'I remember making three-tiered graves. There was no option but to pile up one body on top of another. In those three-four days we must have buried more than 4,000 persons' says Mohammad Aziz as he looks at these skeletons that have come out of the graves.
Dow Chemical, which bought Union Carbide in 2001, refuses to
take responsibility for the company they bought, living up to its
history of valuing profit more than human life. We have been taking
to the streets in India and around the world highlighting the
legacy of corporate double standards and the suffering of the
Bhopal people.
Madrid, Spain
On the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal industrial disaster,
activists in Plaza Mayor, Madrid displayed images from Bhopal and
asked the general public for signatures, demanding that the
chemical company Dow pay its debt to the citizens of Bhopal.
Dow Chemical Factory, Rheinmuenster, Germany
Activists constructed a memorial sculpture near the Dow Chemical
factory in Rheinmuenster, a copy of the "Bhopal Memorial" in India
- a mother with two children. The banner reads: "Bhopal dies - Dow
keeps silence!"
Bhopal, India
On the eve of the anniversary, a candlelight vigil was held at
the Bhopal Memorial in India. On the anniversary itself thousands
of people took to the streets demanding action from both Dow
Chemical and the Indian Government. They also burnt effigies of
former Union Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson, who has been charged
for culpable homicide in India but remains safely in the US.
About the Bhopal disaster
Warren Anderson, Union Carbide chairman at the time, knowingly put a city of half a million innocent people into a potentially deadly situation for personal profit. This action is a crime against humanity and the environment.
MoreThe Bhopal disaster in India, in 1984, is the world's worst
chemical disaster. Toxic gas leaked from the poorly maintained and
understaffed plant owned by Union Carbide, killing up to 20,000
people and leaving 120,000 chronically ill. Saftey systems designed
to prevent such a disaster at the plant had been shut down to save
money.
The survivors have never received adequate compensation for
their debilitating illnesses and even 20 years after the disaster,
the polluted site of the abandoned factory, bleeds poisons daily
into the groundwater of local residents. Bhopal is an ongoing
disaster and Union Carbide's new owners, Dow Chemicals, should pay
to clean up the toxic mess.
MoreOutside, we saw all the neighbors running. The sky over us was turning red. I hadn't been able to put on any slippers. I can still remember the blue frilly frock that I was wearing that morning.
MoreRead our feature
Nightmare in Bhopal
Read the stories of
Ruby in India and Paul in Michigan, both suffering from Dow
Chemical's environmental pollution.
Take Action
Find out more about
our ongoing campaign to get Dow to clean up its own mess -
including how to contact Dow