Bhopal Action Update

Thanks to all of you who pulled together for our Month of Action to support communities in Bhopal suffering as a result of the 1984 explosion at a Union Carbide pesticide plant. Across the United States, activists like you have held demonstrations, art exhibits, teach-ins and candlelight vigils. Along with Amnesty International activists from all over the world, you have sent thousands of postcards to Dow, which now owns Union Carbide, demanding that those responsible face justice; and you have pressed Dow shareholders to take notice of the human rights abuses their investments may be supporting. Click on the links below to learn more, including details from inside the Dow Chemical (DOW) annual shareholder meeting. We hope these stories will inspire you to continue this fight, and to reach out to your community to increase support for this important campaign. Demonstrating at the Dow Chemical facility in San Diego

Members of Amnesty International and Association for India's Development demonstrating at the Dow Chemical facility in San Diego, CA. Photo courtesy of AID-San Diego.




April 15th – Demonstrations to demand Justice from the Indian Government
Every April 15th, Boston area Local Group 133 organizes 1,000+ activists to GET ON THE BUS to New York City to publicly demonstrate for human rights. This year's Get on the Bus action included a stop at the Indian Consulate in Manhattan, where activists demanded that the Indian Government s uphold its responsibilities to protect the people of Bhopal. In solidarity with the NYC demonstration, Amnesty and Students for Bhopal coordinated satellite actions at Indian Consulates in Washington, DC, Chicago, IL, Houston, TX and San Francisco, CA, as well as Delhi and Chennai, India.

Check out the Students for Bhopal webpage where stories and a photo journal from the Day of Action are posted!
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We are not Flowers, we are Flames!
A Photo Exhibition of the Bhopal Chemical Disaster
In Seattle, AI's Corporate Action Network Coordinator, Val Costa, has been working in coalition to educate the public about the Bhopal gas tragedy. CAN, Asha for Education, and Tasveer brought the traveling Bhopal photo exhibition to Art/Not gallery in downtown Seattle during April and hosted a series of Bhopal-themed events there.

Find out more and see photos from the event!

Read the poem In the Sweep of Human Rights by AI Puget Sound Group Member, Larry Ebersole.
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May 6th – Radio Show About Dow/UC/Bhopal
Organized in part by Amnesty San Diego Group 461, the radio show featured H. Rajan Sharma, Esq., the lawyer in charge of the US litigation surrounding the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak in Bhopal. It also drew attention to the San Diego-based demonstration against Dow Chemical on May 11. Download the show.
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May 7th – “Debate the Corporation” House Parties
Amnesty's Corporate Action Network has been joining organizations and activists across the country to hold houseparty screenings of the film "The Corporation," to discuss corporate accountability for human rights and take action to support communities threatened by companies such as Dow Chemical (DOW). May 7th was national "Debate the Corporation" Day, and groups that planned their party that night were able to log in to a live webcast where experts, including L. Hunter Lovins, Joel Bakan, and Jeff Michen, debated whether we need to to Reform, Regulate or Rewrite the Corporation.
  • Read bios for each of the debaters.
  • Did you miss the debate? Check out clips here.
  • Hold your own "Debate the Corporation" house party! Learn more and register your party online.
  • Want to share your house party story? Email us at corpaction@aiusa.org.
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Letter writing action to Dow Shareholders (ongoing)
In addition to sending an online letter to the President and CEO of Dow, Andrew Liveris, activists have been writing letters to shareholders of Dow, alerting them to Dow's moral and legal obligations, as well as the shareholder risks associated with the Bhopal disaster. These letters reinforced the requests made by Amnesty International in this letter sent to the top 100 shareholders of Dow Chemical (DOW). We need your help! The letter writing campaign will continue until Dow's annual meeting next year. Visit our action page to learn more.
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May 11th – Day of Action Against Dow Chemical (DOW)
On May 11th, the day before Dow’s Annual General Meeting, Amnesty International and Students for Bhopal chapters around the country held demonstrations and delivered vials of contaminated Bhopal water and jhadoo —Indian brooms that have become the symbol of the international campaign for justice in Bhopal— to Dow Chemical (DOW) facilities to protest Dow’s blatant disregard for the safety and health of Bhopal communities.

Read the Amnesty press release, “Amnesty International Demands Dow-Union Carbide Appear in Court - Activists join nations around the world to demand justice for Bhopal victims” (May 9, 2005)

Click on the links below to read about demonstrations in:

There are 50 Dow facilities in the United States alone. Contact us at corpaction@aiusa.org to receive updates about upcoming public actions targeting Dow.

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May 12th – Dow Chemical (DOW) AGM
On May 12th, Dow Chemical (DOW) held their Annual General Meeting in the small town of Midland, Michigan.

Amnesty International USA was represented at the meeting by Indiana CAN Member, Tom Benner. During the Q&A session with Chairman of the Board William S. Stavropoulos, Tom drew attention to the human rights abuses in Bhopal and asked a targeted question about Dow's liability. Stavropolous refused to answer his question!
  • Read the full text of Tom's statement and his impressions from the shareholder meeting.
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More events...

May 16 – Bhopal teach-in at Vintage High School, Napa, CA

Want to see your story and photos on our webpage or in our newsletter?
Email us at corpaction@aiusa.org.

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