« March 2006 | Main | May 2006 »
April 29, 2006
Many more congratulations...
Congratulations continue to pour in from around the globe. One of our favorites:
WOWOWOWOWO! Fanbloodytastic!!!!
Tina
***
Dear Mr Ryan Bodany and Students for Bhopal,
Congratulations for this great victory! The Bhopal People deserves a better life quality after so many desperate years.
I hope this incredible campaign work will bring a new perspective for the People around the world.
Let´s hope for a better world.
Sincerely yours,
Sandra Burle Marx Smith
from Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
(Environmental Marketing and Socioenvironmental MKT professor)
***
Congratulations to the people of Bhopal, their representatives and the
tireless workers on this campaign! This victory proves the importance
and centrality of collective, organized, and sustained political
action. The neoliberal fiends in New Delhi, who never miss an
opportunity to brutalize opponents of their policies - have definitely
buckled.
Score: People - 1 , Ruling Class - 0
zindabad!
raja..
***
Gud work guys,
Really heartening to see people working tirelessly for a just cause and for the outpouring of compassion to the less fortunate ones.
A personal thanks,
Mithun
***
Hi Ryan,
Fantastic work!
Regards,
Arun
***
Ryan - Great news! Thanks for filling me in. I hope that the government
keeps their word.
-Ed.
***
ryan,
a HUGE congrats from all of us @ datacenter.
hope all is well. forward and upward..... xoxomiho
***
Congrats, RB!!!
That's great news. So, hard work does pay off.
steve
***
Thanks for the summary, Ryan. You folks rock!
much love,
ravi
***
Congrats!
Mera Bharath Mahaan....
***
Congratulations, Ryan! fabulous news!
Shivali
***
Congratulations!!
The next task is to make sure the Indian Govt. keeps its promise!
Regards,
Manasi.
***
Incredible! Great news, Ryan!
Josh
***
congratulations to all.
a good fight and a honorable response, even though
late.
Having covered the Bhopal events of 1984 and beyond
for The New York Times and written a book on it, and
having interacted with victims and others for many
years, I am deeply touched.
Sanjoy
***
This is wonderful!! Now we must make sure that it really does happen!!
Jackie
***
Hi Ryan,
Thank you very much for doing this!! Congratulations!! You're a great humanitarian, and all of India must thank you for this.
Jai Hind,
Siddhu
***
Dear Ryan
CONGRATULATIONS on the victory in Bhopal.
Khalid
***
Congrats!
In solidarity,
Sukla
***
Hello,
We are very much delighted and relieved to learn of
your victory. Heartiest congratulations!.
Keep up your undying, indomitable and invincing spirit
and then, success cannot be but yours to ensure proper
implementation of the assurances given by the
Government.
With best wishes for a healthy and peaceful living for
Bhopalis,
Sincerely,
N R Vaidyanathan
***
Keep the pressure on so that the Govt. does what it commits.
Congrates.
Prof. Ajay Chandak.
***
Dear Ryan Bodanyi
I am gladdened by the news of the stunning victory of the Bhopali peoples victory and feel honoured to have had the privilege of being a small part of it.
My heartiest congratulations on behalf of the Coal Mine Workers of Queensland , Australia, and I sincerely hope the undertakings from the Government will be swiftly and fully honoured.
In Unity and Friendship
Andrew Vickers
District President
CFMEU Mining and Energy Division
***
congratulations
Please keep up the struggles
thomas kocherry
***
CONGRATULATION TO ALL OF YOU.
Remember we have to take lesson from the past and have vigil over the situation.
With warm solidarity
Kirity
--
Kirity Roy
Secretary
Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha
(MASUM)
***
Keep it up....
Dheeraj
***
Wonderful news. You just made my day, month and year.
Thanks to you and the committed people of the movement
for making this world a better place to live in.
Harini
***
That was truly a memorable message to gladen all our hearts.
Wishing you strength and our best wishes to traverse the road road ahead.
Ram
***
amazing effort.... with all cheers and love I highly congratulate your spirit and zeal that resulted in teh success...
thanks
manoj
***
congrats for victories are few and far between and all the more to be cherished! Anand
***
Heartiest congratulations on ur victory !
Keep up the gud work, we are with u.
cheers!!
sukhvinder
***
Dear All,
I congratulate all the Bhopalis and those other supporters who had been fighting for so many days for a noble cause and finally remained successful.I congratulate once again to those who had been physically involved in the campaign.
Regards,
Subhasmita
***
CONGRATULATIONS!!! Its indeed a victory!! The consistency this campaign has shown is really commendable and a fine example.
With Best Wishes,
Tejal
***
Yes, indeed, amazing, and a great and inspiring example of how to campaign – of how to move together. Of what ‘movement’ is about. Congratulations to all of you !
Thanks also for laying out here the various components of the Bhopal campaign, as you see them. This is very interesting, and very important for all of us to know, how you felt you managed to gain this great victory, and – as it were – ‘how the Bhopal movement spoke’ : What the words were, and how you put them together.
All strength to all of you for the next steps, both on getting the state to make material the concessions (which the recent report from Nity seems to suggest is happening) and, crucially, on Dow.
I am ccing this message to listserves of people who I am sure would also like to know of this.
In solidarity -
Jai Sen
PS : For anyone interested in reviewing what has happened over the past four weeks in the Bhopal campaign, visit http://www.cacim.net/twiki/tiki-view_articles.php?type=article&topic=1
***
Dear Ryan,
Thanks for your beautiful mail. I'm truly glad that you aren't returning till promises are kept. Thanks for what you're doing for all of us.
With warm regards,
Sumitra
***
great ....
feel so much happeyness ......
shriprakash
jharkhand
***
Dear All
Really it is great pleasure for us and we are thankfull to all
who have been supported directly or indirectlt to achieve this victory.
Thanks & Regards
Kumar
***
I am delighted to get the overwhelming news about all the bhopalis..I wish them good luck and great life now on...
Love & best regards
Vivek
***
hey ryan,
i know this is very belated, but i want to say congratulations on the big victories. it makes me very happy and hopeful that good things are possible. congratulations, you are a machine!
best,
jayanthi
***
Congratulations on a victory well won!
Cheers,
Alfredo Quarto,
MAP
***
Congratulations on your achievement on behalf of affected people for
Bhopal. It has been an amazing campaign and I thank and congratulate
all the people involved in it for their dedication and perseverance.
It is unformtunate that such an effort was necessary for securing the
natural rights of the affected people. The government should have
responded naturally and automatically long back and ensured that
natural justice was done as a matter of humanity and national pride.
Just shows that a few concerned people have to fight hard to achieve
what they believe in.
The fight is not over till the governement implements its promises.
All the best.
Jayant
***
It always amazes me how a tiny contribution can have such a major impact on other people's lives
Congratulations
Wouter
***
congratulations for ur victory based on ur hard work determination.
Dr.Nancy, Tamilnadu
***
Great!!!
victor
***
This is wonderful, Ryan! I'm so happy for the people of Bhopal and it shows how people power can work. A special word of thanks and congratulations to you: I know how tireless you've been on this issue.
Best,
Adrian
***
Dear Ryan,
I just wanted to congratulate you personally. I am sure the fight is far from over, but Students for Bhopal has accomplished something truly astounding -- as I'm sure you're aware. Thank you for working so hard on something so important. I look forward to the day when the other two demands are met as well.
All best,
Kris.
***
Salut,
Merci à vous tous, pour le soutien à la campagne en faveur des victimes de Bhopal.
Lisez ci dessous les 4 requetes qui ont été acceptées par le gouvernement indien en faveur de ces vicitimes de l'injustice sociale et de l'incompétence des gouvernements humains.
Si vous voulez des informations sur ce qui s'est réellement produit à Bhopal, le 3 dec 1984, merci de visiter le site www.studentsforbhopal.org
Bien à vous
la lutte continue
Sena
***
Congratulations. Kindly convey my heartfelt joy and happiness to all.
In solidarity,
Pradeep
***
WOW!! A big yahoooooo on this victory.
Bill Price,
Sierra Club EJ Resource Coordinator, Central Appalachia
***
Congratulations
Irshad
***
Great news! Congratulations to Bhopalis! Keep up the spirit to ensure everything is implemented the way it's supposed to. Wish them the Best of Luck! God Bless India and Bhopal!
regards,
Vishal.
***
Congratulations !!
You did a great job, keep it up.
Pam
***
hey - yes, this is amazing!! congratulations!!!! and thank you so much
for passing along the news! what will you do next? all best, ---sophia
***
Hi Ryan,
Congratulations on a great win for Bhopal! On behalf of SEAC, we congratulate all of the youth and student workers who have educated and organized in support of the Bhopalis demands for human rights and reparations.
Thanks for keeping us all up to date,
Maren
Posted by zinda at 03:02 AM | Comments (0)
April 18, 2006
Messages of congratulation and friendship coming in from all over the globe
Je tiens à exprimer mon parfait soutien à la cause défendue par toutes les victimes de Bhopal. Une attitude humaine me parait s'imposer.
J'avise ce jour le correspondant de presse de notre journal local: "le Dauphiné". Merci de votre compréhension pour résoudre ce probléme.
I want to express my complete support for the cause of all the Bhopal victims. We need to feel more deeply for each other. I have just briefed my local newspaper: "le Dauphiné". Thank for your clear-sighted efforts to solve this problem.
Jean Suire
Aix en Provence
France
Congratulations, I follow all the walk and daily updates, I had tears on my eyes enormous time and wished to join all of you.
A luta continua
Anabela
JA! justica Ambiental
Maputo, Mozambique
Bhopalis celebrate their victory. Gulab Bai thanks Satish, minutes before he ended his week-long fast. More pictures below, please scroll down
Posted by bhola at 08:49 PM | Comments (0)
Solidarity with Dow Chemical's victims in Bhopal
Four decades after the end of the toxic chemical warfare waged by the US forces in Vietnam (1961-1971), the impact of its destruction still remains disastrous in the southern part of this country, particularly in the “hot spots”.
In order to win their battles, these forces managed to pour eighty millions litres of toxic chemicals so called defoliants, over millions of acres of land. These defoliants, especially Agent orange highly contaminated with a deadly residue called dioxin. The effects of Agent Orange/Dioxin have until today caused the death and disability of millions of Vietnamese victims. Many Vietnamese children of the second and third generations were, are and will be born with birth defects.
Though with full knowledge of their dangers certainly imposed on human beings and environments, these defoliants were still produced and supplied by various American chemical companies for the sake of enormous profits. For these reasons, not only veterans of the U.S, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand, but also Vietnamese victims have lodged claims against them in the U.S Courts for justice.
Now, in addition to its liability for the Vietnam War’s victims, Dow Chemical, is even responsible for the Bhopal disaster against the Indian local people. As victims of this chemical manufacturer and being denied by this company and others to enjoy correct compensations and justice, we, Vietnamese completely feel it necessary to show our solidarity with and support for the struggle conducted by the people of Bhopal.
We so urge that the Government of India would back their just cause. We call upon all the activists for human rights, for justice and for peace to make their tragedy and their sufferings known to the world, and to demand that justice should be affirmed.
On behalf of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin
Tran Xuan Thu.
Vice-President, Secretary General.
Solidarité avec les victimes de Dow Chemical à Bhopal
Pendant dix ans, de 1961 à 1971, le Vietnam a subi des épandages de défoliants destinés à détruire la forêt et les rizières pour en chasser les combattants et les populations qui les soutenaient. Quatre-vingt millions de litres de produits toxiques, dont le tristement célèbre Agent orange, ont été déversés sur 10% du territoire du sud du Vietnam. Ces défoliants contenaient de la dioxine, le poison le plus dévastateur qui soit, qui a fait plus de trois millions de victimes et dont les effets persistent encore aujourd’hui. Des enfants, de la 3ème génération naissent tous les jours, gravement handicapés. Ces défoliants ont été fabriqués par des industriels chimiques américaines qui en connaissaient la nocivité, auxquelles ils ont rapporté d’immenses profits et contre lesquelles les victimes vietnamiennes et leur association, la VAVA, ont porté plainte.
Or, parmi les principales entreprises en cause, on trouve Dow Chemical, la même entreprise qui est responsable du tragique accident de Bhopal (1984) dont elle se refuse toujours à indemniser correctement les victimes. Les victimes de Bhopal réclament justice, comme les victimes vietnamiennes. Après 800 kilomètres de marche de Bhopal à Delhi les victimes indiennes demandent à leur Premier Ministre d’intervenir et ont commencé une grève de la faim (www.bhopal.net). A son refus, une quinzaine de victimes ont entamé une grève illimitée de la faim. Après 21 ans de souffrance, de maladies omniprésentes, de pollution, et de morts, ils portent six revendications
1. La création d’une commission nationale sur l’explosion de Bhopal
2. Un ravitaillement en eau potable pour ceux qui vivent dans la zone contaminée
3. La poursuite en justice contre Union Carbide et son PDG Waren Anderson
4. Le nettoyage du site par ces pollueurs
5. La cessation par le gouvernement indien de donner carte blanche à Dow Chemical et Union Carbide pour leurs nouveaux projets
6. Un monument à la mémoire des victimes de Bhopal
Nous sommes solidaires de la lutte des Bhopalis et soutenons leurs revendications légitimes.
Nous appelons le gouvernement de l’Inde à appuyer leur juste demande. Nous appelons aussi tous les partisans du droit humanitaire, de l’équité et de la paix à faire connaître leur drame et leurs souffrances et à exiger que justice leur soit rendue.
Le comité du Village de Van Canh, Enfant du monde Droit de l’Homme, Union Générale de Vietnamien de France,Union des Jeunes Vietnamien de France, membres du Collectif Vietnam-Dioxine (www.vietnam-dioxine.org)
Posted by bhola at 07:39 PM | Comments (0)
Photos from Yesterday
From Sarvadarshi:
Here are some photos from yesterday, after we got the good news. There are more photos on the way from other cameras, but I couldn't wait to share these happy faces. Most people are catching a 9 p.m. train to Bhopal this evening and will arrive there in the morning.
Shehzadi and Amina Bi
Jabbar and Nafeesa
Ashraf Bi and Amanta Bi
Munna Lal
Nawal Singh Prajapati
Gulab Bai thanks Satish, minutes before he ended his week-long fast
Gulab Bai hugging Josh, also still without food.
Champa Devi addresses the Narmada fighters.
Breaking fast with tall glasses of orange juice.
Singing and clapping the rest of the afternoon
Posted by Sarvadarshi at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)
April 17, 2006
BIG VICTORY - HUNGER STRIKE ENDS
Sarvadarshi: I am more than excited to report that the Prime Minister has, in a meeting this morning with Sathyu and several other Bhopalis and supporters, agreed to meet four of the six demands we have brought.
The hunger strike has been called off, and everyone is hugging and in tears on the street. Everyone still on hunger strike simultaneously enjoyed tall glasses of orange juice about half an hour ago, and then everyone broke into celebratory clapping and singing. The feeling right now is a mix of relief, excitement, exhaustion, and bewildered happiness.
It seems that the demands that the Prime Minister will not agree to meet are those which would most hurt Dow Chemical. Nity is writing up a press release and we will be posting the details of the meeting.
We will also soon be posting photographs of many happy Bhopali faces here today at Jantar Mantar. Their beautiful smiles will be a great reward to everyone who helped out in so many ways, large and small. So check back in just a little while!
Posted by Sarvadarshi at 11:05 AM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2006
Hunger strike day six: Promises from Babulal Gaur to be taken cum grano salis
from Nishant in Delhi:
The biggest news today, to be taken with a generous pinch of salt, was the announcement by Gas Relief Minister Babulal Gaur. In a usual pompous fashion he proclaimed to have allocated 17 crores to provide clean drinking water from the Kolar Dam. It was not an official press release, nor a statement made in a press conference. Although a positive development and the first minor victory, the Bhopalis received it with the news with some skepticism.
First, it was the announcement of an additional 50 crores towards the
compensation, which was the money already owed by the government to RBI to cover for the exchange rate fluctuation. Now it is the provision of clean drinking water that Supreme Court had already decreed in May of 2004. It just gets to show how opportunistic the politicians are.
Particularly to notice here is that the announcement came 2 days before the visit by a 10 member fact finding team led by the Secretary of the Ministry of Chemicals (MOC), Ms. Satwant Reddy. This visit is being done in response to our meeting with the Ministry on March 29th. In any case, if past record is to be considered, Gaur is the last person to keep his promises.
So we received the news with, as Nity put it, 'cautious optimism', until we actually see a written statement or an official release from the Ministry or the MP government. A few Bhopalis will temporarily return tomorrow to assist the MOC fact finding team on issues of clean water and people's participation in instituting a memorial.
Josh is continuing the fast and losing weight alarmingly. The health of Champa Didi and Rachna is deteriorating quickly. Champa Didi's health in particular has become a real cause of concern. We are keeping a close watch. Everyone is on a diet of pure will now.
Almost everyday we have representatives from various groups to sit
on a solidarity fast. Yesterday, two members from National Conference for Dalit Organizations (NACOR) fasted, and today, 6 members from All India Federation of Trade Unions fasted for the entire day. A delegation of 11 also arrived from Cuddalore and Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu. They are also victims of corporate crime and industrial pollution.
We will hear from the Prime Minister's office tomorrow (Monday) morning for an appointment the same day. However, his volte face on Narmada issue today has set a negative tone already. However, we must and we will keep pushing.
To quote a favourite poet Nida Fazli - "safar mein dhuup to hogi jo chal sako to chalo, sabhi hain bheed mein tum bhi nikal sako to chalo." Translation cannot do justice, but here goes. "The journey is long and arduous, can you muster the courage to keep walking, there are thousands already walking against you, can you still find space to reach your destination..."
Posted by Sarvadarshi at 05:13 PM | Comments (0)
April 15, 2006
Striking it, or striking out.
By Ana B. in Delhi:
Here’s the situation:
We are at day five of the hunger strike. This is where health begins to decline. Media attention is wavering and the Prime Minister’s office is playing games. Maybe we’ll get a meeting with him Monday and maybe we won’t.
This is a hunger strike. A strike: like a blow. People have said “hunger strikes are manipulative and useless. Why hurt yourself instead of your enemy?” It’s hard for many in other countries, particularly in the US, to understand why it is done, what it means in the context of a country founded by Gandhi. It is hard to understand that gesture, the gesture that says “I know so deeply, I believe so certainly, that I would put my life in your hands to make you understand, to make you act.”
Here’s what it does: it makes everyone else feel uncomfortable.
Here’s what I feel – rage, guilt, fear, anxiety, frustration, helplessness, to start. Perhaps many of the same things that those in Bhopal, ignored for so long, are used to waking up to, are used to tasting in the water. The hunger strike forces us to feel, force us to face our own beliefs (what do I believe that deeply?). It can force us to challenge our own helplessness.
Are you helpless? No. Please realize that. The Bhopalis give you that gift. Your phone call, your email to the Indian government, your fax to the embassy, your screaming voice outside an official’s home at night. Yes! Your newspaper editorial, your cousin the news producer, your political bookgroup, yes. Now is the time. Activate them! Please. Think creatively, take to the streets, and throw your weight around. They would not do so, but I am begging you.
Here is what a hunger strike can do: it can shame, deeply shame it’s targets (we can compliment the Indian government here for still being vulnerable to shaming). A strike makes them consider their own power, their brutality is exposed, just as it makes me and you consider our power, our brutality. What can we do, how do we act?
I don’t know if you understand what is at stake here. Yes, Bhopal was the world’s worst industrial disaster. Yes, 20,000 have died, 20,000 are drinking contaminated water every day, and hundreds of thousands of second-generation children may always suffer. No, no one has been held criminally responsible for these deaths. But this is even bigger. Bhopal is about what kind of a world we will all live in. If India can stand up to the biggest chemical company in the world and say “you can’t do business here until you repair the damage you have done to our country and people,” that precedent could fundamentally challenge the reign of profits over people globally. It could become a building block for all the movements for social justice and for a non-toxic future that have piled up behind it for twenty-one years.
The Bhopal campaign, all six demands of the Marchers (re-posted below), can be won. Everything from the clean water that so many here would die for, to “Blacklist Dow,” the statement that cuts to the heart of India’s love affair with chemicals and multinationals, can be won. From the sidewalk at Jantar Manter we can starve and sing and talk, but we cannot move mountains. This battle will be won with international support.
Or, still, it can be lost. I don’t mean to manipulate you but from here on the ground, I don’t know what else to do. Your actions could save the lives of friends now and they could change history forever.
I read this today: after five days of starvation the body enters ketosis, where it begins cannibalizing itself. When it does so, the breath of the faster begins to smell of fresh pears. Oh my, this won’t be pretty.
Posted by zinda at 04:35 PM | Comments (0)
Supporter writes about her day-long solidarity fast with the Bhopalis at Jantar Mantar
The following piece was written by a supporter who undertook a day long fast in solidarity with the other hunger strikers:
Here, tonight, in the Bhopal camp, Aman, the four year old son of two of the Bhopalis sitting on dharna, has taken over control of our mike and p.a. system, and not for the first time! Gleefully, joyfully, he shouts slogans loudly into the mike, brimming with smiles and giggles of delight when we all reply together with the appropriate response. For more than 15 minutes he keeps it up, and we, cheered on by his exuberance, maintain a strong chorus of replies.
It is amazing to watch the response he gets from everyone in the group. All day and night he weaves his way around and between us, little legs toddling along, bringing gifts of water and tree branches, smiles and handshakes and important queries about the world to all in their turn. He has that magical and precious innocence, enthusiasm, happiness that only young children have and he spreads it among us. One look at his smiling face and twinkling eyes is a tonic to those feeling momentarily tired, cynical, jaded, unsure. His unswerving cheerfulness, his beautiful capacity to find happiness in the simplest of moments is an example to all of us, while his joy and perseverance in chanting slogans fills us all with hope for the future and determination to continue on, if not for anything else for his sake, in an attempt to protect and maintain that beautiful innocence, that bright optimistic spirit.
While it is truly heartening and lots of fun to see and listen to Aman chanting our slogans so adamantly and convincingly, there is an unavoidable sadness that comes with such a vision too. One wonders how long his cheerfulness will endure, whether he will also spend his life struggling for justice, trying to get a government to listen, if the optimism will give way to cynicism or at least the resignation that follows from being ignored for so long. Will Aman still be chanting these slogans in another 20 years? How sad that he even has to now, that he is spending these days of his youth sitting at the side of the pavement, sleeping out in the open, trying, with everyone else, to attract the attention of the powers that be, calling out for justice and health and the right to clean drinking water. As many of the Bhopalis will tell you, it is not for themselves they are struggling at this stage, but for their children, for their right to healthy happy life, free of the poison that descended on Bhopal so many years ago and has yet to be cleaned up and out…
…For the first, time I stay the night in Jantar Mantar, the hunger strike has begun hours earlier, I am joining for the day, and want to make some paltry offer of support and solidarity. The evening settles down slowly, with various visitors mulling around, media-folks interviewing and planning meetings occurring. Some students come and sing the Bhopalis songs, their warm clear voices echoing in the fading orange light. Slowly all around, Bhopalis, Narmadans, assorted other protestors and activists, lay thin mattresses on the floor, shake out their sheets, and begin to lie out under the starry sky, once more making the pavement their bed. Some of the women sit in a circle and sing almost til midnight approaches, and there is a late and sociable trip to the bathroom. Finally our group goes quiet, all tired and knowing that serious rest is required for the day ahead. I try to slip off into my dreams but my head is buzzing with our urgent discussions on the nature of power and resistance earlier in the evening, our felt need to create new modes and methods of struggle to generate the attention these people deserve. Overhead an unusually strong wind rattles the blue awning that has been put up as shelter from the sun, the streetlights blaze bright, there is a rhythmic drumming coming from the other side of the street, and the mosquitoes are feasting. Once I wake at 3am, surprised by the almost absolute silence which has descended on Jantar Mantar, all of us, NBA and Bhopal together finally dreaming through the night.
By 6.30 a.m. Aman is restless and roaring to go, dancing around, chirpily awake and impatient for everyone else to be. He uses a mixture of carrot and stick to rouse us, one minute crooning into our ears and distributing gifts and hugs, the next jumping energetically up and down on top of drowsy bodies, which eventually give in and struggle towards consciousness, unable to resist his beaming smile. Gradually the number of prone figures grows smaller as we all stretch, fold up our beds again and watch the morning unfold. At 8am the doctor arrives, for the first of what will be daily check ups for the hunger strikers.
We are all alert now. The presence of the medical professional changes the slightly slothful atmosphere around our camp, another stark reminder of what is going on, the seriousness of our mission and the methods we have been driven to. Each hunger striker cheerfully and smilingly submits to a series of tests, pulse, blood pressure, glucose levels, and weight. We switch to a different weighing scales after the first one indicates a number of people having lost kgs already, after less than 24 hours. The second one gives us more reasonable and reassuring (ie heavier) figures. All statistics are noted down in a book, so that we have a proper record of each striker's health.
Sitting there, enjoying a cup of chai after my 24 hours without food, I feel a lump in my throat slowly materializing. In spite of our chirpy mood, with much fun and mischief going on at the weighing scales, and Aman checking more than ten times to see if his own weight (12 kgs) will change, a communal moment of palpable seriousness, introspection and thought occurs, each of us reminded of how far we've traveled, what distance we've all come from, to this point where we sit at the side of the street and wait, our friends putting their lives in the hands of the government and saying 'do something now, for our sake, for our children's sake, for the sake of all Bhopalis, no more deaths'. Manmohan, where are you today? Laying the foundation stone of a new super-highway? Launching a book? Meeting a top-level CEO of a multinational? Planning further 'development' for India? How does the water you are drinking taste? And the food? Prime Minister, your citizens await you, as they have done for weeks now, you would do well to meet them before you find yourself trying to wash their blood from your hands.
Posted by Sarvadarshi at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)
Poetry for the Bhopalis
On the second night of the hunger strike there was a poetry reading under the plump moon and yellow sodium vapor lights. Several different supporters read and sang their work, and Sathyu, despite not eating, gave an exceptionally heartfelt reading of a poem of his.
The following are English translations of two poems written and read in Hindi, along with photos of the poets reading:
"Untitled"
by Mohan Muntazir Bisht
Belong to someone who has no one
and see
Come cry for someone else's pain
Who says flowers of happiness
do not bloom?
Plant a seed of love
and see
Those who stab us in the chest
as they smile
May they poke themselves with a thorn
and see how it feels.
Better than setting water on fire
is to irrigate the desert with an ocean
You have been swimming
on the seas
and what have you got?
Drown yourself once and see what you get.
"Yes"
by Sathyu
Yes,
I am a rabid optimist.
For me
Every tree that continues to stand,
Every stream that continues to flow,
Every child that runs away from home,
Is an indication
That the battle
is not only on,
It is being won.
Possibly you will tell me
about the nuclear arms race,
And all I can tell you
is that
An unknown child
held my hand
with love.
You will try to draw me
into the plateau of practical life
Tell me
that not only God but all the religious
and non-religious leaders
are dead.
And all I can tell you
is that
across the forest lives a young man
who calls the earth
his mother.
You will give me the
boring details of the rise of state power
after every revolution
And all I can tell you
is that
in our tribe
we still share
our bread.
You will reason with me
And I will talk nonsense like this.
And because the difference between reason and poetry
Is the difference between breathing and living life,
I will read poems to you.
Poems full of optimism.
Poems full of dreams.
Maybe poems better than this one.
Posted by Sarvadarshi at 10:28 AM | Comments (0)
More days passing, waiting for the PM...
From Anabranched in Delhi:
Yesterday Shehazadi got sick and vomited in the afternoon. The flies were thick, settling over everything that wasn’t fanned continuously. The sky turned white.
In the afternoon the call came that we could go see the Prime Minister today (the 14th), and that his office would call in the morning with a time. In the morning, however, as the slow process of waking up and the visit of the doctor, we heard that the PM in fact has “the flu.” Hungry till Monday at least. Our friends on strike have less and less to say about it. They look up at the sky and conserve energy. Josh has lost six kilos and everyone’s blood sugar is dipping. There is more sleeping.
Today would hardly allow for it though. It was a constant parade of the difficult and the absurd. At about noon a group of men representing a Dalit organization swept through across the median strip and ignited an effigy of Sonia Gandhi that popped with firecrackers. It is Ambedkar Day, a National to commemorate the Dalit leader. We are worried about our Dalit friends just down the sidewalk, who are also on hunger strike. One was sent to the hospital yesterday. Their twenty year old temple was violently destroyed, and many people beaten badly by local thugs, because they were trying to make it pluralistic. They call their group the Mafia Removal Organization.
Then suddenly the madness really began. The hunger strikers moved away from their normal camp under the blue tarp to a more open space – for better visibility to the press! Amir Khan was coming. The police were afraid of a mob. All the hunger strikers sat in a row in the open, and the banner above said “Bhopal: 20,000 dead and counting” in both English and Hindi. It was calm and beautiful for about two minutes and then the hordes descended. Amir Khan fought his way into the center of the group of Bhopal survivors, and valiantly attempted to have a conversation with them while dozens of photographers fought literally tooth and nail to get a look at him. With admirable calm he listened to Sanjay, Shazadi, Champa Devi, Rashida Bi, Sathyu and Rachna. He read the demands and looked at the Amnesty report, with studied, eyebrow-raised calm. He probably spent twenty minutes. Meanwhile four security guards, a group of policemen and women, and most seriously and significantly, a bunch of volunteers, struggled to hold back the crowd. Pushing and shoving was the least of it, and at any moment it seemed like the cameras would surge and simply envelope the vulnerable group on the ground. Honestly it was vile and I could tell that it sapped the energy of our hunger strikers. The plain stress of it was enough, but a number of them were actually physically in there struggling and straining.
Later, Sathyu and Nity made it into a press conference that Amir was giving behind one of the fancy hotels. He did mention Bhopal to the press, but only briefly. He has promised to follow up with us.
Shehazadi is still sick and now has insomia. Please keep the pressure on the Indian government. Justice has been so long, too long coming. One of the padyatris just got some news from home -- her water-affected daughter in law just gave birth to a child with a face but no head ... everything beyond the forehead was missing. Can we imagine the pain of another destroyed generation?
Here on the street the hunger striker's faces are beginning to go pale. It is very difficult to watch, but today it is still easier than thinking about giving up.
Posted by zinda at 09:51 AM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2006
Hunger Fast Day 4: Tryst with Aamir Khan (pictures)
Aamir Khan listening to Sanjay Verma
Rakesh, Kunal Kapoor, and Shehazadi Bee
Aamir Khan listening to Sathyu
Aamir listening to Shehazadi Bee
Posted by zinda at 06:20 PM | Comments (0)
Day Three
from ANABRANCHED in Delhi:
I think that yesterday evening was difficult for our hunger strikers. Everyone got pretty quiet as the day progressed. Their eyes had a uniformly glassy look, no matter how brave their words were. Thankfully there was entertainment to take their minds off their bellies. Several students gave a poetry reading, followed by two films. Both were Charlie Chaplin – The Circus and The Great Dictator – with Hindi subtitles. Although Chaplin did not fail at getting laughs, people watched from their bedding and dozed off during or soon afterwards.
This morning I think people felt better – their systems should be clearing of some toxins by now – but they are becoming visibly weak. Our good doctor arrived as usual, and although everyone was declared fit, weight loss was proceeding apace – between 1 and 3 kilos each! News that we might soon be getting a meeting with the Prime Minister returned a bit of cheer to the day.
I first checked in with Sebastian this morning. We have some difficulty communicating because his English is minimal and my French is nonexistent. He makes up for it with physical comedy and when I asked how he felt he collapsed in mock exhaustion - “I’m faible” – weak. But, he said “what is three days compared to twenty-one years? It is easy to see what is most important here.”
Sanjay: “I feel a laziness, and to tell you the truth, I’m a bit bored. I’m hungry too, but not for food, for the demands. I just hope that everyone who can is coming forward in support. We need it. With it I’m sure we can win.”
Rachna was juggling phone calls, same as usual, and she told me with a big smile “I’m feeling much better than yesterday.”
Champa told me she feels fine, better today. “What more can I say?” she asked. “Now we just need action.”
Josh was meditating on Jantar Mantar. “I feel physically fine” he said, “but when I look around the street here it makes me disheartened that people need to come this far to get heard. It makes me wonder: what, in my life, do I care enough about to go on indefinite hunger strike for? The thing is, there are a minority of people in this world truly struggling for justice. We all have to make sure we are out there supporting them.”
Satish was seen sleeping by the water cooler, and Shazaade was napping somewhere else. Sathyu just smiled when asked how he was, and then went back to the phone. He seemed energetic though – in-between calls he trundled Shaheed’s son back and forth on his back, to the boy’s great delight.
Also two young students are joining the strike today, though I haven’t yet had a chance to check in with them. More tomorrow - keep the love and the rage flowing!
Posted by Sarvadarshi at 11:31 AM | Comments (0)
April 13, 2006
Fasters are "Hungry But Hopeful" on the street at Jantar Mantar
from ANABRANCHED in Delhi:
DAY ONE - 11 April
Yesterday was the first day of the Bhopal hunger strike. Dr. Amol, who is doing our medical monitoring, arrived at 8am and took everyone’s vital signs. One had to drop out because of possible cardiac problems, and two others ended up shifting out as well.
However, that made room for Champa Devi, who was eager to join, and Sanjay, who had taken the train from Bhopal last night to join in the morning. Finally, the fasters were settled, and everyone was cheerful and in apparent good health (though Rachna has a headcold). At 11:30 there was a press conference, followed by the “last supper” of aloo paratha, yogurt and sweets (gulab jamin!), all served on leaf- paper plates.
The day, however, was oppressively hot. Once it got past noon they sky turned this blazing slate-grey and the press slowly dispersed. Everyone just slept all afternoon in the shade of a series of blue tarpaulins, ingeniously and mysteriously rigged up by Naseer with bamboo poles and twine. However, spirits were high, particularly into the night when the air began to cool. We had some strategy meetings, and then two local students arrived (as usual) to sing and play guitar. For a few hours our loudspeaker system alternated between their melodic and energetic singing, and the intense and sporadic chants of AMIR?, Shaheed’s son six year-old son. “AWAAAZZDDO!!” he would shout into the microphone, his face scrunched up with concentration. Everyone would respond, with smiles on their faces. It was a restful, musical, day.
DAY TWO - 12 April
The weather today is kinder, with a light breeze. The doctor came again this morning, and pronounced everyone well – though a bit lighter having digested the parathas! Each of the hunger strikers seemed ready to talk about their feelings – physical and otherwise.
Shahazadi: “I feel good today, not even hungry. Instead of hunger, I am sitting with hope.”
Champa Devi: “I feel great, and I’m not hungry either. I’m confident that we’re going to win because we’re getting so much support. But if there are supporters who are reading this I want to thank you, and tell you that we still need you. Without you we can’t finish this. Only all of us together can finally make this right. We can get justice for Bhopal, and prevent others from suffering what we have suffered.”
Satish: “Yes, I’m feeling great this morning. All I miss are my tea and my cigarettes. But actually, I slept much better last night than I have in a long time. Maybe it was because I did not have tea and cigarettes!”
Sebastian: “I feel very well today. Perhaps tired. But happy.”
Josh: “How could I not feel well? Last night we were sung to sleep by a group of Bhopali women who changed the words to traditional songs to denounce political corruption (“Rooster, go under Sonia Gandhi’s blankets and wake her up!”). There is so much camaraderie here, so much to learn about the best and worst of humanity. I’m already dreading ending my three day fast and leaving – I’ll miss everyone!”
Sathyu: “I’m hungry, but I’m hopeful.”
Rachna: “I have a headache, I have a cold.” But you’re confident about winning, I asked her? She fell over laughing. “Yeah…!” Then she provided us with “Rachna’s Fasting Flowchart for First-timers”, as below:
Sanjay: Not available for comment!
All in all, the Bhopal survivors and supporters are still celebrating, but there are certainly hard days ahead. Please – fax and email and generally yell at the Indian government. It has been too long. Our fasters and the hundreds of thousands of Bhopalis they represent are Hungry for Justice. The time is now – make yourself heard so that they can eat!
Posted by Sarvadarshi at 07:07 AM | Comments (0)
April 11, 2006
The Day Has Come - Hunger Strike Begins
From JS in Delhi:
The Bhopal movement got no response from the government even after so many days of meeting people, so many discussions, so much entreaty, and so it has gone on strike from this morning, as it has been announcing.
Sathyu speaks to press as the group announces the beginning of a hunger strike.
The camp at Jantar Mantar this afternoon
A detailed press release on the launch of the hunger strike can be found here.
Posted by Sarvadarshi at 05:36 PM | Comments (0)
Death Masks, George Bush and a Spectacular Die-in
From Nity in Delhi:
More than 300 Bhopalis arrived today. The last few days have been boring, with few Bhopalis at the camp. Today, the Bhopal camp was alive again with a sense of escalation of the campaign against the intransigent Government. About 350 people arrived today by several trains. Rachna had been worrying over how all these people would be brought from the station to the protest site. Thank God for the Delhi police. Rather than run the risk of letting a few hundred irate Bhopalis lose on the Delhi streets, they insisted on giving them a lift to Jantar Mantar. The spirits lifted despite the searing heat. The Bhopal camp is out in the sun. There is just one shaded spot. After the sun goes down, it doesn't get any cooler, thanks to the concrete jungle that this part of Delhi has become.
The asphalt radiates heat well after sunset -- not good news for the few hundred Bhopalis that lay down, covered themselves with a shroud and played dead as part of a die-in demonstration. Madhu had assured the police that we would peacefully, and in an orderly fashion, walk to the barricades on Parliament Street, and drop dead there.
But there was a last minute change, and the Bhopalis dropped dead right in the middle of a busy four-road junction in a classic Chakka Jaam action, where traffic came to a standstill. To their credit, the Bhopalis that were playing dead stayed dead despite the hot tarmac beneath them. All that separated them from the oven beneath was a newspaper.
The pictures will tell you in a thousand words about the dance of death played by a man dressed in spitting-image mask of George Bush and his cabal or armed marines.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who himself has contributed substantially to causing death and destruction around the country, however, was absent. One person dressed in a Manmohan mask was to join Bush in the dance of death around the Bhopalis. But he never showed up.
Death was the theme of the day, to highlight the 350-400 people that are reportedly dying each year due to gas-related illnesses. This is a Government figure -- 2001 study by the Centre for Rehabilitation Studies, Government of Madhya Pradesh. People working among the water contamination affected settlements have documented at least 70 children with congenital deformities. There are likely to be more, and only a thorough study will reveal that.
After about a half an hour of the die-in, the Bhopalis arose to continue their march, but were met just a block away by a massive show of force - several rows of barricades and reinforcement backed up by a huge water cannon truck. There was a 20-minute standoff that ended peacefully when we all decided to head back to Jantar Mantar.
The media was present in force, and I heard we made it to front page in The Hindu. The evening ended with a candle-light vigil, lots of singing. People and Delhi supporters were flitting back and forth between the Bhopal and Narmada camps. Yesterday, Arundhati Roy had put up a beautiful banner spanning the road dividing Bhopal and Narmada camps. I don't know if she wrote the slogans, but they did the trick. About forty feet of banner space above the road blared: "No More Bhopals. Justice Now." on one side, and "No More Narmada Dams. Justice Now." on the other, with Hindi translations to match.
All in all, an auspicious beginning for the second phase of the campaign that will launch into an indefinite hunger strike by Bhopal victims and their supporters.
Posted by Sarvadarshi at 05:00 PM | Comments (0)
April 10, 2006
April 10th, on the eve of the hunger strike: "We'll return with our demands fulfilled, or our corpses will return to Bhopal"
A STATEMENT BY SHEHZADI BEE, 49, FOUR TIMES VICTIMISED
I am a victim of Union Carbide's gases, a victim of the water contamination caused by chemicals abandoned by Union Carbide in its factory, a victim of the greedy irresponsibility of Dow Chemical and a victim of the indifference of the politicians who rule our poor country
In 1984 I lived in Qazi Camp, next to Berasia Road. That particular night I was at home with my family watching a film at midnight.
Suddenly it smelled like burnt chilli peppers and we started coughing and our eyes were watering. We opened the doors and no one could tell us what the problem was – everyone was just running. We asked the landlord what was going on and he told us he didn't know. There were trucks driving by and we just jumped on one and went to Laal Ghaati. We had four children. I was holding one and my husband was holding another. Two got lost in the crowd. At first I thought they were following us but once we were on the truck I asked my husband where they were and we realized that my six-year-old girl Shehnaaz and my four-year-old son Javed were not with us. I thought we would never see them again. I was crying. People tried to comfort me. They suggested that I look for them in the mosque.
We found the children in the mosque the next day. They were in very bad shape – their eyes were swollen, they were vomiting, and they had diarrhoea. Javed was in the Shehnaaz's lap. My other children are named Gulnaz and Munazir. My daughter Gulnaz had a serious eye problem from the gas and had to be operated upon. It took her two and half months to recover. Even now, she can't see too well. Shehnaaz also has many problems, like shortness of breath, indigestion, and a burning sensation in her eyes. But these problems are common to all gas victims. Munazir also has had tuberculosis for the last seven years.
My son Javed has bone cancer right now. He is only 26 years old. My husband developed tuberculosis. My health is very bad, too. I have leprosy. Because of the gas I have eye problems. I used to sew before the gas leak. That was my work. Now I still cannot see well enough to even see the needle and thread well enough to sew. Now I live in Blue Moon Colony. The water there is contaminated from Union Carbide's poisons and my whole family has been hurt by it.
Before the gas leak, my husband could earn about 100 rupees a day pushing loaded carts. But his lungs are affected, and any strenuous activity is painful and he is unable to do demanding physical labour. Now he earns barely 25 rupees.
I used to sew and make biris. But because of my failing eyesight, I'm unable to even thread a needle or roll beedis.
We have got no justice. Not from the Government or from anybody else. None of the Governments – Congress Party, BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] – nobody has helped or even listened to us. We cannot change this. But we can put pressure on the Government. The Government must be made to understand that Bhopalis are Indians too, and they should get their rights.
Where I live now – for the last 16 years in Blue Moon Colony – the water and soil is contaminated because of the company. So we thought and decided with others that our lives are lost, everyday we are dying. But we thought that we should at least save the future generations. Even now in those 16 colonies, people are forced to drink contaminated water. The children are in such a sorrowful plight – some don't have lips, some have bloated heads, some don't have palates.
That is why, to save our children's lives, we set off on a padayatra on the 20th of February to meet the Prime Minister in Delhi.Covering 800 km in 33 days, we reached Delhi on 25 March.
My thoughts were only that no matter how long the distance is, or what difficulties we may have to face, I'd do this for my children, and I will communicate to the Government what our demands are.
En route, in many places, we found the hospitality overwhelming.
People asked us if we wanted medicines. In some places, people cooked with their own hands and fed us. They even requested us to stay a little longer. But we had a mission and we had to break their hearts and leave.
There were more than 50 people on the padayatra. Some were supporters, including foreigners. Those people, too, walked with us. We were all together – hindus and muslims. There was no feeling of difference. We all felt we were from the same family.
It was difficult. We had blisters and pain in our bones. Gulab Bhai, the poor thing, her legs ache. But others gave her courage and helped her, and brought her along with us.
I have never gone on an indefinite fast. I have gone for one day only in 2001. But for the struggle, I have the courage and strength to ensure that we will return only after our demands are fulfilled. Twenty days, 25 days or 30 days – we will not return to Bhopal until our demands are met. Either we'll return with our demands fulfilled, or our corpses will return to Bhopal.
OTHER NEWS FROM THE JANTAR MANTAR PAVEMENT
The Government of India announced that it has allocated an additional Rs. 50 crores in compensation for the survivors of the Bhopal disaster. The amount has been sanctioned in fulfillment of a Supreme Court order directing the Government to make up for the shortfall arising out of foreign exchange rate variations on the interest accrued to the balance of compensation.
Rabbi Sher Gill, the famous Indian pop singer and peace Activist, came to visit the Bhopalis in the early evening. He sat down with the group, who first sang him a couple of Bhopal songs, and then he sang his own compositions and sufi songs by Bulle Shah. He regaled us with Bulla Main Jaanan Na Kaun - "I don't know who I am." In the tradition of mystics, the song goes on to say "Not a muslim, not a Hindu. I'm neither this, nor that."
Posted by bhola at 05:42 PM | Comments (0)
April 10th: women mourners at the "die-in", the deaths were symbolic but the grief was real
FROM THE BHOPAL CENTRAL CHRONICLE
Women symbolically mourn near fellow protestors lying on the ground as corpses during a protest against the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy in New Delhi, India, Monday, April 10, 2006.
Survivors of the Bhopal gas leak disaster have threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike unless the Indian government forced U.S. chemical major, Dow Chemical Co., to pay for the cleanup of thousands of tons of toxic waste that were dumped at the site of the world's worst industrial disaster 22 years ago.
The leak of lethal methyl isocyanate gas from a pesticide plant killed at least 10,000 people and affected some 550,000 others in the central Indian city of Bhopal in December 1984.
Posted by bhola at 05:11 PM | Comments (0)
10th April: Bhopalis stage "die-in" in Parliament Street, Delhi: hundreds more arrive from Bhopal to support tomorrow's hunger strike
REPORT BY JAI SEN IN DELHI (See also, Allied Campaigns)
The Bhopal Demo in Delhi today staged a dramatic, theatrical ‘die-in’ on Parliament Street in central New Delhi for about an hour today at 5 pm, blocking and disrupting traffic and attracting a fair crowd of people. About 50-60 Bhopalis lay down randomly at the intersection of the street where they are camped, Jantar Mantar Road, and Parliament Street and covered themselves with white shrouds. Some women and some children sat down among them, mourning them – and this was not theatre because for so many, it was such a painful re-enactment of what happened that night twenty-one years ago in December 1984, and it could well have been their children or their parents who were there... and they cried, silently, remembering.
A George Bush with a massive head, almost like real, pranced around the dead bodies, accompanied by armed militia who menaced everyone
around them.
The demo then broke out into a rally towards the Parliament Street Police Station.
But then there was more theatre: not only is Jantar Mantar the only area in the whole of Delhi where you are allowed to scream (CDDB - Cacim Delhi Demos Bulletin 1 : THE SCREAM), but the way the state
has set up things, the whole act of protest – in this tiny cage, or stage, erected by the state - is itself now rendered as theatre.
The Bhopal rally – remembering, after all, the massacre of several thousand people - marched up to the barricades that the police had
set up (three rows of steel fencing, with rows of police lined up behind each one of them), and the police asked them whether they would like to court arrest. The rally had already decided that they would not (because they want to continue with their dharna, in particular the hunger strike starting tomorrow), so they said so, and so the police just looked on, looking rather bored; and the rally instead stood there with their banners, proudly and angrily chanting slogans. And then returned to their camp, continuing to sing slogans as they marched.
But what if they had said ‘Yes’ ? Presumably, the police would then have taken up battle positions instead of looking bored, and the rally
would have charged, and the batons would have fallen on their heads, and they would have been arrested and dragged into the police station. In other words, the whole act of protest in Delhi is now regulated, controlled, commodified.
How long are movements going to accept this ?!
The Jantar Mantar site looks different this evening. About 100
more Bhopalis have come in from Bhopal, and so their camp is now much bigger and spread out along much more of the footpath than they had been, so far. The Bhopalis lit candles in the median strip (where the play had taken place the other day), and gathered around, and sang.
And tomorrow morning, they go on an indefinite hunger strike.
Posted by bhola at 04:39 PM | Comments (0)
April 07, 2006
A view of Jantar Mantar from the Bhopali side of the street: eyewitness account of the police action against our friends the Narmada Bachao Andolan
BY ANABRANCHED IN DELHI - 4th April 2006
All afternoon yesterday, although the crowd remained small, friends and supporters wearing smiles flowed in a steady stream by the Bhopal camp at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Even through the haze of my arrival, I can sense that this is an odd moment of pause, a breath between the massive exertion of the Padyatra and the looming determination of the hunger strike. This is a marathon, a wager. The Bhopalis have come very far, sacrificed more than I can understand, and now have settled down and are gritting their teeth preparing for the final push.
Meanwhile, it is a daily grind. Yesterday was a Hindu holiday so traffic was light and the quantity of dust and exhaust was relatively low. Still, the air was thick and the sun was unforgiving. Everywhere you sat it pursued you, biting at your toes and breaking through the thin tree cover. We played a game of musical blankets, shifting the worn red and black striped throws along the axis of the shade, crowding together, laughing, sleeping and singing in the constantly moving pools of dappled shade.
Jantar Mantar is the name of an odd coral-colored structure that dominates the park behind the Padyaatrees. It's several stories high in places, an odd formation of walls full of stairs that seem to go nowhere. According to my informants it was built 400 years ago by a local king/warlord. Despite it's seemingly arbitrary appearance, like something built by a misled post-modern architect, it is apparently an extremely sophisticated astronomical tool. It is capable of tracking and measuring the most subtle shifts in the sky. The structure itself is surrounded by a park - green grass dotted with circles of men, smoking and lounging - and all that is circled by a fence of iron spikes. Across this boundary everything changes. On the other side the wall explodes with posters and slogans.
Although the area here that is allocated to protesters is terribly small - given the graceful open fields of the park behind them - the juxtaposition still seems somehow fitting. A tool to measure the stars has become the barometer of the body politic, a measure of the state of democracy. Today, I would say it looks like a storm is coming.
The Bhopal camp is on a sidewalk. It's lightly wider and higher than most sidewalks, but still just a sidewalk made homelike by a profusion of colorful banners tied to the fence, and a compact row of bedrolls stored against it. I knew that they were staying on the side of the road, that they had been every day of the march, but it still struck me, shocked me even. The simple vulnerability of it. Politics as physical, not just marching or protesting or hunger striking, but making the street your home, protected only by the strength of your dreams, convictions and demands. Wagering yourself against the state for what it owes you.
Stretched out horizontally across this sidewalk, as everyone sleeps at night, there is room between my toes and the road for someone to walk, but not much, and then the sidewalk drops away sharply. There are several lanes of traffic going to the left, a thin median strip, and then a few more lanes headed the other way. I haven't seen any carts here in Delhi, but laborers walking, cars, trucks, mopeds all make their way, and for some reason the traffic police seem to do a brisk business, creating a parade of affronted commuters. On the other side is the camp of the Narmada protesters. Theirs is a slightly wider space, with a few more trees. Police monitor the edges of both protests and occasionally make nerve-wracking flurries of movement. In late afternoon a small but energetic crowd of leftists tied up a banner on the right side of our encampment and chanted against the visit of the director of the WTO. "Capitalist murderers!" After a while they leave.
Bhopal and Narmada, then, are left face to face again, echoing each other, as they have for twenty years. Both hailing from Madhya Pradesh, the national 'breadbasket', they are nightmarish parables of development gone wrong and are two of the most influential, long-standing, non-violent resistance movements in the country. Narmada Bachao has watched over the slow, unremediated, displacement of thousands for the benefit of a few – largely those who are building the dam. It is a process whose damage can still be mitigated, even partially stopped. Bhopal has been struggling to stand strong after one complex, catastrophic hit that has decimated the health of generations and is now further complicated by chronic poisoning from the water. It is a catastrophe that has never been faced. Their victims and survivors are the casualties of modernization that are supposed to disappear, and yet they persist. The irritation and dismissiveness of the government is palpable and some nights tangible.
The atmosphere, on both sides of traffic today is angry and sober. Last night 200 policemen, some armed with guns, descended on the Narmada camp to forcibly remove two of the hunger strikers to the hospital for feeding. Narmada activists are striking to try to stop the final few feet of the dam from being built until land compensation is granted - "land for land" as the court had promised. The government is baldly playing delay games – here, drink this lemon water, we'll take care of it, just wait a little longer. Meanwhile the dam advances six inches per day. They came to arrest the hunger strikers and feed them until the dam has finished.
The Bhopalis crossed the street and helped to form a human chain, against which the hundreds of police officers pushed. Satish, a Bhopal supporter, was arrested along with a number of Narmada supporters, and the hunger strikers were spirited off in an ambulance to receive glucose. The brutality and cynicism of the ambush was beyond dispiriting. No one slept much, and there were tears, but focus held: "there's no point kicking the police," someone said, "they're just doing their job. We should kick Manmohan Singh." What's disturbing at this juncture, in 2006, is that they government seems to have stopped bothering to deny the facts, the facts that both of these issues represent massive governmental failures towards citizens. Daily they seem to become more comfortable with acknowledging that they know, they just don't care. A taunt. "Yeah, and what are *you* gonna to do about it?"
Meanwhile, at the Padyatris' camp, the day passes in meetings and conversation, gathering strength for the next push of the movement, the massive demonstrations that are planned for next week as the government reaches its deadline for meeting the Bhopalis six demands. Already, a steady trickle of people coming to join for the dharnas is arriving from Bhopal to boost numbers and strength. It seems clear that the government is playing hardball this week, cruelly and arbitrarily enough to be sparking debates on both sides of the road about the limits of non-violent protest. Mostly, however, it has simply steeled the nerves of everyone putting their bodies on the line, and in this case, on the pavement.
Yesterday a smiling grandmother wearing pale blue, a gas survivor who walked all the way from Bhopal, told me that she isn't afraid of death. She says she has it all planned out: she will die and become a ghost and go strangle Manmohan Singh for causing so much suffering. Perhaps the PM should come down to Jantar Mantar and check the weather every once in a while.
Posted by bhola at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)
April 05, 2006
STOP PRESS: Medha Patkar and other Narmada hunger strikers forcibly removed, Bhopal padyatri Satish kicked, beaten, arrested as he goes to help
PRESS RELEASE FROM INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR JUSTICE IN BHOPAL
UPDATE FROM SARVADARSHI IN DELHI 4:59AM BST
Satish, one of the padyatris, was arrested last night after locking arms with Narmada activists in resistance against an approaching group of about 200 riot police. They were trying to prevent Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar and other hunger strikers being forcibly abducted by police against their will. Satish was taken to jail with 26 others after being kicked and beaten. He was released at 3:30 a.m.
Indian media continue to ignore the brutality of the police attack, which took place late at night under cover of darkness, when few bystanders and no photographers were around to witness it. Instead they report that the 27 who were arrested are to be charged with "rioting". This is an old police tactic, well known in Bhopal.
In November 2002 Bhopal survivors and their supporters entered the derelict Union Carbide factory to begin a safe containment of surface wastes. They were arrested en masse, many were kicked, beaten and punched. The police didn't realise they were being filmed. They charged the survivors with rioting. Later the charges were dropped and the Chief Minister was forced to apologise.
Reserve Inspector Chauhan of the Bhopal police, not knowing he is being filmed, caught punching a man in the face
In May 2005, women and children who had gone to a government office to ask why politicians were ignoring a Supreme Court order to provide them with clean drinking water, were beaten and kicked by police before being arrested. Once again, they were charged with rioting. This time many newspapers had harrowing pictures of what really happened. A man being dragged by his hair to a van. Goldman Prize winner Rashida Bee struck on the head and bleeding. Charges were dropped and the Chief Minister was forced to apologise.
India's notoriously corrupt police (in Madhya Pradesh they are officially allowed to receive "gifts" of up to 500,00 rupees!) are universally feared and loathed by the poor because of their violence, their willingness to fake evidence and bring false charges against innocent people, their use of torture in police stations and their regular engineering of "encounters" in which people they dislike are shot and killed. They are a disgrace to the vision of Mahatma Gandhi who hoped that once India had won her independence, the police would "melt back into the people". Gandhiji, thank God you never lived to hear these stories.
Police claims that Medha Patkar was not "arrested" are shown to be sophistry by the fact that when she leaves hospital they plan to charge her with attempted suicide. The irony, in a country whose freedom was won largely by the hunger strike and non-violent witness, is shaming to the Prime Minister and his political colleagues. For what he has done, Manmohan Singh should go to Medha didi's besdide and humbly beg her pardon.
Medha Patkar on hunger strike yesterday
So far as we know, Bhopal.Net is the only news source carrying the full truth about last night's attack.
JUST IN FROM NISHANT IN DELHI - 20:41 British Summer Time
About half an hour ago, 300 policemen under direct orders from the Prime Minister surrounded the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) camp at Jantar Mantar. All the five on hunger strike, including Medha didi, were forcibly removed and taken to All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to be fed against their will. Other activists on dharna were beaten up as they tried to block and resist the action. With 300 policemen with lathis and padded vests, they did not have a chance.
There are no words to express the rage and frustration. Is this really India, the land of non-violent resistance? Mr. Singh, have you no shame?
CALL NOW!
Indian Embassy: (202) 939-7010
Prime Minister’s Office: 91-11-23018939
Earlier:
Medha rejects PM's call to end hunger strike
Medha Patkar's condition worsens
Later press reports do not mention the violent use of force by the police, as witnessed by the Bhopalis on the other side of the road. bhopal.net coverage of the Narmada struggle is here
Medha Patkar and the Narmada Bachao Andolan
Campaigners of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save the Narmada Campaign) have been demonstrating in the capital, Delhi, right across the road from where the Bhopalis are staging their own dharna (demonstration).
The Narmada campaigners are trying to stop the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the river Narmada being raised even higher, leading to further losses of homes and fields. The Narmadans and Bhopalis are old allies and have been entertaining each other with songs and dances and generally keeping each others' spirits up. Medha Patkar and a few others were on hunger strike. They have not eaten for around a week and two of the satyagrahis (hunger strikers) were reported to have been in bad shape.
This action by the government, apparently on direct order of the Prime Minister, is an intolerable blow against individual freedom in a country whose own national freedom was won largely by the hunger strikes and the non-violent protests of Mahatma Gandhi.
It seems the politics of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, and the welfare of giant corporations that (fleetingly) rule the earth and fill politicians' pockets, are closer to the heart of the Indian Prime Minister than his own people.
The freedom of all of us is challenged and insulted by this action. They will be coming for us next. And after that, for you.
Posted by bhola at 08:21 PM | Comments (0)
April 04, 2006
3rd April: Life on the Delhi pavement and why Nafeesa and Jabbar Khan are prepared to stop eating indefinitely
Late this afternoon Sathyu and several others met with the president and several other representatives of the Jawaharlal Nehru University's Student Union, who have offered their full support over the coming days.
We received several more visitors today, including writer Arundhati Roy, who came this evening to have chai with us.
Life on the street
Nity writes: Despite my disgust at the idea of restricting public protests to an earmarked spot in the city, I must say that Jantar Mantar in general and our dharna sthal (protest site) in particular have all the right infrastructure to have a great go at publicising one's issue over a period of time. Where we're parked is on the pavement. There are no railings on our side of the pavement; the Narmada protest site has better shade, but satyagrahis are almost invisible when they are sitting, and totally gone if they are lying down. Behind us is a wrought iron fence with spikes on top, custom-made for hanging banners, putting up photographs and displays.
On either side of our camp, is another, say, 20 to 30 metres of empty pavement, crying to be filled with supporters from Delhi. The evenings are relaxed. We have a screen and electricity (tapped from the electric line for the streetlight) and can show films and video clips. One idea we have is to build up momentum and pressure by asking supporters -- children, students, teachers, lawyers -- to come and spend a night with us in solidarity -- to fill the pavements. The evenings allow a lot of space and time for creative ways of expressing support. We can paint banners, paint the streets and what not.
The public toilet is amazingly clean, but expensive. It costs Rs. 1 per pee and Rs. 2 for bigjobs. In a day, a person can spend Rs. 10 a day just responding to the unavoidable demands of the body. Needless to say, this is a sore point with the visiting Bhopalis. "No money for beedi-machis; we've already spent Rs. 60 on pissing," one Bhopali summed up. Nimi and Rachna have been making frequent trips to the bathroom to coax the management into letting the Bhopalis use the toilet for Rs. 1 per person per day. It looks like we may have to undertake a separate hunger strike just on this demand. If you have the money, though, the toilet experience is not unpleasant.
Water comes from a tank parked near the chai shop opposite the toilet. Naseer usually gets agitated by end of the day that none but he takes interest in ensuring that our big blue plastic drums are filled with water so that people don't have to walk far at night for water. He gave a loud dressing down to a crowd of Bhopalis, many of whom were indolently smirking in the darkness. Finally, Satish volunteered to take responsibility for filling water every evening.
Food's at a gurudwara (a Sikh temple). Most sikh temples have a communal kitchen and dining room that is open to anybody that comes in with humility. The food in the Gurudwara we eat at is excellent. Everything is voluntary. People donate rations. Others come and cook the food. Yet others serve the food. A curious custom among the sikhs is while serving the food, the eater has to hold out one's palms outstretched, and the Rotis are dropped on it. The food is considered to be the prashad (offering) of Wahe Guru (God).
All told it costs about 60 rupees a day per person to sustain life on the Delhi pavement. (60 rupees is US$1.34 or £0.77.) Earlier today Ashphak had an idea to make a donation box and we already have received several hundred rupees.
Interviews with padyatris
From this day forward we will present here each day statements from Bhopalis and their supporters about why they have come on the padyatra and why they will go on indefinite hunger strike if the demands are not met by the Indian government. Tonight, from where they sat by the side of the road, Jabbar and Nafeesa Khan dictated the following specifically for the purpose of posting it on Bhopal.net for the world to read:
|
|
|
Interview with Nafeesa and Jabbar Khan
NAFEESA KHAN is 40), her husband JABBAR is 45. Both Nafeesa and Jabbar spoke together, often finishing each other's sentences. And so in many spots their account is presented here as a single narrative.
JABBAR: We were married on the 15th of June, 1984. We got married and came to Bhopal.
NAFEESA: I came from Bina. He usedto live with his sisters. We used to live in Gupta Nagar Colony, near Chola Road behind the factory, less than a kilometer. He used to run a small chai shop. I used to live in Bina before that, and was studying prior to my marriage.
JABBAR: I didn't know anything about the company. I knew that it was an American company called Union Carbide. We thought it was a medicine factory that made pills and gas. There were no complaints.
We were sleeping at night. At around midnight, our eyes were burning, we were coughing as if somebody had been burning chili peppers. We shouted, "Who is doing this?" Then when we opened up doors and the smell and pain became even more intense. We saw people running. We, too, ran towards the station. Some people said there was a gas leak. Others said that Indian Oil had exploded. Our eyes were burning intensely. We couldn't open our eyes, and the tears wouldn't stop. People were shouting "Run, Run." We couldn't even see the watch to see what time the alarm was sounded.
We ended up lying in the station. Next day, when my parents came to know about it, they came to Bhopal and checked through the entire platform. They didn't find us. My father also had a blood pressure complaint. His pressure shot up out of worry that his newly-wedded daughter was missing. Two days later we were found and taken to a hospital in Bina. We stayed him [Nafeesa's father] for at least 2.5 to 3 years. Our eyes continued to burn. It still burns if we see images on a television or on screen. My head starts throbbing when I look at a television screen.
NAFEESA: I was two months pregnant at the time of disaster, and I lost that child. My son is now 20 years old. He is also not well. If he works for 8 days, he comes back because he is not well. He cannot work hard. My 18 year old son, too, is not well. He cannot work hard. If he works for a week, he will spend a week in bed. Besides the gas effects, I feel my children were also affected because of the contaminated water. The water must have been polluted then, but we did not know. We only came to know about the water contamination about 8 years ago. The hand-pump water tastes horrible. It was a Government tube well. This is now shut down. Now, we still use tube well water for washing clothes. Otherwise we get it from the railways nearby. If they let us take it, we get good water. If they don't, then we are forced to use the contaminated water. The government has laid down a pipeline but they don't supply potable water. If children use that water, they get rashes on their skin.
He [Jabbar] had a heart attack once in 2003. He was admitted to DIG Bungalow hospital. We spent a lot of money, and mortgaged my jewelry to take loans. Our daily expenses were substantial – Rs. 14 to get to DIG bungalow from the house, and all expenses included, we would end up spending up to Rs. 40 per day.
JABBAR: We have been involved in struggles before. But our involvement has been maximum over the last two years. We don't have enough money to bribe the Government. Ifran Bhai said we should come on the padayatra. I said ok. I set off alone Then Nafeesa came. We felt that if we were together, we would be spending time together, and we could reassure each other and give each other support. Our support would double.
NAFEESA: Our six demands are very important. They are fair demands, not unreasonable ones. On the strength of our demands, we set off to walk to Delhi. We have already been devastated. We don't want others to face what we have faced in our lifetimes. We are walking corpses. There is hardly any life in our bodies.
We had no fear or apprehensions. When we're living death, what do we have to fear? One day, death will come, and we're prepared to meet it.
JABBAR: The Government is insensitive. None of our expectations were fulfilled. We feel that the Government has been dishonest. It has been saying, "we're doing this, we're doing that." But they have done nothing. They have shattered all our expectations. How many leaders? How many ministers have we met? We waited for three hours to meet Sonia Gandhi, and then we got two minutes, and even then there was no proper hearing. She did not even acknowledge that we had come walking. If she had asked that, at least half our fatigue would have disappeared. She is completely uncaring about our plight. She did not even ask after our health and well-being. And then nobody is prepared to meet us.
If our demands are not met, we will sit on hunger strike. Our demands are reasonable. We have left our house, our children. Our youngest daughter is 8 years old. We have not seen them for 45 days. All our expectations have been shattered so far.
NAFEESA: There are no apprehensions or doubts in our mind. We just want to see our children once. We will go on 5th for a few days to see them, and then we'll return with strength.
JABBAR: I am well. But Nafeesa's health is bad. The doctor has advised against her going on a fast.
NAFEESA: But I'll go nevertheless. If he sits on a fast, then I'll sit too. Both of us will fast. My knees, ankles and the soles of my feet ache. I get frequent anxiety attacks. I also have a blood pressure problem. There is a possibility that the Government will listen to us. If they refuse to accept our reasonable demands, what options do we have but this?
JABBAR: If we get support, and we get people to come and help us in our mission to ensure that others are not subject to our fate, that itself will keep us going. It is true that we may not be well known or famous. But the one who lives up there knows us.
NAFEESA: A foreign company has played with our lives. They have left behind thousands of dead. The Government has played with our lives. By going on a hunger strike, we're not playing with our lives. Others have played with our lives.
We haven't received any compensation. Six of my family members have got compensation, but we are yet to get it.
The reason is that the Government is not prepared to distribute the money. It is not prepared to implement the court order. Leaders have eaten the money, and now they have forgotten us. They remember us only during election time. At other times, rather than eradicating poverty, they're actively eradicating the poor. [And Union Carbide / Dow?] The company knew that it was making poisons. We didn't know.
Posted by bhola at 12:13 PM | Comments (0)
April 03, 2006
March 31st - April 1: A press conference with the BBC and others, meetings with Minister Chavan and students leaders: police attack Narmada activists, Arundhati Roy and former Prime Minister V.P. Singh support protesters
Friday, March 31
Champa Devi and Sathyu spoke at an afternoon press conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club for a group of reporters from the BBC, Associated Press, Reuters, the New York Times, Der Spiegel, and The Hindu, among others. The press conference was hosted by John Elliott, who writes for the Economist and The New Statesman.
Champa Devi at the press conference
Nirmala George
Sathyu addresses the press
The last appointment of the day was with Prithwiraj Chavan, Minister of State and advisor to the Prime Minister. Attending were Irfan Bhai, Madhu, Sathyu, and Champa Devi.
Mr Chavan reads the letter from Congressman Pallone and colleagues
Mr. Chavan was most interested in what he deemed to be the most immediate and urgent needs of the people of Bhopal - the supply of safe water and the clean-up of the contamination.
Sathyu explains the Bhopalis' position
We had a discussion about estimated costs of clean-up and what would be the most practical and cost-effective methods for at least halting the spread of the contamination. Mr Chavan suggested we prepare a proposal of how the entire 5,000 tons could be reasonably contained, along with cost estimates.
A thoughful Mr Chavan said that a policy of promoting foreign corporate investment in India at any cost or compromise of standards is very unwise
Mr. Chavan told us that after the Prime Minister received our letter, he asked for and received letters from all relevant ministries. After advising us to meet with the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Law, he said he would send another request to the Prime Minister to make an appointment with us.
The group ended the day with a meeting just before going to bed. During the meeting we went over everything that had happened during the day. We also went over what was planned for the next day, which includes the arrival of about 20 gas and contamination affected supporters from Bhopal as well as a late afternoon meeting with Sonia Gandhi, President of the Congress Party. Also discussed was the number of people who would be able to remain in delhi indefinitely and how many could partcipate in a hunger strike.
Several people have issues and problems that they need to attend to at home in Bhopal as soon as possible, and many Bhopalis have been advised by doctors not participate in the hunger strike because their health situation makes it too dangerous.
Saturday April 1st
At about noon a few representatives of the Bhopalis met with student leaders of local activist groups who are interested in planning events in support of the Bhopalis. A wealth of great ideas and plans came out of the meeting.
Meeting with student leaders
The whole group then went to see a screening of a short film made of the padyatra that is going to be aired on the local television station Janmath People's Opinion on Saturday the 7th at 10 p.m. and every hour on the following Sunday. Several Bhopalis were interviewed at the studio where the screening took place.
The day took an unexpected turn when the Delhi police viciously attacked our friends and neighbours, the people fighting for Narmada justice. The Narmadan campaigners decided to walk to the Parliament building in support of two of their number who are in their fifth day of a hunger strike to protest against the intransigence of the government. Raising the Sardar Sarovar dam still higher as planned will drive further people out of their homes. For more on the Narmada issue, please follow our "Allied Campaigns" blog.
Police at the Narmada protest
Only a few blocks away they were confronted by the police, who attacked many of them, throwing them on the ground and threatening them with water cannons and other weapons. The Bhopalis were horrified by the mistreatment and as soon as they realized what was going on they jumped up and walked the several blocks to where our Narmada friends were staging an impromptu sit-in. The scene was very tense, with a huge group of heavily armed police standing over them.
The Bhopalis joined them in a spirited song and Shehzadi gave an impassioned speech on their behalf before almost all of them were arrested.
Shehzadi speaks on behalf of the Narmadans
The Narmada campaign's supporters include some well known people such as Arundhati Roy, Surendra Mohan, B.D. Sharma, and V. P. Singh, former Prime Minister of India, who has been several times in the past week.
Arundhati speaking at the Narmada demonstration
V.P. Singh
They are being held at the same Parliament Street Police Station. All Bhopalis will join the other Narmada activists outside at Jantar Mantar (including those on hunger strike) in solidarity all night tonight.
With you, for you
Sadly, several padyatris, including Irfan Bhai, had to leave Delhi by
train tonight take care of problems back home in Bhopal.
Tired, sick, packing up to go home
Posted by bhola at 12:20 PM | Comments (0)