“Justice for the victims of Bhopal!”

It is an event which, under our latitudes, has been relegated to the depths of our memories. Moreover, But in Bhopal, in the center of India, the population still suffers the consequences after four decades. Therefore, During the night of December 2 to 3. Nevertheless. Therefore, 1984, in a poorly maintained pesticide factory, a tank containing a highly toxic gas explodes and broadcasts a cloud that spreads on the neighboring slum, killing men, women, children and cattle. Consequently, It is estimated that between 8000 and 10,000 people died within three days. However. For example, But this catastrophe continues to make victims among the hundreds of thousands of people who have been exposed to gas. Meanwhile, and the record would now be dead.

Guest by Amnesty International Switzerland. However. Similarly, Rachna “justice victims bhopal!” new Dhingra, coordinator of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, was recently in Switzerland with her husband Satinath Sarangi, “justice victims bhopal!” founder of Sambhavna Trust, who provides free care to Bhopal victims. Furthermore, She explains to us why the fight for justice is far from over.

Rachna dhingra: Some people still die from gas exposure. Furthermore, There is a high rate of cancers and chronic diseases in Bhopal. Nevertheless. And then there are many problems in children in the following generations, who suffer from multisystem lesions and congenital malformations. Furthermore, This does not only concern the half-million people who were directly exposed to gas. Furthermore. but also the 120,000 inhabitants who live around the abandoned factory, an area where groundwater is polluted by heavy metals and pesticides. Moreover, These pollutants continue to “justice victims bhopal!” new spread underground, and they make new victims every day. Furthermore, But there are also socioeconomic consequences. The dead and people made unable “justice victims bhopal!” to work often left their families without income.

Not only was it not. but there has never been a real scientific analysis on the depth and extent of pollution. We know that it affects a perimeter of several kilometers around the factory. but the site is still in the same condition. The American group Dow Chemical (which in 2001 bought the Union Carbide company. owner of the Bhopal factory, editor’s note) refuses to rid the toxic waste that is the cause.

Indeed, it was not an accident or a simple negligence. It is a crime. the result of a deliberate decision. on the part of “justice victims bhopal!” new the board of directors of Union Carbide, to reduce costs to make more profits. They saved security for years. stopped the refrigeration system of the “justice victims bhopal!” tanks containing the gas in order to save $ 70 dollars per day. On the other hand. this was not the case in the similar factory they operated in Virginia-Western. in the United States, which was much safer.

No. At the time. the CEO of Union Carbide. Warren Anderson, was arrested and accused of negligence, but he was released on bond and took the opportunity to flee India. Subsequently, he always refused to return to the Indian justice, and the United States refused to extradite it. He died free in 2014. In 2023. we managed to make Dow Chemical officials appear before the Bhopal Court of Justice. but for “justice victims bhopal!” new them, as an American company, the latter is not the responsibility of the Indian courts.

“We cannot commit such huge massacre. get away with it” Rachna Dhingra

In addition, they do not consider themselves responsible for what happened before the acquisition of Union Carbide. However, in the United States, Dow Chemical assumed its responsibilities with regard to asbestos. But when it comes to Bhopal, there is a double standard.

Yes. obviously, because the successive Indian governments, regardless of the ruling party, were completely accomplices of Union Carbide, then Dow Chemical. Most people affected were half of the Muslims. half of the Hindus, including essentially members of Basses Castes, considered as sacrificable people.

The government has accepted this amount without consulting a single survivor. without having medical information on the effects of long -term gas. He did not know that victims’ health damage was permanent. multisystem, and that this would not only affect people directly exposed, but also the following generations. In addition, the government was afraid to scare away foreign investors if he demanded too much.

Most of them received only $ 500 compensation. And it took between eight. fourteen years for the people concerned to affect this sum. because they had to prove that their health problems were due to gas and were permanent, preventing them from working.

Dow Chemical has offices in Horgen, in the canton of Zurich. We are “justice victims bhopal!” going to go see these people. We have brought them bhopal water. Additionally. we want them to drink it and give it to their families, just as the inhabitants of Bhopal are forced to drink it. And we also came to talk about the fact that this kind of disaster will not cease. because it is very difficult to bring the multinationals responsible for such crimes into justice. They know they can get used to it.

We request compensation for people who live in the polluted area, and complete sanitation of the site. We also want Union Carbide to reveal the exact composition of the gases that have escaped. which they refuse to disclose for forty years, in “justice victims bhopal!” new the name of manufacturing secrecy. Without that, we cannot really treat people, we can only treat their symptoms. And above all, we ask “justice victims bhopal!” for justice. You can’t make such a huge massacre and get away like that.

Posted by the union event on June 19, 2025