[Peace] Bhopal Anniversary, local events

[Ricky Baldwin]

Dear Friend,
> 
> In the days leading up to the 20th anniversary of
> the Bhopal
> gas disaster, South Asian Collective invites
> everyone to
> participate in the events organized at the
> University of
> Illinois, Urbana-Champaign from December 1st to the
> 3rd.
> 
> Wednesday , December 1
> Information table with the fact-sheet on Bhopal,
> Bhopal
> posters, literature on Dow Chemicals and information
> on
> organizations involved in the campaign for justice
> in Bhopal.
> 
> WHEN: Noon to 2:00 PM
> WHERE: South Patio, Quad
> 
> Wednesday, December 1
> “We are not flowers, we are flames!"- Twenty Years
> of
> Struggle in Bhopal.
> 
> An interactive discussion on the Bhopal disaster,
> corporate
> crimes and the struggle for justice.
> 
> WHEN: 7:00 PM
> WHERE: 407 Illini Union
> 
> Friday, December 3
> Screening of the film: ‘Bhopal: The Search for
> Justice’,
> followed by discussion.
> 
> This film produced by a Bhopal native straddles the
> intersection between science, politics and human
> rights.
> Exploring charges of corruption, graft and greed,
> the film
> follows Raajkumar Keswani, the local journalist
> whose
> prediction of the Union Carbide disaster proved
> prophetic and addresses the human costs of the
> disaster. The
> film is directed by Lindalee Tracey and Peter
> Raymont.
> 
> WHEN: 6:00 PM
> WHERE: Room 2, Education Building [1310 S. Sixth
> St.,
> Champaign]
> 
> Background: December 3 marks the 20th anniversary of
> the
> Bhopal gas disaster—the worst industrial disaster
> in human
> history. Shortly after midnight on December 2, 1984,
> more
> than 40 tons poisonous gas leaked from a Union
> Carbide
> pesticide factory in Bhopal, India, killing more
> than 8,000 people. Since then, more than 20,000
> people have
> died, and nearly 150,000 people are chronically ill.
> 
> Remembers Sajida Sultan, a survivor, “I was in the
> first
> grade at the time of the gas disaster. I remember
> being woken
> up by people in my family. I remember everyone
> vomiting and
> groaning and then joining the crowd of people who
> were trying
> to run away from the clouds of poison.
> Since then my problem of breathlessness has been
> getting
> worse, my eye problems are also getting worse and
> now
> everything appears blurry.”
> 
> Today, twenty years after the disaster, fifteen to
> thirty
> people continue to die in Bhopal each month due to
> complications from the gas exposure, contributing to
> a death
> toll now well over 20,000. More than
> 150,000 are still ill, most too sick to work.
> 
> In 2001, Dow Chemicals purchased Union Carbide
> thereby
> acquiring its assets and liabilities. However, Dow
> Chemicals
> has steadfastly refused to clean up the site,
> provide safe
> drinking water, compensate the victims, or disclose
> information about the health effects of the leaked
> gas. There
> are thousands of "slow, silent Bhopals" that have
> left their
> mark on developing nations and low-income
> communities,
> denying basic human rights to clean air, water and
> health.
> 
> Amidst poverty and other forms of oppression, people
> in
> Bhopal continue to struggle against one of the
> world’s
> largest corporations. On December 3, let us join the
> people
> of Bhopal in their struggle for justice.
> 
> No more Bhopals!
> 
> Co-sponsored by: Activist Forum, Asian American
> Studies
> Program, Critical Research Collaborative, Illinois
> Disciples
> Foundation, I-Resist!, Progressive Resources Action
> Co-operative
>  
> 



		
__________________________________ 
Do you Yahoo!? 
Meet the all-new My Yahoo! - Try it today! 
http://my.yahoo.com