Dick Gregory Heads Local Protest of British Petroleum
http://www.washingtoninformer.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6904:gregory-heads-local-protest-of-british-petroleum-&catid=50:local&Itemid=113
Shevry Lassiter and Shantella Y. Sherman
Thursday, 08 September 2011
Comedian-activist Dick Gregory, along with a handful of protesters, recently
demonstrated outside the Northwest offices of settlement attorney Ken Feinberg,
accusing him of dragging his feet in resolving the more than 10,000
compensation claims brought by victims' families and survivors of the April
2010 British Petroleum (BP) Gulf Coast oil spill.
This is not the first time Feinberg has come under scrutiny for poor
dissemination of victim funds. Feinberg, 65, said in an interview earlier this
year that he was using the same eligibility process with oil spill claimants as
he did with claims after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He said he received 15
claims from 9/11 victims about a year after the attacks saying they had
developed lung or colon cancer from exposure to carcinogens in the World Trade
Center. Feinberg took those claims to two scientists at Columbia Presbyterian
Hospital, who said it wasn't possible to develop cancer in that amount of time,
so he rejected those claims.
In that instance, Feinberg hired three experts to review the 30 respiratory oil
spill claims and help him make a determination on their validity, but he said
that at first glance, many appear to lack even the most basic medical records.
In addition, to get paid, claimants after both the terrorist attacks and the
oil spill have to prove they suffered economic loss of earnings or a disability
because of their injuries.
"In these 30 (oil spill claims) ... I see virtually no evidence of disability,"
Feinberg said. "They don't have a Social Security finding or a workers' comp
finding."
Feinberg has yet to decide what to do with about 30 claims from cleanup workers
and others who seek compensation for respiratory maladies as a direct result of
their proximity to the spill. He has hired his own experts to look into the
issue.
"I'm dubious," Feinberg said. "We have paid ($64 million) for death claims and
those physically injured when the rig exploded -- for traumatic injuries,
burns, broken bones. We paid those claims; they're paid.
"It's these respiratory claims from the cleanup -- when I say I'm dubious, I
have an open mind on this, (but) I'm just wondering whether these 30 people out
of hundreds and hundreds are going entitled to get paid. We'll see."
Feinberg was initially hired by the Obama administration to take charge of a
$20 billion escrow fund to compensate people and businesses harmed by the BP
oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
Art Rocker, Chairman/Facilitator of Operation People for Peace, joined Gregory
in the protest. His organization representing over 400 churches, hundreds of
ministers, and over 500,000 underserved parishioners, along with human rights
activist, Dick Gregory, 78, and Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq., Chair of the
National Congress of Black Women have joined forces to assist those persons
seeking compensation for those who have lost their livelihood and means of
providing for their families as a result of the Gulf Coast disaster.
In early-August a similar group of protestors traveled to the BP headquarters
in London, England and demanded a meeting with BP's president and CEO, Robert
Dudley. The group picketed headquarters when Dudley refused to meet. Rocker
said, "They keep sending us back to Ken Feinberg as the person who has the
authority to settle the claims. They feel they can ignore the underserved
because they have no power."
Rocker also said "Operation for People for Peace recognizes the magnanimity of
this disaster and we are using our resources to help those affected by the
spill. When large multi-national corporations like BP refuse to implement
safety devices, creating disasters that killed 11 workers, causing the loss of
1.6 million jobs in this region, destroying much of the wildlife and
threatening the ecology and economy of a fragile region – the result is nothing
short of a human rights disaster, as well as an ecological one."
According to Rocker, Feinberg agreed through a series of meetings which took
place over the past 11 months to make settlement of claims filed by the poor
and underserved. Rocker stated, that "more than a year after the biggest oil
spill in U.S. history ravaged the Gulf Coast region, Feinberg has yet to uphold
his promise to respond to claimants."
In the Sept. 2 demonstration, protesters blocked the entrance to the office
building by tying the ropes from their protest signs around the doors. D.C.
police officers on the scene noted that it is not their policy to arrest
protesters; however, the protesters moved inside the lobby of the office
building which resulted in charges of trespassing on private property. Gregory
and Rocker were arrested.
Gregory said "BP ain't seen nothing yet ... we will not continue to sit idly by
while receiving nothing for the underserved and poor people. We will return to
London to echo the fact that BP should not be a leading sponsor for the 2012
Olympics while refusing to pay the claims of the poor."
A boycott against BP and all BP products, including those sold in BP
mini-marts, was announced during a brief press conference held during the
protest.
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