December 17, 2008
Jaipur Foot-in-mouth, as "despicable, perverse" Bhopali children ask charity to return Dow donation
Founder and chief patron of the Mahavir Viklang Sewa Samiti, DR Mehta, is a man rightly lauded for bringing free prosthetic limbs to the poor and destitute of India and elsewhere. A former IAS officer of impeccable credentials, it's hard to imagine why a man synonymous with the famous 'Jaipur Foot' would be striving to drag his 33 year old organisation into the gutter - yet this is precisely what seems to have happened.
The day after eight people people from Bhopal -- 3 disabled children, 2 contaminated-water affected children, and their parents and caretakers - attended a Jaipur Foot camp in Chennai to politely request its organisers reconsider their acceptance of R1 crore of Dow India's money (see report below), the honourable Mr. Mehta insisted on describing them as "despicable, perverse people", repeating the phrase thrice in case any of the gathered press had missed it the first two times.
Mr Mehta has much to be disgusted about, having chosen to associate his organisation with a corporation infamous for a list of crimes so long that it is dizzying to read their brief descriptions. To aim that disgust at a community of Dow's victims seems to lack self-awareness and, dare we say it, a sense of charity. Perhaps not all is at it seems with Mr Mehta after all. ed.
DR Mehta, who while unable to claim the credit for having invented Jaipur Foot, can now lay claim to the recently diagnosed 'Jaipur-Foot-in-mouth' disease...
December 16, 2008
Report by Shweta
Dow India buys the credit for the Chennai 'Jaipur Foot' camp for a mere (to Dow) R1 crore
We walked in without a problem. The "We" consisted of 14-year old Sarita, 15-year old Rafat, Suraj (a paraplegic), Sajid and Vikas (both of whom suffer from different disabilities), Meera, the children's parents, students and teachers from Vidyasagar school for disabled children in Chennai, and Roshan and Rupesh from Youth for Social Change. The Vidyasagar kids were on wheelchairs, so we were indistinguishable from the kids who were visiting the camp. The Bhopali kids were following us. We had already learnt that Venkat was stopped from entering by Group 4 Security folks, when he tried going in as a journalist (Venkat was met by Mahathi Parshuram, Dow India's public affairs manager, who said that no media had been sent invitations).
Bhopalis wait to go in
Once in, we asked for Mohan Jain who runs the Adinath Jain Trust, which partners with Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayog Samiti of Jaipur foot fame. BMVSS is the organisation that received Rs. 1 crore from Dow India's CSR coffers. The place was filled with about 20-odd Dow employees who were volunteering. We were immediately confronted by Mahathi, the public affairs person. She wanted to know where we were from. At the mention of the Bhopal word, she disappeared into a huddle. For 10 minutes after the B word was uttered, there was no sign of our hosts. Finally, we were allowed to speak to Mohan Jain. All of us stood in a semi-circle, and the Dow employees were all clustered watching us. We were not wearing anything special -- no bandannas, no nothing. But all eyes were on us. The New Indian Express photographer took a picture, but was coerced into deleting it.
Mohan Jain seemed pretty hostile and bristly initially. 14-year old Sarita and Meera did most of the talking and began explaining why we were here. Mohan Jain's protests that they were doing very important and good work gradually weakened into feeble whispers with Sarita's compassionate lecturing. When Meera opened the album of photographs, there was a palpable hush. Poor Mr. Jain. I don't think he knew anything about Dow. "I'm merely the Sanchalak (the organiser). I got instructions from Jaipur and I put together this 5-day camp," he ably ducked in defense. "In any case, we can't abandon the camp now. We'll complete it for the next three days, and we'll keep this in mind for later," he said.
When Sarita met Mohan Jain...
Then Mr. Jain landed on a brainwave. "Ninety percent of our money comes from small donors, who give Rs. 50 and Rs. 100. How can we ascertain if this money is tainted or not?" he asked triumphantly. To this, Sarita replied: "We're not talking about fifties and hundreds. When you get Rs. 1 crore, shouldn't it occur to you to ascertain the antecedents of the donor?"
Jain changed tack. "You say you've been suffering in Bhopal for 24 years. Why don't you leave the place and go somewhere else?" Aaah. That's Question No. 3 in the Bhopalis' Frequently Asked Questions list. The answer to that is: "Where will we go? Why should we go?"
Didn't work. This 14-year old girl was too smart. Let's try the chocolote route. "We will even organise a similar camp in Bhopal," Mr. Jain suggested. That did it. Little Ms. Sarita was angry now. "I don't think that would be a good idea. If you so much as step into Bhopal with Dow's money, we will oppose you straight on," Sarita bluntly told him.
And then, the final blow. Mr. Jain had no clue what a PU is. Sarita says PU. She doesn't say polyurethane, which is the plastic that Dow manufactures, that Dow in all its sincere-do-good-mood offered to the Jaipur foot guys as a replacement for the vulcanised rubber that is currently being used. What's wrong with rubber for the artificial limbs? Nothing really. But when Dow gives Rs. 1 crore, as a manufacturer of polyurethane, it does need to convince CSR-skeptical shareholders that charity is good for business, especially when charity involves spreading more of your product.
Anyway, the final blow, as I was saying -- "Mr. Jain, did you know that the PU limbs when afire will release the same gases that were released in Bhopal in 1984?" Mr. Jain did not know. Mr. Jain's face was a sight. "Are you giving these children life or death?" asked one of the kids.
Mr. Jain was visibly shaken. Kept muttering that "Aage se hum dhyan denge" (We'll pay more attention to this in the future.")
Mr. Jain seemed to suggest that he approaches all decisions on the basis of evidence. Even in this case, he said he would need evidence from us to back our claims. After all, how is he to believe all the stuff that is being told about Dow?
"How about reading a newspaper, maybe?"
In any case, Mr. Jain realised that this was not going as planned. The children assured him that they appreciate the work that is being done, and that it was their intent merely to ensure that this good work is not tainted by bloody-money from corporations like Dow. Jain was apprehensive about the media. He politely requested the kids to not release this to the media. "I knew nothing about Dow and its history. Don't let this get out in the media. Others will not come tomorrow then," he said.
But life's all about informed choice, right?
Dump Dow, Bhopal kids tell ngo (Indian Express report)
Posted by tim at 05:47 PM | Comments (0)
December 08, 2008
When Dow Unsponsored a Youth Concert
Chennai, December 7th, 2008
Indian Express report (large file)
We had everything in place; every little detail worked out. Things were in place. The "No More Bhopals" concert was to happen on 7th December. And on 6th December, we were ready to go. After tiring of trying to be organised, we decided it would be easier to take pride in our chaotic methods. We were not used to this level of organisation amongst ourselves. That was probably because we had John Anthony, a veteran guitarist and musician, breathing down our necks, gently reminding us that everything needs to be checked and rechecked yesterday.
At this point, we had two major worries. There was a cyclone moving in the wrong direction – towards Chennai. It was still some 900 km off the Indian coast. But it was moving in a north-westerly direction, and threatening to landfall in Chennai at around 5 p.m. on 7 December to coincide with the show. Venkat turned weather man, and would stoke our nervousness or allay our fears depending on what the reports said at the time. Our second fear was whether the venue would prove too small for the crowds that come. Both fears were unfounded. The cyclone never came. The crowd was manageable, although there were more than 400 people, as against our planned number of 350.
The large crowd settles down for the evening's events
But Sadanand Menon and late dancer Chandralekha's house on the Besant Nagar beach is a deadly place. A nicely wooded quarter-acre plot, with a semi-open Kalari (ancien Indian martial art) practice space in one corner of the plot, and an open-to-the-sky dance theatre at one end, this place had a peaceful ambience. Many of the trees have a pyol around them. There are granite slabs for seating at various places. So at least half as many people that are inside the kalari space can be found outside lounging against a tree or leaning against the well, talking to friends, strumming on a guitar, playing in the sand with babies.
Vedant, Ananth and Shiva relax outside the main space.
The "No More Bhopals"concert is the 2nd in a series of shows called "Justice Rocks" targeting youth in Chennai with the aim of sensitising them to social issues. Youth for Social Change – a motley crew of school and college students, recent graduates and a few young-at-hearts – is organising the show expanding the message of the 24-year-old Bhopal struggle to its logical end. The concert will be organised by a massive mobilisation of voluntary contribution – of effort, money and services – from the musicians, the sound and light technicians, from the folks who own the venue, even journalists.
More than 30 posters, hand-painted by musicians, music lovers, and other friends had been put up in various colleges and prominent youth hang-outs. Tickets had been handed over to the young musicians to be sold among their friends. "The advantage of having hand-made posters is that it gives us one more excuse to have fun with friends. We call for a poster making session, supply the paints and paper, clear the Collective's office of all furniture, spread ourselves on the floor and go at it with music and constant chatter as our companions," says Lakshmi Premkumar, a YSC member and one of the coordinators of this event.
No corporate sponsors are allowed. In fact, one of the media houses that wanted to partner with us in this event was turned down. They were told to come and cover the event and not bring any banners. Red Bull sent a regiment of curvaceous 20-somethings to handout free jolts of the high-caffeine drink. Our logistics man-cum-non-violent bouncer Rupesh managed to drive the bulls out.
Actually, all Justice Rocks concerts will be unsponsored. When a sponsored show is held, organisers usually sing praises of the sponsors. In unsponsored shows, we make fun of our unsponsors. The No More Bhopals show had to be unsponsored by Dow and Union Carbide, with contribution of course from the Indian Government.
The line-up was impressive, two school bands, five college student bands and one band of young graduates: Blue Light Daze (School students), Pencil Box (School band), Sofie and Ajai with Nandini and Ameena , Downhill Automatic, Skrat, Dogs, Greyshack and Vedant, Darbuka Shiva and Ananth.
'The Dogs' play their set
Pencil Box
Many performers were debutantes on stage. Others were seasoned veterans, although none was above 28 years in age. In fact the average age of the band members was in the neighborhood of 20. The show opened with a short film called "Hush Baby" following which Vedant, Ananth and Shiva opened with a song written by Bhakti cult poet-saint Namdeo. That was in honour of the role played by the warkaris in bringing construction work at a chemical experimentation facility near Pune to a standstill through concerted non-violent direct action. Warkaris are the followers of revolutionary Bhakti poets Tkaram, Gnaneshwar, Namdeo and others. Shinde Vasuli, the village where Dow chose to set up its ill-fated chemical experimentation facility, is in the heartland of the Dehu region, famed as the roaming grounds of Tukaram. This is sacred land, and local villagers and warkaris across the state of Maharashtra were deeply offended when Dow Chemical – a company notorious for its deadly products of war against humans and nature – desecrated this holy land.
Sofie and Ajai had met barely two weeks back. Sofie, a diminutive, even timid-looking burkha clad rapper, transforms on stage into a dynamic whirlwind of black flowing robes, and gutsy, evocative rap lyrics. Looks can deceive. That was, in fact, Sofie's message in her first song, set to Ameena's plaintive rendition of the arabic prayer "Salat-ul-lah, Salam-ul-lah." Sofie looks challengingly at the audience accusing them of only seeing her Hijab – the black veil worn by Muslim women. Defiantly, she defends her islam saying Islam and Muslims cannot be blamed for the acts of a few "idiots." “All I want," she says, "is to put Islam's name in the clear and let Islam be known for spreading love, not fear."
Sophie and Ameena take the stage
Ajai and Sofie belted out a highly charged rap battle, with Ajai rapping on behalf of Dow inviting youngsters to work for Dow, taunting Sofie (who was rapping for the Bhopalis) by reminding her that she only had the Sambavana Trust, while Dow had the PM, the Ministers on its side. The battle ended with the Bhopalis clearly in victory, as all people in the audience joined Sofie in chorus rapping "Don't, Don't, Don't, Don't, Don't Work for Dow" drowning poor Ajai's "Come on, Come on, Come on, Come on, Come on and Work for Dow."
Downhill Automatic performs 'Don't Work for Dirty Dow'
The other highlight was Downhill Automatic's song, also named "Don't work for Dirty Dow." Band member Sid Hande was also one of the most involved musicians in the concert. Having internalised the Bhopal message, this 20 year old curly topped singer, lyricist wrote this goose-bump-inducing rock song with help from a number of other friends on the same evening that the posters were being made. It starts with a kick to the stomach -- "I am the man, who lost his land. It used to be where your factory stands," and returns with a double punch when capitalists are reminded of who we are: -
"I am the wind and I do not lie
I am all the things that money can't buy.
You say sit, but I think I'll stand
'Cos I am the spirit of this land."
Don't Work for Dirty Dow (Full version)
by Downhill Automatic
I am the man who lost his land
it used to be where your factory stands
it’s not that I’m against progress
but what is the measure of your success?
I say no, but you push me away
What’s bad for me is gonna get you someday!
I am the fish wild in the sea
I am the bird and the mango tree
Close-minded man, can’t you see?
what you call your business is hurting me
I say no but you push me away
What’s bad for me is gonna hurt you someday!
holding on holdng on don’t work for dirty dow!
fighting on fighting on don’t work for dirty dow!
I am the wind and I do not lie
I’m all the things that money cant buy
you say sit but I think I’ll stand
'cos I am the spirit of this land!
You say no and you push me away
What’s bad for you is gonna kill you someday!
holding on holding on
don’t work for dirty dow!
fighting on fighting on
don’t work for dirty, filthy, mangy, creep crawly, dow!
The Dogs!
Between acts, students of social work from a local college and some members of Youth for Social Change staged two skits. The first one, called Prime Minister's Dogs, was set in a dog show, where VVIDs (very, very important dogs) were on display. Pukki, Chhaatu and Mega Chaatu are the dogs of the three persona of Dr. Manmohan Singh the person, Manmohan Singh the Sonia loyalist, and Manmohan Singh the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister's Dogs get a run out
The second skit highlighted the ironies in inviting celebrities to endorse causes. This featured Aamir Khan of Coca Cola fame as the celebrity of choice for the Bhopal cause. With every mention of the tragedy in Bhopal, Aamir (played by percussionist and Radio Mirchi anchor Darbuka Shiva who is famed for his nonsensical wit) goes on dreamily converting the tragedy into a script for a blockbuster, reducing the 25000 currently condemned to drinking poisoned water to a calculation of how many extras would be required to shoot the scene. The play ends with someone from the audience asking what should people do for Bhopal. And Aamir answers: "Just be sure to watch Rang De Basanti Part II. Not on DVD, but in the cinema hall."
The five hour concert ended in a mellow note with Vedant, Darbuka and Ananth playing melodies accompanied by two acoustic guitars and a percussion instrument ably wielded by Darbuka. We raised more than 3 times what we spent on the concert through ticket sales. "The next event should not be just a concert. We should have a day-long festival," says Sid Hande. "Rock has historically been an expression of constructive dissidence, and music is a great way to get to youngsters," he adds. Watch this space. A week back, the kids in Bhopal launched a struggle group called "Children Against Dow-Carbide." The party against Dow has begun, with the youth in the lead.
Downhill Automatic's "Don't Work for Dirty Dow"
Sophia Ashraf and Ajay's Dow Rap battle
Sophia Ashraf and Ameena's "Salat-ul-lah"
Posted by tim at 02:12 PM | Comments (0)
December 04, 2008
Cuddalore Remembers Bhopal
Cuddalore, 3 December 2008: Residents of the pollution impacted region of SIPCOT Cuddalore, along with residents of Old Town Cuddalore, organised several public meets and vigils on Dec 2 and 3rd to remember Bhopal.
Candle light vigil at Semmankuppam Middle School: Semmankuppam is the village in SIPCOT where Chemplast Sanmar's 1,70,000 TPA PVC plant is currently being constructed
Posted by tim at 04:00 PM | Comments (0)
48 ‘Bhopals’ waiting to happen in Orissa
Bhubaneswar: On the No Pesticides Use Day to commemorate the 24th year of the Bhopal gas tragedy which left nearly 8,000 people dead and affected 5,20,000 others, a city-based organisation Living Farms, fighting pesticides, at a discussion on the Bhopal tragedy held here on Wednesday, pointed out that there are 48 “Bhopals” waiting to happen in Orissa unless the Government wakes up.
As per available statistics there are 48 major hazardous industries in 15 districts of Orissa that deal with 44 extremely toxic and highly inflammable chemicals. Out of those 15 districts, nine districts have no on site safety plans.
The Bhopal tragedy occurred because safety measures were not in place and also the factory was located in a densely populated area.
This situation abounds in the State which has an abysmal record of industrial safety.
Living Farms in association with Pesticide Action Network — Asia Pacific also campaigns against the use of pesticides in Indian agriculture many of which are banned in other countries, like Endosulphan and Paraquat. According to health experts, even very little amount of such pesticides can do great harm upon exposure.
The World Health Organisation estimates that yearly, at least 3 million people are poisoned and 200,000 die after using pesticides.
While many of the reported ill effects constitute acute cases of pesticide poisoning, it is the chronic long-term effects such as cancers that are of increasing concern.
A presentation on Bhopal, a photo exhibition on Bhopal and two short documentary films were shown in this meeting titled, “Remembering Bhopal”, which was attended by concerned citizen, activists and members of civil society organisations.
Posted by tim at 12:08 PM | Comments (0)
December 03, 2008
On the 24th Anniversary of Bhopal Gas Disaster Delhi pledges to detoxify the country
New Delhi, 2nd Dec 2008
At times like this, when innocent people were being killed in a horrendous attack in Bombay, detoxification of our society and our lives takes on a deeper meaning. When Delhi-ites gathered for the 24th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster, our goal was to participate in the worldwide shaking free of our shackles of helplessness in the face of spreading poisons. We reject chemical toxins that find their way into our bodies in catastrophic holocausts like Bhopal, or in insidious ways into our water, air and food supply; we reject toxic hatred being spread in the world under the guise of communalism and terrorism (and its twin – the "war on terrorism"); we reject the toxic greed, personified by unscrupulous corporations, that kills the defenseless that get in its way; and finally we reject the toxic indifference of our elected leaders that, caught up in their own greed and ambition, fail to protect us from all of the above.
Our anger was subliminated into a creative, life-affirming program, compeered by Madhuresh of the Cacim group, of supportive speeches and inspirational songs.
the Manzil group
The site itself, close to our dharna site at Jantar Mantar, was surrounded by posters and photographs and passers-by who stopped by to examine them and stayed for the program.
Debayani Kar, read out a poem 'Torture Me', Shashank from IIT read out a list of successes that IIT and other universities have had over the past year in rebuffing Dow. The Delhi-based group, Manzil, performed several songs – a few kids who had gathered enjoyed dancing to the popular "Yeh taara- woh taara" from the movie Swades – and a particularly poignant song of their own – "Maanavtaa se naataa jodo" (form a kinship with humanity).
A supporter shares a testimonial
Vimlendu and Sunny sang, Shalini made a fiery speech, Aashish handed out pamphlets to passersby, reminding us of the eventful dharna a few months ago where he was our official pamphlet-hand-outer. S.A Khan from Jharkhand Forum connected splendidly demands and spirit of Bhopal, jharkhand and other movements in the country.
Sunny sings to the crowd
Shalini in calmer voice with the media
Some journalist friends also shared their connection with the struggle and the different stories they did during the Padyatra and Delhi protests. Several friends from different dharnas, protest groups and stalls also shared their stories and experiences with Bhopalis during their five month stay at Jantar Mantar.
At the end, in a sombre moment, we lit candles and stood together in two minutes of silence.
Our two minutes, compounded with those of thousands of schools and dozens of citizens groups all over India and the world, rang loudly. Twenty-four years has been far, far too long.
Posted by tim at 11:29 PM | Comments (0)