:

Dec 3, 2005:

• 20,000 have died of exposure related illnesses
• 1,50,000 survivors are  still chronically ill
• 50,000 gas-affected survivors are too weak to work
• 20,000 still have to drink water polluted by chemical wastes
• Dow (who acquired Union Carbide) refuses to clean up!

      For the past two decades, some of the poorest people on earth - without funds, powerful friends, political clout or even basic health and education have been fighting one of the biggest and richest corporations in the world, as well as their own government. However, this past year, thanks to some tremendous help from AID and several other organizations, they've been winning.

Cleanup
      In early 2004, a US federal court ruled that Union Carbide could be held accountable for a cleanup of the Bhopal site - but only if the Indian government agreed. However, winning that agreement proved surprisingly difficult, and it was only after a major fax campaign coordinated by AID deluged the offices with thousands of faxes that the government finally submitted the necessary documents to the court. Now Carbide can be forced to pay for the $500 million cleanup, following a jury trial in US courts that may begin next year.

Compensation
      On Feb 24, 2004, AID chapters around the country participated in a massive call-in day to the Indian Embassy and consulates, flooding them with hundreds of calls, pressurizing the government to release $330 million in additional compensation to the survivors - interest on the original settlement, which had taken 15 years to disburse. Simultaneously students met with the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and the President of India. In July the Indian Supreme Court ruled that the full amount was to be disbursed to the survivors.

Income Generation
      An estimated 50,000 Bhopal residents, weakened by their exposure to Carbide's toxic gasses, are too weak to pursue their original livelihoods. Providing them with alternative means of income generation remains a major challenge, but this year AID supported a small step in that direction by supporting a solar lantern project in Bhopal, which was launched on Sept 9. Thirty solar lanterns were rented to the vegetable and fruit hawkers in Bhopal, providing a sustainable income for the orphans while also offering an ecological alternative to the widely used kerosene lamps.

      Although new challenges remain, the past year has demonstrated that we can bring about a positive change in Bhopal.

- Ryan Bodyani, Co-ordinator, Students for Bhopal (www.studentsforbhopal.org)