Polite People Get Poisoned; Angry People Get Organized

Bringing corporations to face justice is a task that is tried as often in the courts of public opinion as they are in the courts of law. More than anything else, this means mobilizing public opinion against the injustices faced by the survivors of Bhopal. This means telling Dow and the Government of India that Bhopal cannot be forgotten and that the struggle for justice will continue worldwide until justice is done.

On 8 May, 2003, Dow Chemical will hold its Annual General Meeting for its shareholders in Midland, Michigan. Dow has withheld information regarding its potential liabilities in Bhopal, and other Dow-impacted communities from its shareholders. Because Dow is headquartered in the United States with operations worldwide, any strategy to influence the company has to be international, but with a strong base in the US. That is why two women survivors from Bhopal -- Rashida Bee and Champa Devi -- will visit the United States from April 22nd to May 31st to mobilise support for their campaign.

In the coming months, we also anticipate numerous instances where we will need your help. Most activities are geared towards telling the Government of India or Dow Chemical to fulfill their responsibilities towards the survivors.

Our demands of the Government of India are the following:

1. Initiate action against Dow Chemical in India for failure of its subsidiary Union Carbide to appear in the Bhopal court to face criminal liabilities.
2. Support the class action suit in New York when it comes up on appeal.
3. Move rapidly on extraditing former Carbide chairman Warren Anderson to face criminal charges at the Bhopal court.
4. Distribute the balance of compensation funds among the survivors.
5. Make Dow clean up the contaminated factory site and groundwater in Bhopal, and arrange for long-term medical and economic rehabilitation of survivors and their children.

Our demands of Dow are:

1. Submit to the ongoing criminal proceedings in India as the new owner of Union Carbide which stands accused in the Bhopal Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court;
2. Clean up contaminated areas within and outside factory, and the poisoned groundwater;
3. Release medical information about toxicity of MIC and poison gases, and arrange for long-term medical treatment and rehabilitation of survivors and their children;
4. Arrange for long-term economic rehabilitation of survivors whose quality of life and livelihoods have suffered as a consequence of the disaster.

Other ways you can help:

1. Routinely check the www.bhopal.net for latest action options
2. Make a telephone call (or three if you can afford to)

• Call John Musser at Dow

and tell him why the company is liable for Bhopal. Tel 517 636 5663 Fax 517 636 0389. Email: jmusser@dow.com


• Call the Indian embassy

in your city to echo the demands of the survivors (listed above). Find the phone number in this list: http://www.thokalath.com/embassy/index.php. If you live in the US, find the Indian embassy at http://www.thokalath.com/embassy/index.php#us

• Call the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), New Delhi

and demand an explanation for the delay in sending Warren Anderson's extradition papers to the United States. The MEA has been sitting on Anderson's file since early December 2002. Ask for Yashwant Sinha +91 11 23011127 or B A Roy +91 11 23387104. Fax +91 11 237 82821.

feedback@hindustantimes.com (Hindustan Times)

toieditor_delhi@indiatimes.com (Times of India)

letters@thehindu.co.in (The Hindu)

http://www.expressindia.com/about/feedback.html (Indian Express)

Outline the Bhopal survivors' demands of the Government of India.

mdnletters@mdn.net (Midland Daily News)

Outline the demands of Bhopal survivors to The Dow Chemical Corporation.

Please reiterate the survivors' demands of the Indian Government (listed in previous page).
Find the fax number in this list: http://www.thokalath.com/embassy/index.php. If you live in the US, use this list: http://www.thokalath.com/embassy/index.php#us

If you live near a Dow facility, gather your community, students or friends and pay a visit to the company to remind them of their obligations to Bhopal. For more information on the location of Dow offices, visit: www.dow.com/facilities/europe/index.htm (EUROPE) or www.dow.com/facilities/namerica/index.htm. If you have trouble accessing these link, email justice.bhopal@virgin.net giving the name of your country. We will locate your closest Dow office.

Issue a resolution condemning Dow Chemicals, and send a copy to the company.

Divest from Dow: Student activists and campus groups can not only do one or more of the above actions as part of a group. You can also initiate research to find out if and in what manner, Dow is associated with your university.

Educate other students about Dow's track record, and initiate Dow divestment campaigns in your university. For more information on initiating a divestment campaign, contact: rbodanyi@umich.edu.

Boycott Dow Campus Interviews: Dow hires students through campus interviews at many leading campuses. You can find out about campus interviews by contacting the Placement Office in your campus. Organise a boycott of Dow's campus interview, and appeal to your friends to look for a more responsible employer.

International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal

An international coalition of environmental and social justice groups led by the Bhopal women's survivor groups.

For more information, contact:

In the US: International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal

Krishnaveni Gundu. Email: krishnaveni_g@sbcglobal.net

Justice for Bhopal, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Ryan Bodanyi. Email: rbodanyi@umich.edu

In the UK: UK Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (webmaster www.bhopal.net)

Tim Edwards. Email: tim@lifecycle.demon.co.uk

In India : International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal

Rachna Dhingra. Email: rachna@umich.edu

Nityanand Jayaraman. Email: nity68@vsnl.com

• 116 Human Rights