Campaign for Justice

"We are not expendable. We are not flowers offered at the altar of profit and power. We are dancing flames committed to conquering darkness and to challenging those who threaten the planet and the magic and mystery of life."
Rashida Bee, gas survivor, receiving the prestigious 2004 Goldman Environmental Prize

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"Union Carbide lives on and waits for us to die."
Unnamed survivor of the gas disaster

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"Many have been forced into destitution, some of the world's poorest people beggared by one of the world's richest corporations, from which came platitudes and evasions but no help."
Indra Sinha, Bhopal Medical Appeal

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“We are aware that the day we succeed in holding Dow Chemical liable for the continuing disaster in Bhopal it will be good news for ordinary people all over the world. From that day chemical corporations will think twice before producing and peddling poisons and putting profits before the lives and health of people.”
Gas survivor Rashida Bee, who lost five gas-exposed family members to cancers

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"One such 'expedient' was the MIC unit; they built it in order to retain control, they used untried technology to keep control, they under-funded it to keep control. When it turned Bhopal into a gas chamber, they said they'd had no control."
Satinath Sarangi, a longtime bhopal activist, on the discovery of Union Carbide documents that ordered under-investment in the Sevin/MIC units of the Bhopal plant. The under-investment helped Union Carbide retain control of its Indian subsidiary, UCIL, in the face of Indian regulations that required a dilution of foreign equity

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"Women are the worst affected from any kind of violence - be it domestic, development-related or that caused by corporate polluters like Union Carbide. It is up to us, the women, to join hands across the world and keep the fight for justice and against violence alive and unwavering."
Rashida Bee, Bhopal Gas Affected Women's Stationery Union, and winner of the Goldman Environment Prize 2004

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"We are not against business. We are against business without morality."
Champa Devi Shukla, Bhopal Gas Affected Women's Stationery Union, and winner of the Goldman Environment Prize 2004

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"In its timing and in the composition of the principal actors, Bhopal is a curtain raiser to the sordid drama of Globalisation. Bhopal is a window to what lies at the end of Globalisation."
Satinath Sarangi, Genoa, July 2001

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"I have gone to various places and asked people to come and join me in the fight against this company [and] I got great support from people. Plenty of people from all over the world have joined us. They told us they didn't realize what the situation was in Bhopal. 'Only after listening to you do we realize what a big problem Bhopal is in,' [our supporters said.] 'We are with you and the fact is that what's happening in Bhopal can happen anywhere, because this company is all over the place. We think your demand that this company should be accountable to the law is justified.'"
Bhopal survivor Rasheeda Bi, speaking to the India-West news network from Washington, D.C., a few hours after ending her 12-day hunger strike.

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"Those who lived are the unlucky ones - the lucky ones are those who died on that night."
Gas survivor Rashida Bi, who lost five gas-exposed family members to cancers.

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"If you define 'liability' simply as the ability to lie, than Dow's in liability up to its ears."
Ryan Bodanyi, Campus Organizer, Students for Bhopal

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"Since December 1984, I have personally witnessed how broken widows with no future, or children who were forced to become heads of their orphaned families at the age of 9, and day-labourers who lost their ‘ability to work’, all turned into strong human beings, great activists, tireless campaigners and capable organisers. This self-empowerment through collective struggle is the single greatest achievement of the people of Bhopal and their transformation from victims to victors."
Praful Bidwai, July 2004

Other Quotes

“The disaster in Bhopal continues, and is likely to worsen if Dow Chemical does not step forward to fulfill its responsibilities. It is disheartening to note that a company such as Dow, who professes to lead the chemical industry towards 'responsible care' shies away from its obligations when truly responsible care can be demonstrated. More disturbing is the manner in which Union Carbide and Dow Chemical have ignored the summons of the Bhopal court. This exposes a blatant disregard for the law. By refusing to address the liabilities it inherited in Bhopal via its acquisition of Union Carbide, Dow Chemical is party to the ongoing human rights and environmental abuses in Bhopal.”
A Congressional letter to Dow, signed by 18 representatives, sent in July, 2003

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"UCC abetted the crime. The sabotage theory was a bloody lie - UCC listened too much to their PR company."
Kamal Pareek, Chief Safety Officer at the Bhopal plant until Dec. 1983

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"Pursuant to the “polluter pays” principle recognized by both the United States and India, Union Carbide should bear all of the financial burden and cost for the purpose of environmental clean up and remediation."
The Government of India, in a June 28, 2004 letter to the US Southern District Court in New York

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"Massive suffering resulted from the UCC leak, yet Dow-Carbide continues to evade its responsibilities under the law. Dow must ensure that Union Carbide appear before the Bhopal Court. Victims have the right to be heard in court, and multinational companies shouldn't be able to skip town or hide behind subsidiaries or mergers. This case tragically demonstrates that transnational companies need to be better regulated to eliminate corporate complicity in human rights abuses."
Amy O’Meara, Amnesty International, May 9, 2005

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"Dow made the mistake in February 2001 of buying Union Carbide, the company that owned 51% of an operation in India that suffered a catastrophic poison gas leak in 1984 in Bhopal."
Forbes Magazine, "Dow's Pocket Has A Hole," March 13, 2003

"Till the start up of the plant there was an absolute understanding and a very high level of communication between UCC and UCIL. Our people going there and their people coming here. The designs, the drawings. Any design change made in India had to be approved because, you see, they had experience of dealing with MIC - we didn't. We were dependent on them for recommendations. So I feel that if at this point in time they say that they really did not know what was going on it means they are trying to hide something."
Kamal Pareek, Chief Safety Officer at the Bhopal plant until Dec. 1983

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"I have been deeply moved by the suffering, by the stories and by the voices of the people of Bhopal. I am extremely honored, therefore, to add my voice to the growing chorus of voices from around the world demanding justice for the victims of one of the world's largest industrial disasters. I consider it unconscionable and obscene that 18 years and some 20,000 deaths later we are still even having a discussion about just compensation, particularly, for the thousands of innocent men, women, and children who have been left scarred, disfigured, and maimed by this example of corporate negligence. However, this is not just about Bhopal, this is about all of us since it could happen to any of us. ...I also want to applaud the courage, the caring, and the compassion of people around the world, like Diane Wilson, who are currently engaged in prolonged hunger strikes in order to focus world-wide attention on the fact that--despite the boundaries and oceans that divide us--we are still one people. Their courageous actions are a reminder that we all inhabit one planet and we all breathe the same air. As I join with them in fasting for the next five days, I also join with them in urging Dow Chemicals to justly compensate the people of Bhopal."
Danny Glover, US Actor

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“Thousands of people in Bhopal were denied their right to life, and tens of thousands of people have had their right to health undermined. Those struggling for justice and the right to a remedy in Bhopal have been frustrated in their efforts. Thousands of poor families have suffered illness and bereavement, further impairing their ability to realize their right to a decent standard of living. These and other fundamental human rights are explicitly guaranteed in international treaties, which are legally binding on the Indian state. The Indian Constitution guarantees the right to life, and the Indian Supreme Court has held that this includes the right to health and to protection from environmental pollution. The Court has also determined that companies are responsible for environmental damage and for compensating anyone harmed by their activities.”
Amnesty International, Clouds of Injustice, Nov. 2004

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"I visited Bhopal soon after the gas leak in 1989. The horror was hard to endure. On my return to the UK I spoke out against those responsible. It is unconscionable that after nearly 18 years, Union Carbide and its CEO Warren Anderson have not had to face charges. How has Union Carbide Corporation managed to escape with total impunity? How has Mr. Anderson managed to avoid extradition for the 11 years in which he and his Corporation have been thumbing their noses at the Bhopal Court, thus breaking the legally-binding undertaking they gave to a US court? Why does the Indian government now seek to reward him by diluting the charges against him?

"These are questions that will be asked in Bhopal on Wednesday. People who lost loved ones and have been living with terrible illnesses for nearly 18 years will want to know, ‘how did the Corporation get away with paying us such obscenely miniscule compensation?’ ‘Would this have happened if 8,000 people had been gassed to death in the US or the UK on one single night?’ ‘Why is human life in developing countries so devalued?’ What answers shall we give them? Should we hold up our hands and talk about the importance of multinational investment in India? Or legal technicalities? Should we say that when President Bush talks about corporate accountability, he specifically excludes Union Carbide and its new owners Dow Chemicals?

"What happened in 1984 was an unspeakable tragedy, what has happened since is a travesty of justice, an abuse of fundamental human rights on a contemptuous scale. It cannot be allowed to continue. Whether or not the Indian government has its way on Wednesday, the fight for justice must go on. I call upon decent people all round the world who believe in fairness and justice to join us in supporting the poor, the helpless, and the abused gas survivors of Bhopal."
Bianca Jagger, speaking in 2002 as the Indian Government attempted to reduce the criminal charges against Warren Anderson.

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“We should never lose sight of the fact that Bhopal can happen in the United States."
Al Cholger, an international representative for the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers Union (PACE), speaking in the July, 2003, edition of "Labor Notes"

Dow Criminal/Union Carbide

“$500 is plenty good for an Indian”
Dow Public Affairs Specialist Kathy Hunt, 2002, referring to the average compensation received by the Bhopal victims

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“Clearly, we’re enormously aware of Bhopal and the fact that particular incident is associated with Union Carbide, [but Union Carbide has] done what it needs to do to pursue the correct environment, health, and safety programs.”
Dow CEO Michael Parker, Nov. 2000, in his first media briefing

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"The only criminal charges that we are aware of is the one against the former CEO of Union Carbide, which has retired many many many years ago. So we don't know of any other criminal charges."
Dow CEO William Stavropoulos, denying at the 2003 Dow Shareholder’s Meeting that Union Carbide faces criminal charges. Dow Spokesperson John Musser later clarified: "Actually, our chairman did misspeak. We are fully aware that Union Carbide and Anderson were both named in the criminal charges in India. It wasn't said with malice, it was a mistake."

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“There are no…criminal…actions, suits, claims, hearings, investigations or proceedings pending…No investigation or review by any Government Entity with respect to it or any of the subsidiaries is pending.”
Dow’s pre-merger filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, in which it claims that Union Carbide has no pending liabilities in Bhopal or elsewhere. See Registration Statement by The Dow Chemical Company and Union Carbide Corporation, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 5, 1999, Article V: Representations and Warranties

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"Dow was not named in the criminal lawsuit. Union Carbide and Mr. (Warren) Anderson, the former CEO, are named in it. They have not come forward. Their position on the matter is that the Indian government has no jurisdiction over Union Carbide or Mr. Anderson; therefore, they are not appearing in court."
Dow Spokesman John Musser, quoted in the December 4, 2003 issue of the Michigan Daily

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''It never occurred to anyone that this would happen…I didn't want to get in the Guinness Book of World Records for the worst industrial accident in history.”
Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson, quoted in the January 21, 1985 issue of U.S. News & World Report. No doubt the thousands of dead and injured in Bhopal would agree

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''The Indians are very technically capable, but for safety procedures, U.S. multinationals should insist on having American employees as well as local nationals."
Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson, delicately attempting to shift the blame for the disaster without sounding too racist. Quoted in the December 24, 1984, issue of Time Magazine

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"The comparative risk of poor performance and of consequent need for further investment to correct it, is considerably higher in the UCIL operation than it would be had proven technology been followed throughout. CO and I-Naphthol processes have not been tried commercially and even the MIC-to-Sevin process, as developed by UCC, has had only a limited trial run. Furthermore, while similar waste streams have been handled elsewhere, this particular combination of materials to be disposed off is new and, accordingly, affords further chance for difficulty. In short, it can be expected that there will be interruptions in operations and delays in reaching capacity or product quality that might have been avoided by adoption of proven technology".
UCC 04206 - third paragraph

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"Safety is the responsibility of the people who operate our plants. You can't be there day in and day out."
Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson, quoted in the April 1, 1985 issue of Time Magazine

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"Well, that’s always a potential and you have to worry about it. That’s why you need the redundancy… Built into the safety system are a whole series of capabilities that can take care of whatever inadvertent action or co-mission has taken place so you’re not all dependent on just one item to either make it safe or make it unsafe."
Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson, quoted at a March, 1985 press briefing, referring to the possibility of industrial sabotage. Ironically, this later became Carbide’s PR mantra

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Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson told the congressional panel [House Health & Environment Subcommittee, Chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman] yesterday that the company had "no evidence whatsoever that sabotage was behind" the Bhopal incident.
March 27 1985, The Washington Post

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"Suppose we were a 40 percent owned company or 35 percent owned company, raises some inquiries on our part, do we want to participate around the world where you have less than absolute control?"
Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson, testifying before the Waxman Committee, 1985

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"Protecting the environment must be part of everything we do and every business decision we make. We have set aggressive [environmental] goals that must be on equal standing with our economic profit goals."
Dow CEO Michael Parker, 2002

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"Environment, health and safety, and economic performance are not mutually exclusive, or even limiting. Being environmentally responsible makes good business sense."
Spoken like a man who knows. William Stavropoulos, Dow's Chairman and CEO, in a July 1st, 2003 Dow press release

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"Companies that don't meet their responsibilities to all their constituencies will have a difficult time. Responsible customers won't want to buy their products. Talented people won't want to work for them. Enlightened communities won't want them as neighbors, and wise investors won't entrust them with their economic futures."
William Stavropoulos, Chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical, quoted in "The Business of Business Managing Corporate Social Responsibility: What Business Leaders are Saying and Doing 2002-2007"

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"When all this is over, I don't think anyone will accuse Union Carbide of stonewalling or running away from the issue."
Wishful thinking from Warren Anderson, Union Carbide’s former CEO. Quoted in The Washington Post, February 24, 1985

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"Union Carbide remains as a subsidiary of Dow, with its own board of directors, and its own assets and liabilities," he said. "Stock ownership does not equal responsibility for those who acquired the stock. ... For example, if you own stock in Ford, and someone rolls over in a Ford and sues Ford, you cannot be sued because you hold stock in Ford, regardless of whether or not negligence occurred."
Dow Spokesman John Musser, quoted in the May 12, 2003 issue of the Michigan Daily

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"Union Carbide has a moral responsibility in this matter, and we are not ducking it."
Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson, quoted in Time Magazine, December 24, 1984

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When asked what the consequences to Dow would be if it were to meet the demands of opposition groups, Musser said "I wouldn't speculate on that because it won't ever happen."
Dow Spokesman John Musser, quoted in the May 12, 2003 issue of the Michigan Daily

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"We have a stigma. We can't avoid it."
Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson, discussing his poor little rich corporation. December 24,1984, Business Week

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''Those first two months were tough, tough, tough. But my health is good. My blood pressure improved. I used to spend 100 percent of my time on Bhopal. Now it's maybe 10 percent.''
Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson, sharing some wise words on the first anniversary of the Bhopal disaster. Quoted December 3, 1985, The New York Times

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"This is most inconvenient. We've got people coming to dinner." Pressed to ask her husband to say what his current feelings were on the continuing suffering of more than 130,000 people in Bhopal, Mrs Anderson snapped, "I told you, we are giving a dinner party, and it isn't even catered."
Lillian Anderson, shortly after her husband, the wanted fugitive Warren Anderson, was found living a life of luxury in the Hamptons in 2002