Plan Now for the Global Day of Action for Bhopal
November 19 , 2004

December 3, 2004 will mark twenty years since the people of Bhopal awoke from their sleep, choking and near-blinded, as methyl isocyanate (MIC) and other toxic gases escaped from Union Carbide’s pesticide plant. Overnight, a city of 800,000 people became a gas chamber, extinguishing the lives of at least 8,000 people. Union Carbide’s gas cloud was just the beginning. The settlement Union Carbide negotiated with the Indian government is grossly insufficient and does not cover medical costs or economic losses for those exposed, or for their children, who have also been affected. The hazardous chemicals have not been removed from the plant itself, and continue to contaminate the drinking water for thousands of Bhopal residents.

The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB) calls the ongoing efforts by Union Carbide and its new owner, Dow Chemical, to evade liabilities for Bhopal, “a classic case of corporate crime gone unpunished.” Bhopal survivors have said from the start, “We never want to see another Bhopal.” To ensure this, it is vital that Dow Chemical and other corporate offenders are not allowed to get away with their crimes.

ICJB has invited individuals and groups to take action against the human, environmental, consumer and labor rights violations of private and public corporations and participate in the Global Day of Action for Bhopal on December 3rd. Cities in India, including Bhopal, will host protests, events and actions, trade unions and community organizations internationally will also be participating. Events are scheduled at more than 40 colleges and universities across the U.S. Over 130 actions are currently listed at the ICJB website, with more being added each day.

Visit the ICJB web site for a list of 20 Things You Can Do To Hold Dow Responsible For Bhopal , register for an action, or sign their online petition.   The site also offers a number of resources for action, see: http://www.bhopal.net/gda2004.php.

Several new films about Bhopal survivors are also being released for the 20th anniversary:

“Twenty Years Without Justice: The Bhopal Chemical Disaster ” 17 min video about the Bhopal Campaign, see: http://homepage.mac.com/sanfordlewisvideo/20Yrs/Bhopal.htm.

“Litigating Disaster” will be broadcast in the United States on November 30, 2004, at 8PM and is a vailable on the web via Link TV, see: http://www.linktv.org/.

“One Night in Bhopal” will be broadcast in the UK on BBC TV December 1, 2004, see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/.

“Bhopal The Search For Justice” released on December 2, 2004, will be broadcast by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, see: http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/ .

For a list of more films and other campaign resources, see: http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/resources.htm

Begin your preparations for the 20th anniversary!

Sources: International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal of Action, http://www.bhopal.net. 

Contact: globalaction@studentsforbhopal.org.

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