madame Nga currently suffers from "recurrent tuberculosis, cancer, and type II diabetes," according to Vietnam Dioxin, a collective fighting for the rights of Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange.

Her legal representation in Paris comes from William Bourdon and Associates. On August 22, Bertrand Repolt reportedly told the media that the court's decision was not final and that they would bring the case to the Court of Cassation, France’s highest appeals court.

Before this ruling in France, all attempts by other Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange to seek justice in US courts were rejected. Critics argued there was insufficient scientific evidence to link dioxin to the health issues claimed.

However, the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) published a paper in Volume 104, No 10 titled "Agent Orange in Vietnam", reporting data from scientists who collected samples to measure dioxin levels in breast milk, adipose tissue, and blood from Vietnamese citizens.

Despite funding challenges and issues with sample collection, a significant difference was observed between people living in unsprayed (northern) and sprayed (southern and central) areas of Việt Nam.

"The mean 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) blood level is six times higher in the southern/central group than in the northern group," the report stated.

The report also noted that this large discrepancy is not found in other specific congeners of the higher chlorinated dioxins or furans, although these congeners are generally higher in concentration in sprayed areas.

"Since the TCDD was the major dioxin-like contaminant in Agent Orange, these findings suggest that the TCDD in 2,4,5-T may have entered the food chain in some areas of Việt Nam," the AJPH reported.

Could the high TCDD levels in southern Việt Nam be caused by other sources? The report noted that "the mean TCDD level in adipose tissue of 15 parts per trillion (ppt) in the southern samples is three times higher than the 5ppt found in an epidemiologic study of samples in the US. The blood levels also exceeded those reported for US samples by threefold".

"Given the current theory that environmental TCDD results primarily from industrial processes, it is difficult to identify a plausible alternative source of TCDD in the environment of southern Việt Nam that would produce levels exceeding those in the US," the report concluded.

More research is urgently needed to trace the pathology from TCDD to human deformities and diseases, but ironically, the resources and modern labs required to support such findings lie only in the hands of the very corporations involved.

This August marks the Remembrance Month for Agent Orange/Dioxin victims in Việt Nam. Last year, as many as 5,000 people took to the streets of Hồ Chí Minh City to rally behind the victims, helping them seek justice for suffering that goes beyond human endurance.

Although Madame Nga now lives in France, she has the support of many Vietnamese back home.

A public exhibition on Hồ Chí Minh City’s Book Street titled "One Plaintiff, Millions of Victims" started in 2021 to showcase the long and painful process of filing the lawsuit in French court and to support Madame Nga.

The 83-year-old is not alone. People from all walks of life in her birth country are ready to carry the torch once she is gone. Elsewhere in the world, people of conscience not only show their support but also contribute funds to help her cover the legal fees imposed by the Paris court — 1,500 euros for each company she is challenging.

This court decision is not just disappointing; it is unfair, unjust, and immoral. VNS