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http://www.greenpeace.org/news/details?news_id=95504
How low can Dow go?
Dow sues penniless Bhopal survivors
Mon 23 December 2002
In a stunning example of corporate insensibility, Dow Chemical,
the worlds largest chemical company, and new owners of Union
Carbide is to sue survivors of the 1984 Union Carbide gas disaster
in Bhopal, India. While the site of the disaster lies covered in
toxic waste and survivors struggle with continuing ill health and
deadly pollution from the site, Dow has decided to add to their
woes with a Indian lawsuit.
Yes that's right - the very people Dow should be helping are
now facing a lawsuit from one of the world most powerful
corporations. Why are they acting in such an amazingly perverse
manner? On December 2nd a peaceful march of 200 women survivors
from Bhopal delivered toxic waste from the abandoned Carbide
factory back to Dow's Indian headquarters in Bombay with the
demand that Dow take responsibility for the disaster and clean up
the site. Dow obviously has other ideas because they are suing
survivors for about US$10,000 for "loss of work". That's US$10,000
compensation demanded for a two hour peaceful protest where only
one Dow employee briefly ventured out of the Mumbai corporate
business park to meet the women protestors.
Satyu, a Bhopal activist and one of the protestors charged by
Dow highlighted how ridiculous this "loss of work" claim is:
"Thousands of us lost their lives, many more have not been able to
do our jobs for the last 18 years and 150,000 people in Bhopal are
still suffering ill health because of the Union Carbide gas
tragedy in 1984. Even today people die and children are born with
gas related diseases. It is outrageous that Dow is charging us
US$10,000 and tries to shut us down from seeking justice from
them".
The damages demanded by Dow will amount to about 10 years
income for the survivors charged but is less than one days sales
revenue for Dow. Also Dow is seeking to silence protest by
demanding that survivors be banned from holding protests within
100m of Dow offices in India.
Dow has just appointed a new CEO, William Stravopoulos, who
engineered the Dow merger with Union Carbide in 2001. If this
lawsuit is how he intends to deal with the ongoing Bhopal disaster
then it will be a huge public relations own goal. Dow proudly
proclaims it slogan as "living improved daily". How does that fit
with the suing of poor protestors who have a real grievance with
the company?
