On the night of 3 December 1984, a Union Carbide plant (now owned by The Dow Chemical Company) in the city of Bhopal, India began leaking large amounts of the deadly gas methyl isocyanate (MIC). None of the six safety systems designed to contain such a leak were operational, which allowed the gas to spread throughout the city of Bhopal. Half a million people were exposed to the gas and 20,000 have died to date as a result of their exposure. More than 120,000 people still suffer from the effects of the accident and subsequent pollution at the plant site.
The people of India, and thousands of people around the world, have been vigorously campaigning for justice to be brought against those responsible for the terrible tragedy. Campaigners finally won a huge victory who were calling upon The Dow Chemical Company to face trial; provide long-term health care; clean up the contaminated land affected by the site; and provide economic and social support to people affected by the tragedy.
The Students for Bhopal have released details of the victory in an email and on their website pages. The email is copied below. Further information can be found on the Students for Bhopal website here: Students for Bhopal
Hi everyone,
Thanks to the support of compassionate people like you around the world, the Bhopal campaign just won a huge victory (www.bhopal.net/march)!
What we did
We won – and when you boil it down, there were two basic reasons.
- The spirit, determination and perseverance of the Bhopalis – those poisoned people who walked 500 miles on grit and blisters, who sang through police truncheons, who starved for justice.
- You: the unyielding anger of compassionate people the world over, burying the government in protest, scorn and shame.
All of you have contributed monumental efforts in the past few weeks. These are a few of the things you accomplished:
- Fax Action. Nearly 3000 individual faxes were sent from the website (http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/FaxAction/fax_action.php) directly to the Prime Minister’s office in Delhi. Imagine hundreds of irate faxes spilling out and onto the floor daily – a mess and a migraine at the same time.
- Congressional Letter. Thanks to our lobbying efforts, 20 members of the United States Congress – led by Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey – signed a strongly-worded letter to the Indian Government, demanding that it meet the Bhopalis’ demands (http://www.bhopal.net/delhi-marchers/docs/bhopal.letter.pdf). “At a time when a new generation of victims is surfacing among children born to gas-affected parents and those exposed to contaminated drinking water, the government must take care of those affected by this horrible tragedy. In addition, they must hold the Union carbide and its parent company Dow Chemical responsible for the disaster," the members wrote.
- Embassy Protests. In late March the first demonstration shook the Indian Embassy in Washington, rattling their windows and the ambassador himself – he fled (http://www.bhopal.net/blog_act/archives/2006/03/pictures_from_t.html). On April 7 another demonstration took place outside the New York consulate (http://www.bhopal.net/blog_act/archives/2006/04/action_report_f.html). Supporters met with the San Francisco and Houston consulates – in the latter case, with the Consul General and DCG themselves. Bhopal supporters asked the Consul General of New York about the Indian Government’s response at two separate speaking engagements in Boston.
- Daily Actions. Over the past several weeks the Indian Government was inundated with nearly 6000 emails and hundreds of phone calls at every Indian Government office in the United States and at the Prime Minister’s office in India as well.
- Relay Hunger Strike. In response to the indefinite fast of the Bhopalis, more than 350 people from around the world signed up for the Global Relay Hunger Strike (http://www.bhopal.net/2006hungerstrike.html).
- Non-Resident Indian organizations. More than 50 groups - including over 30 local and national NRI organizations - signed on to a letter to the Indian Government, endorsing the Bhopalis demands and urging action.
- Petitions. The Bhopal campaign petition to the Prime Minister collected nearly 700 signatures (http://www.petitiononline.com/m4jib2d/petition.html). An Amnesty petition in support of unpoisoned water collected 4000 signatures.
- Awareness-raising. Countless events including skits, movie screenings, photo exhibits, demonstrations (http://www.bhopal.net/blog_act/archives/2006/03/bloody_love.html), and others were held across the country.
What we won
Our efforts paid off. On April 17, the Indian Prime Minister agreed to fulfill four of the Bhopalis’ six demands:
1. National Commission on Bhopal: The Government should set up an interministerial coordinating agency, with necessary authority and funds to provide facilities for health care, medical research, social support and economic rehabilitation of the people poisoned by Union Carbide/Dow Chemical and their children for at least the next 30 years. This commission must have the active participation of non-government doctors, scientists and representatives of survivors’ organisations.
We will return to Bhopal when the Government announces the setting up of the agency along the above lines, and commits to funding it with a corpus that will yield Rs. 50 crores per year.
2. Provide Safe Drinking Water: Commit full funds for the implementation of the May 2004 Supreme Court order and provide clean piped drinking water from Kolar reservoir to communities affected by Union Carbide/Dow’s contamination.
We will return to Bhopal when the Government of India commits to allot at least Rs. 10 crores to the Madhya Pradesh Government for construction of pipeline and other infrastructure to deliver clean water from Kolar Reservoir.
4. Make Dow Clean Up and Pay: Ensure scientific assessment of the depth and spread of toxic contamination in and around the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal and make Union Carbide or its current owner, The Dow Chemical Company, pay for the clean-up of toxic contamination and also compensation for related health and environmental damage.
We will return to Bhopal when the Government of India commits to performing a comprehensive assessment of cost of clean-up, and use legal and extra legal options to make Union Carbide/Dow Chemical pay for assessment of contamination and clean-up. Legal options for the Indian Government include playing a more active role in the case currently being heard in the New York court claiming damages and clean-up from Carbide.
Estimated costs of clean-up range from $25 million to $500 million, and highlight the lack of a comprehensive assessment and estimate of costs.
6. Remember Bhopal: Include representatives of survivors’ organisations in the creation of a memorial to the disaster, declare December 3 as a National Day of Mourning for Victims of Industrial Disasters and Pollution and ensure that the Bhopal disaster and its aftermath is included in school and college curricula.
We will return to Bhopal when the Government of India commits to ensuring that a memorial in Bhopal with the full participation of survivors, and commits to introduce the story of the Bhopal disaster in school and college curricula.
Every one of these demands is a massive victory in itself. In many cases these are demands for which the Bhopalis have been fighting for more than two decades. Altogether this is the biggest victory our campaign has ever won – a victory that will improve the lives and health of thousands.
We couldn’t have done it without you. There may be no justice in this world, but there are good people. This is what gives us hope.
Peace & justice,
Ryan Bodanyi
Coordinator, Students for Bhopal
www.studentsforbhopal.org
