Nga came online with her silver hair in rollers."My hair is way too long now. I have not made time for a haircut yet," she said, explaining the hair rollers in a video call with VnExpress International from her apartment in Paris, where she lives by herself.At almost 80, Nga gives herself no time to rest. She is busy with indictments, statements, speeches and interviews, especially since last January when her name became a byword for a doughty fighter.On January 25, Nga’s profile shot up among millions interested in the Vietnam War in general and Agent Orange in particular. That day, she officially filed a suit against 14 companies that supplied the U.S. Army with the notorious, toxic defoliant during the Vietnam War. Studies have shown that they knew it was toxic but decided to make it for profit anyway. The case was filed in the southern Paris suburb of Evry.The defendants in Nga’s case are on top of a Who’s Who list in international agriculture, like Monsanto and Dow Chemicals. She has accused them of being responsible for physical ailments and mental suffering sustained by her, her children and countless others, as well as for severe damage done to the environment."This is not my trial alone, this is not my fight alone. By now, the name Tran To Nga should only be a symbol. This is a fight for the people, for truth," she said.Nga suffers from certain typical Agent Orange effects, including type 2 diabetes and an extremely rare insulin allergy. She has contracted tuberculosis twice and a cancer once. She lost one of her daughters to a malformation in the heart. She has also suffered Alpha Thalassemie, which results in impaired production of hemoglobin, the molecule that carries oxygen in the blood, and her daughter and grandchild have the syndrome. Tran To Nga during a rally to call for justice for Agent Orange victims in Paris, 2019. Photo by Collectif Vietnam Dioxine. Nga, a naturalized French citizen now, has been fully backed by Vietnam in …
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