Joint efforts to ease pain of AO/dioxin victims

The Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA), the National Humanitarian Portal, and MBBank's charity app launched the "Joining hands to ease the pain of Agent Orange in 2024 Programme", with the theme "Light up the future" on July 16.

According to Chairman of VAVA Nguyen Huu Chinh, the programme has produced good results in 2023, raising over 2 billion VND (nearly 80,000 USD). The association has built 14 houses worth 930 million VND for AO/dioxin victims, presented gifts with a total fund of 568 million VND to nearly 600 victims in 22 provinces and cities across the country, and supported those residing in the association's social protection centre.

Tran Ngoc Tho, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin said in the first half of 2024, the organisation donated over 7,600 gift packages, 29 wheelchairs and mobility scooters, and supported 105 victims with medical treatment, width a total value of 6 billion VND.

The association is implementing the 'Cam Village' project, covering an area of 50,000 sq.m, to provide care, support, and vocational training for AO victims, Tho said, adding that more than 5,000 people joined in a charity walk in HCM City on August 4 to support AO/dioxin victims.

Meanwhile, the Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin of the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang has raised over 11 billion VND to support local victims in the first six months of 2024. Another Mekong Delta locality, Soc Trang province donated over 9.5 billion VND to local AO/dioxin victims so far this year.

The joint efforts and contributions of the community have helped alleviate the physical and emotional pain of AO/dioxin victims, enabling them to have a better quality of life.

Vietnamese-French Tran To Nga, who filed a lawsuit against 14 US chemical corporations that supplied Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin for the US army during the war in Vietnam, has shared about her arduous journey of over 10 years in pursuing a lawsuit to seek justice for the victims of Agent Orange.

Talking to press agencies recently, Nga said in 2013, the Evry Court of France accepted the lawsuit and it held the first hearing in April 2014. After 19 procedural hearings, in 2021, the court dismissed the lawsuit, saying it did not have jurisdiction over the case, a ruling that disappointed the Vietnamese and international public.

The 82-year-old woman said that along with many volunteer lawyers supporting her case, she continued to appeal to the Court of Appeal. She affirmed that she will fight this battle to the end.

The lawsuit is a unique and special case, as Nga holds dual French and Vietnamese citizenship, making her eligible to represent Vietnamese AO victims in filing the lawsuit. Hundreds of people have attended the hearings to follow and support her.

On May 7, 2024, the Court of Appeal of Paris held a hearing on the case, with a ruling expected on August 22. The key issue in this trial is whether chemical companies are entitled to 'immunity' or not.

Nga said the road to seek justice for Vietnamese AO victims is long and challenging, adding that although it is unclear when and how it will end, she and her companions will remain persistent, courageous, hopeful, and steadfast to the end.

Apart from holding the chemical companies accountable for their actions, Nga wants the world to be aware of the severe consequences of Agent Orange/dioxin, which have affected millions of people in Vietnam, and the crimes committed by those chemical companies.

She and her supporters achieve these goals as more and more people around the world are becoming aware of and supporting her fight.

In Switzerland, the Swiss Workers Party expressed solidarity with her. In France, hundreds of overseas Vietnamese (OVs) and friends gathered at the Place de la République in Paris to show their support for Nga and Vietnamese AO victims.

From 1961 to 1971, US troops sprayed more than 80 million litres of herbicide - 44 million litres of which were AO, containing nearly 370 kilogrammes of dioxin - over South Vietnam.

As a result, around 4.8 million Vietnamese were exposed to the toxic chemical. Many of the victims have died, while millions of their descendants are living with deformities and diseases as direct consequences of the chemical's effects./.

(Source: VNA)