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New York .
April 25,2004
They came all the way from the disaster-affected, dusty town of Bhopal (India) to New York to awaken the
world to the truth that Justice is rarely given; it is won.
Two women survivors, Rasheeda Bee and Champa Devi, accompanied by an activist, Satinath Sarangi sat down
near
the Statue of the Big Bull, New York on May 1,03 and launched a relay hunger strike, it was the latest episode in
the
18 years’ old battle between the disaster survivors and Union Carbide, now the property of world’s biggest
Chemical
Company, Michigan-based, Dow Chemicals, that caused the disaster in Bhopal.
The battle that pitted the financially and physically sick survivors against a powerful multinational company
began
when a gas-tank, with 65 types of gases got overheated and burst in the early hours of December 3,1984. In no
time,
the town got engulfed under the dark clouds that blackened the trees and killed around 8,000 people within a
couple
of days. Human bodies melted under the spell of poisonous gases, 50,000 more were injured trying to escape or
with
skin bursts. The survivors’ organizations claim that a total of 27,000 people have died to date and 150,000 are
disabled with respiratory problems, persistent cough, and loss of memory, menstrual disturbances and diseases
like
cancer. Even children born after that are under its impact due to the reason that the breast milk got affected by
the
toxic wastes. On an average 40 people are dying every month.
The survivors’ struggle to seek punishment for the Union Carbide plus compensation and rehabilitation for the
victims
began as meek complaints and over-dependence on the government. It gradually developed into Bhopal based
potential-less organizations. As the complaints gained momentum, an umbrella organization named Action
Against
Corporate Crime and Toxic Terror (Aacctt) came into being. Currently, an organization, International Campaign
for
Justice in Bhopal ( ICJB) is spearheading this movement. In men, money and support, these organizations are
very
weak as compared to the enemy, they want to take on. Their only strength is that they are on the sympathy list of
many celebrities and human right groups. Still, it is far from becoming a homogenous, focused mass movement,
strong enough to fight persistent battles. So far, it has lost almost all its battles. There seems to be no political
and
organizational support, and if there is any, the supporters don’t come out publicly, fearing the powerful enemy
from the powerful country.
Its major complaint is against the Government of India, which has not been supportive to their cause. In a judicial
battle
lasting 5 years, the Government of India settled a secret agreement with the Union Carbide for $ 487 billion. It
was
1/6th of the total rehabilitatory demand. Moreover, the GOI has distributed relief to only 90% of the victims, with
aid
ranging between $ 300 and $ 1000. The survivors say, it is not enough to pay even a few years medical costs.
They
also complain that the GOI has a lot of relief money with it, earning interest and the government does not give
the
share of the interest income to the survivors. They also accuse the GOI of a clandestine support given to the
Union
Carbide when the Senior Attorney General suggested that the criminal charges against the Union Carbide and
its
CEO, Mr, Anderson, be dropped.
Nothing has been done to clean the city of Bhopal of the tons of toxic wastes, lying scattered, contaminating air
and
ground water and causing health risks. The weakest point in the GOI-Union Carbide agreement was the
condition that
the Company won from the government that the company would not be responsible for any future civil or criminal
proceedings. This armed the Union Carbide with a powerful tool to defeat the survivors’ organizations in all the
future
legal battles.
The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal lost its case in the New York court also on the same grounds.
Their
New York Lawyer has appealed against the verdict but they don’t seem to have come forward with a counter to
the
company’s argument that their deal with the GOI absolves them of all responsibilities and liabilities.
Being not confident of winning legal battles and with no support from government and politicians, the movement
has
adopted the Gandhian Strategy of Satyagraha to win support worldwide, including that of the shareholders of
Dow, the
new owners of Union Carbide. They have adopted simultaneous strategy of direct confrontations meant to bring
down
the worth of the company by hitting at its markets and share prices.
THEY DEMAND:
Back in February 2001, when Dow Chemicals bought the Bhopal Plant with all its assets, the leaders of the
movement
held Dow responsible for the liabilities of Union Carbide. They repeated their resolve to get Anderson extradited
for
prosecution in Indian Court, to force company to disclose the composition of the toxic gases that caused the
holocaust,
to clean Bhopal of the toxic waste and to get reasonable financial returns for the medical and economic
rehabilitation
of the survivors. They haven’t won any of the demands but they haven’t lost the courage, either.
THEIR BATTLES AND STRATEGIES:
They declared year 2002 as “ the Year against Corporate Crime” They began with a relay hunger strike in June
in
front of Parliament, involving 2 women survivors and an activist-Rasheeda Bee, Tara Bai and Satinath Sarangi.
They
claim that 1500 people, worldwide, participated in the fast, including the famous French writer, Dominique
Lepierre, the
Spanish writer, Javier Moro and Mayor of Venice, Gianfranco Bettin. On June 8, three hundred activists stormed
the
Bombay office of the Dow and met with the Indian Director of the company. But they got the curt reply: “ Union
Carbide
has left behind no liabilities.” To hit at the Dow’s market in India, they demanded ban on one of their products,
Dursban. “ It is a poisonous chemical invented by the Nazis. The USA has banned it, already. But it is being sold
in
India as a domestic pesticide….We will not allow slow and silent Bhopals in Indian homes.” Said Satinath Sarangi.
The poisonous pesticide has not been moved out of the market but the Survivors movement has been moved to
USA.
They want the Dow Chemicals to own upto the liabilities of the Union Carbide and accept all their 4 demands.
Working
under the slogan: “WE WILL NOT LET YOU BURY JUSTICE IN BHOPAL”. the organizers stress that the Dow has
“inherited Union Carbide’s plant, machinery, staff, products, markets and profits. Why shall it not inherit its
liabilities,
also?”
In New York, they meticulously chose the Statue of the Big Bull as the site to launch the fast to send a message
that
there is nothing bullish about the Dow as it has a burden of liabilities. It is answerable to the victims of Bhopal
disaster.
In the meantime, Dow has invented the counters to all their demands. They have vanished the identity of the
Union
Carbide by buying it out. It has refused to disclose the composition of the gases on the ground that it is their
trade
secret. It also refuses to consider the environmental issue of cleaning the town of the toxic wastes. The question
of
relief cost is not there, either, as they have been settled in the GOI-Union Carbide deal.
Despite all this the Survivors Movement is persevering. Quoting a sum of $ 2.2 billion liability owned and
disbursed by
Dow to some African country on behalf of the Union Carbide in connection with some asbestos liability, the
movement
leaders hope to defeat their most powerful opponent in the most powerful capitalist country.
But for the time being, the Bhopal gas victims’ Movement is like a candle trying to remain lit in a storm.
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BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY (Ranjit Singh) |