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Remember Bhopal Week AID-Cincinnati sponsored a "Remember Bhopal Week" from November 20th-December 3rd, 2004, which included several events: 1. November 20th: a slide presentation at ISA/ASHA Deepotsav Celebrations,
reaching 150+ attendees. We projected a slide show illustrating
facts and images of the disaster that took in Bhopal on Dec. 3rd,
1984, the morning after the devastating chemical leak, to raise
awareness about the Global Day of Action. Apart from this I have gotten numerous calls about the exhibition. A professor from Northern Kentucky University visited our exhibition and complemented us on the same. A person from Cleveland called and was interested in joining our events. But he was also asking if we were planning to go to DOW's facility in the state and are we having any rallies and protests and 'shouting'. He had been deeply hurt by the tragedy and wanted to 'shout'. :-) We had a very good response overall. Read the event listing in the Cincinnati Enquirer! Photo Exhibition
and Discussion
AID-Cincinnati organized a Bhopal solidarity meeting on Feb 21st, 2004 at the University of Cincinnati. The evening commenced with a talk on Globalization and Bhopal by Pavithra Narayanan, Faculty at the Center for Women’s studies at Miami University. She shared her thoughts on the various aspects of globalization and how the Bhopal gas tragedy fits into it. This was followed by a skit “How on Earth did this Happen”, staged by AID-Cinti volunteers. The skit conveyed the deterioration in the ecosystem caused by man’s thoughtless actions and suggested sustainable development for a peaceful coexistence with other forms of life. The evening was wrapped up with a presentation by Ryan Bodanyi. Ryan showed tapes on Bhopal after the disaster and informed the audience on what the ICJB is doing to help the people. Plenty of questions were fielded by both the speakers, making the evening an intellectually stimulating one. A photo exhibit by world- renowned photo-journalist Raghu Rai was also on display throughout the evening. The program was well attended by a wide cross section of people. Many like minded organizations on campus turned up for the event and are interested in working with us for the cause of the victims. More information about the event is available at www.ececs.uc.edu/~swamink/aid/events/bhopal_04/ and http://newsrecord.tuc.uc.edu/read.asp?ID=14651. Global 2 Conference The Global 2 conference on world economy was held in Cincinnati from April 2-4, 2004. AID had a workshop on We All Live in Bhopal: Corporate Racism after the worst industrial disaster in the history of mankind. About 20-25 people attended the workshop. The workshop started with the skit “How on Earth did this Happen”, staged by AID-Cinti volunteers. This was followed by the 10-minute video by Greenpeace and a short presentation. The people had some questions, which we were able to answer for the most part. Many had already heard about the Bhopal gas tragedy, and were surprised that so little had been done till date. We had a petition at the Global conference on April 3rd and 4th, and 64 people signed the petition. A number of the people who signed the petition were from Indiana as well. Several people from Cincinnati have expressed a wish to be actively involved in the coalition. At least three UC student organizations have decided to join the coalition for Bhopal in Cincinnati – the United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), GLOBAL and Peace Village. Several people have expressed an interest to be more actively involved in raising awareness in and around UC. Presentation at the Global 3 Conference On April 9, 2005, the Cincinnati chapter of the Association for India's Development hosted a Bhopal workshop at the Global 3 Conference at the University of Cincinnati. "The presentation went great! We screened 20 years without justice and then presented our case. There were about 25-30 people for the presentation. We talked about Dow's legacy from Napalm; agent orange; dioxin and Bhopal. The conference was more about globalization and progressive thoughts on it, but there were many questions after the session and many people were upset with Dow." 'Die-in' On May 6, 2006, AID Cincinnati joined supporters in three other cities – Seattle, Boston, and Portland – in taking action in advance of the Dow Shareholders Meeting. Supporters in Cincinnati organized a ‘die-in’ on the University of Cincinnati campus, covering bodies with white shrouds like those killed in Bhopal in 1984. The event raised awareness about the disaster as a part of AID-Cincinnati’s ongoing campaign for justice in Bhopal. Bush Protest: Extradite Anderson! On the 19th of May 2006, Friday, President George Bush President Bush was scheduled to speak at 3.40pm(EST) at Regent
Hall, NKU. We, the SFB protesters donning scary masks, took position
on a street corner at the main entrance to the NKU around Fast for Bhopal "AID-Cincinnati volunteers, who had been to the annual AID conference in May this year, had the opportunity to meet two Bhopal survivors, Rashida Bi and Champa Devi. We were moved by the after effects of the tragedy and wanted to actively support their cause. "The Indian Independence day, August 15th was decided as the day to launch our support. Many of us, including Non-AID volunteers, fasted the entire day for the cause. As one faster put it 'It was the first time most of us were on a fast, and it was very nice to fast for a certain cause. It felt great.'" Diane Wilson Visits On June 19th, 2004, Diane Wilson, a fourth-generation shrimper/fisherwoman,
spoke about her experiences with fighting corporations in her hometown
Seadrift, TX. She elaborated on the hardships that " Diane's speech was really inspiring and she is really an 'unreasonable' women as her organisation is rightly called so. She spoke abt the ordeals she faced in fighting against local polluting companies and also abt her association with Bhopal. She is really a women with a charge for social change." Diane Wilson was the third speaker on AID Cinti’s summer lecture series INSPIRING CHANGES that was conducted during the month of June. Three of AID Cinti's volunteers also joined Diane in fasting, as part of a worldwide protest against the Government of India (see www.petitiononline.com/June30/petition.html). "It was a great learning experience for folks at Cincinnati. By inviting Diane for talk and fasting with her, AID-Cincinnati showed solidarity for the Bhopal cause in its humble way!" 21st Anniversary Photo Exhibition On December 2nd and 3rd, AID-Cincinnati hosted a photo exhibition
about the Bhopal disaster on the University of Cincinnati campus.
The Photo exhibition went well. Lots of people passed by, read and conveyed solidarity. We had 4 people who fasted on Dec 2nd in memory of Bhopal.
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visited
the Northern Kentucky University (NKU), on the border of Ohio and
Kentucky, to speak on the American Competitiveness Initiative, a
plan to boost research and development, and educational progress.
He also attended a fund-raising event for Republican Congressman
Geoff Davis thereafter. The Cincinnati chapter of AID and SFB, based
in the Univeristy of Cincinnati - just a couple of miles north of
the NKU, took this oppurtunity to protest against the perfunctory
attitude of the US government in bringing Warren Andersen and Union
Carbide to justice at Indian courts for the Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
For years the Indian goverment (CBI) has been trying, albeit half-heartedly,
to get the FBI to help capture Mr. Andersen who had been procalimed
a fugitive from justice in Indian courts for failure to show up
at various criminal case proceedings. Armed with banners, poster
boards and scary masks, five volunteers : Sandesh, Rupa, Gabriel,
Moon and DC set out to make sure that our voice was heard and the
cause noticed. And that we did!
2.45pm
waving banners and poster boards. We shared the stage with about
250 other protesters for various causes, but fortunately, our prime
position and colorful demonstration made sure that we attracted
attention. Although the presidential motorcade did not pass by us,
the entire protesting group marched to a corridor pretty close to
the venue of the talk and raised slogans , including " Justice
for Bhopal, Justice for ALL ". Some believe that we got lucky
and got much closer to Bush than to the comfort of a few SS agents!
A lot of the local media was intrigued by the very new cause ( ours
) showing up at Bush protests. We spoke to a freelance journalist
attached to Cincy Post about why we were there and managed to be
covered by a videomen from CNN, MSNBC and FOXNEWS ( I dont think
it was aired though ! ). We stayed in that corridor till about 4.15pm
after which the crowd dispersed. On the whole this was a very strong
experience for us and are encouraged by attention we received. A
few lessons learnt on how to play in the circus called Media Attention!
she faced from these companies and the way she tackled them. Then
she recounted her first visit to Bhopal, way back in 1990, and how
the struggle of the people has been since then. She answered questions
from the audience about her struggle, globalization and its ill-effects
and other subjects. Diane was on a fast, but her energy and enthusiasm
was really inspiring!
The international student campaign to hold Dow
accountable for Bhopal, and its other toxic legacies around the world.
For more information about the campaign, or for problems regarding this
website, contact Ryan
Bodanyi, the Coordinator of Students for Bhopal.
WE
ALL LIVE 
IN
BHOPAL
"The year 2003 was a special year in the history of the campaign for justice in Bhopal. It was the year when student and youth supporters from at least 30 campuses in the US and India took action against Dow Chemical or in support of the demands of the Bhopal survivors. As we enter the 20th year of the unfolding Bhopal disaster, we can, with your support, convey to Dow Chemical that the fight for justice in Bhopal is getting stronger and will continue till justice is done. We look forward to your continued support and good wishes, and hope that our joint struggle will pave the way for a just world free of the abuse of corporate power."
Signed/ Rasheeda Bi, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Affected Women Stationery Employees Union
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal
This is what the www.studentsforbhopal.org site looked like in early 2008. For more recent information, please visit www.bhopal.net.