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Week of Bhopal Events On February 9th, 10th, and 11th, 2004, the Boulder chapter of AID
co-sponsored a series of events to commemorate the Bhopal disaster.
Their wonderful and well-organized events included a three-day exhibition
of the Bhopal photo exhibit by Maude Dorr and Raghu Rai; a screening
of the documentary Hunting Warren Anderson, followed by
a discussion, on Tuesday the 10th; and a screening of Bhopal
Express the only feature film ever made about the Bhopal disaster,
on Wednesday the 11th. I was invited to Boulder to speak about the Bhopal disaster, the international campaign, and the growing student campaign which is now active at 25 colleges and universities across the United States. I couldn't have been touched more deeply by the interest, sympathy, and support that the students and people in Boulder expressed for the victims of the disaster and their campaign. Nearly 350 people passed through the Bhopal photo display during its time in Boulder, often queuing patiently before slowly making their way through the exhibit. One professor brought his entire class to see the exhibit, while another generously invited me to come to her class to speak about the disaster and answer their questions. People of all ages, races, and genders came to see for themselves the horror and injustice that the people of Bhopal have lived with for the past two decades, but many left inspired by the determination of the gas victims to fight for their rights and their due. Often people paused at our table for several minutes to ask questions about the disaster and the campaign, and to thank us, repeatedly and sincerely, for bringing the disaster to light and keeping hope alive. More than 40 people came to the screening of Hunting Warren Anderson on the 10th, and stayed for an hour and a half to ask questions afterwards. Their questions and comments were supportive and insightful, and many of them wanted to find out how they could contribute to the campaign. The subject of Colorado's Rocky Flats nuclear plant came up repeatedly in their comments, and in others throughout the week: the former US government facility, once labeled the "most polluted square mile on earth", was operated by Dow Chemical until 1975. Forty people also turned out for the screening of Bhopal Express the next evening. The feature film, championed by David Lynch and featuring Naseeruddin Shah and Zeenat Aman, reveals the tragedy through the experiences of newlyweds Verma (Kay Kay), a foreman at the Carbide plant, his wife Tara (Nethra Raghuraman) and their friend Bashir (Shah). It depicts on film what otherwise could only be imagined: the terrible stampede of people to escape the gas, and the streets strewn with the corpses of those who were unable to. The film was preceded by remarks from an organizer with the group 18011, Scott. He talked about the ways in which corporations are undermining our democratic institutions and progressively accumulating more and more wealth and power, often at the expense of the environment, human rights, or the public good. 18011 is currently in the process of organizing a socially-responsible investment campaign at Colorado University, which may ultimately force the university to divest from hundreds of dirty corporations, including Dow Chemical. All of our events received extraordinary coverage throughout the local media. Boulder Weekly wrote a full-page article; the Himalayan News devoted half a page; and the Colorado Daily published two editorials about the events and put a huge photograph of the exhibit on its front page. I was also interviewed by KGNU for a morning segment on the week's events. Overall, I was impressed both by the interest and the sympathy of the people in Boulder, and the wonderful work that AID and other campus groups did to organize and advertise the week's events. I'm really looking forward to working with AID and the other folks that I met in Boulder to continue the struggle for justice in Bhopal!!
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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.