Meet Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla: Twenty years ago, on December 3rd, 1984, their lives changed for ever in a way that is unimaginable. These two women are survivors of the worst industrial tragedy in history: the Bhopal gas disaster. Having survived their own brush with a smoky death in 1984, these women reflect in their remarkable story, a study of the reaction to sudden calamity, acts of sheer heroism, a haunting call for justice, and the lasting misfortune of all those who survive deadly disaster such as these.

Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla don’t hold public office. In most times, they're not well known outside the communities where they live and work.Yet they are women who bring life and hope to the aged, the helpless, the sick and dying. Through their own courage, resolve, and generous hearts, they are working daily to improve the lives of their fellow neighbors, families and people of Bhopal.

This year they have been the recipients of the Goldman Environmental Prize given each year to six environmental heroes - one from each of six continental regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Island Nations, North America and South/Central America. Bee and Shukla were recently in Boston on their tour within the US to raise awareness about corporate responsibility, persistent poisons and environmental justice. The Boston event was hosted by Boston Common Asset Management, Trillium Asset Management, Environmental Health Fund and the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal. Lokvani met and talked to them at this event.

We listen as they relate their story:

As you know, 20 years ago, the Union Carbide gas leak killed more than 8000 people and since then more than 20,000 deaths have been attributed to this disaster. Bhopal is a glaring example of how profits matters before people. For 18 years we have struggled to bring justice to the people involved in this tragedy. What happened that night when 27 tons of poisonous gases leaked from a storage tank at a Union Carbide pesticide factory is lost in people’s memory.

Men, women and their children continue to suffer long-term health effects ranging from cancer and tuberculosis to birth defects and chronic fevers. Parents are finding it difficult to marry off their children because so many of the girls have severe reproductive problems. Since 1984, I (Rashida Bee’s) have lost six family members to cancer. My granddaughter ( Champa’s) has congenital deformities. Studies have shown that the toxins in the local groundwater have affected the breast milk in the women who live near the factory zone. We are still finding children being born without lips, noses or ears. Sometimes complete hands are missing, and many of us suffer from breathlessness. Many of us have to take sleeping pills because it is difficult to sleep any more.

Our battle with Union Carbide has been long and arduous. In the past we have walked 750 miles to Delhi to meet with the Prime Minister and went on a hunger strike for 18 days. When we were protesting in Bombay, the Head of the local Union Carbide Unit sued us for 74,000 rupees for disrupting his factory. When we showed him a sample of the contaminated water, he fined us 5 lakh rupees for disrupting 10 minutes of his time!

Our Jhadoo Andolan (Broom stick Movement) that we launched was a metaphor of our protest. Many housewives in India use this tool to cleanup their homes. Yet, when we are angry, we use it as a weapon too. We presented the broom to the Chairman of Union Carbide as a symbol to clean up the mess. In this tour we hope to put forward these demands that include that Dow Chemical should face trial in Bhopal, Dow should pay for the long-term health care and monitoring for survivors and their children. They should clean up the former Union Carbide site and the surrounding area and work for Economic rehabilitation to survivors who can no longer pursue their trade because of illness or to families affected by this disaster.

Our plea to shareholders is, please think with your conscience when you invest your money.Bhopal should not happen again. We are committed to solving the Bhopal problem. Our children will continue this battle. The corporate world must understand that the poor are not expendable”

Twenty years after the incident, most survivors had received less than $500 of Union Carbide’s $470 million compensation payout. Dow Chemical, which merged with Union Carbide in 2001, maintains that it has no liability in the industrial disaster.

The present tour will culminate at a Dow Shareholder’s meeting in Midland, Michigan, where a shareholder resolution filed by Boston Common Asset Management to hold Dow accountable will be voted on. For more information log on to www.bhopal.net.

|