IU Career Fair Bhopal Protest

Protest against the Dow CEO Invite to the Kelley Business School Conference.

Feb 28 2007

-Harini Gopalakrishnan

It was a cold morning on Feb 28^th 2007 outside the RCA dome in downtown Indianapolis, and the morning sun was just about completing its assent into the high skies to spread the light. A bunch of people with a common cause and an ideology, were scurrying outside in the cold trying to get the world to take note of their agenda- the reason they were braving the weather so early in the morning that day. The venue was the 61^st Conference for Energy and Environment hosted by the Kelley School of Business at IU and the reason was the ironical and unethical invitation extended to the CEO of Dow Chemical Corporation, Mr. Andrew Liveris to speak on a conference of Environment- the very same entity which Dow has rebuked by its reckless acts in many an occasions in the past. The protesters a bunch of graduate students from varied disciplines in IU prepared for this event many a days in advance. The letters of objection written to the Dean of Kelley Business School lead to the invitation of 3 member representative to address the concerns to the Dow CEO himself directly, during the conference Q&A. Amnesty International decided to co-host the protest and there was one representative from the Indianapolis wing of Amnesty International who decided to be present as part of the three member team who would be raising the questions.

Students Protest Dow CEO at Kelley School Environmental Conference

Dow, audience apathetic to concerns of poisoned Bhopal victims

28 February, 2007

In the cold morning of Feb 28th 2007, outside the RCA dome in downtown Indianapolis, a group of people from Association for India’s Development (AID) and Amnesty International held a protest against Mr. Andrew Liveris, CEO of DOW Chemicals, speaking at a conference on “Energy and Environment”.The conference hosted by the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, was attended by over 1000 people including students and executives from various major corporations. The protestors held a banner “DOW clean up or shut up! Justice for Bhopal” which captures the irony of the CEO of Dow Chemicals, a company with a record of tarnishing the environment, preaching about energy and environment.

Since 2001, Dow Chemicals fully owns Union Carbide, which was responsible got the Bhopal gas tragedy in India. This gas leak caused by the total failure of the plant’s safety systems killed over 22,000 people and left behind an accident site where, even today, hundreds of thousands of people are being exposed to toxic wastes. The banner and posters held by the protestors attracted the attention of the conference attendees and several by-passers. The protestors also distributed flyers and spoke to several pedestrians about the Bhopal disaster and Dow chemicals’ involvement. Earlier in the month, representatives from AID and Amnesty International had expressed their concerns to the Dean of Kelly School of Business which had lead to invitations for the two groups to attend the conference and question Mr. Liveris directly.

Three members from AID and Amnesty were present inside the conference venue and made use of the Question & Answer session to ask Mr. Liveris about their role in Bhopal. Ms. Harini Gopalakrishnan, the spokesperson for AID and graduate student at Indiana University, described the plight of the 200,000 Bhopal victims in her question and asked if Dow will take any steps to shed its apathy. “[B]eing the CEO of the largest chemical company in the world and also the parent company of Union Carbide, I would like to know, what you would like to do about this (Bhopal) in the future”, Ms. Gopalakrishnan wanted to know. Mr. Liveris, calling it a tough question, declined all responibility on Dow Chemical for the disaster. “Union Carbide settled with the government of India, and the state Government of Madhya Pradesh, for four seventy million dollars in 1989….. it is really not the DOW chemical company’s responsibility at all”.

Saturday, December 2nd, Bloomington IN

It was a cold, wintry Saturday morning at Sample Gates, the entrance to Indiana University, brightened by the sunshine and the enthusiastic faces of volunteers from AID. Members started trickling in by 11AM and were initially outnumbered by the 3 (mock) corpses Suresh had prepared as props. We were worried about the turnout since the email about the protest had gone out late and our preparation overall had been a last ditch effort. But our worries were misplaced. Out earlier protest had honed our skills at organizing protests, given us a readily available set of posters and flyers, and our media relations were well in place. And by 11:30AM, we had a turnout of about 15 people, holding placards and distributing flyers.

The location we had picked out for the vigil was ideal: Sample Gates is right next to downtown and makes for a picturesque backdrop for the protest. Saturday morning found lunch crowds and people taking a stroll through IU pass by us. Many stopped by, intrigued by the "corpses" and the bright faces standing in the chill. We had our pitch ready, giving the graphic flyers, talking about past and continuing tragedy at Bhopal, and encouraging them to take action by signing our petition and by other means provided in our flyer. The location was at a prime bus stop too, so people waiting for the bus spent time chatting with us. We talked with about 40 people though the morning -- the cold kept the crowd thinner than usual.

December 2nd, Bloomington IN

Braving a cold, wintery morning on Saturday December 2nd, over 20 members of the Association for India's Development (AID) and students from Indiana University held a vigil in memory of the victims and survivors of the Bhopal gas disaster. The vigil was part of a nationwide action on the anniversary of the world's worst industrial catastrophe. The group later undertook a funeral procession through downtown, ringing bells and carrying mock corpses, and demanded that Dow Chemical clean up the site of the accident and provide the 150,000 survivors with proper medical.

On December 2, 1984, thousands of people in Bhopal, India, were gassed to death after a catastrophic chemical leak at a Union Carbide pesticide plant. Advocates say Carbide's owner Dow Chemical is to blame for daily deaths in Bhopal due to its refusal to clean up the disaster site and provide adequate care to the survivors. The AID Chapter at Indiana University joined other activist groups across the US to mark this event and spread the message by taking people back to the time of tragedy in a solemn manner at Sample Gates, near downtown Bloomington. They held props of corpses to signify some of the 25,000 victims of the disaster and vividly remind the public that deaths continue in Bhopal, 22 years after the disastrous gas leak. Earlier on Friday, December 1st, Amnesty International and Students for Bhopal advocates in New York City kicked off the action with a funeral procession in front of the Indian Consulate. Saturday, December 2nd, was an international day of action called by disaster survivors who burnt effigies of Dow's leadership and lit candles to remember their lost family members. Die-ins, candlelight vigils and film screenings were held in other US cities and campuses including Austin, Boston, San Diego, Princeton, Wesleyan, Baltimore, and Atlanta.

AID Bloomington & the Bhopal Campaign

Bhopal Videos

• Dow Chemical: The inHuman Element
• "Flames, Not Flowers!" Rap music

Events & Actions

• Protest at IU Life sciences career fair against Dow, September, 2007
• Confronting Andrew Liveris, Dow CEO at Kelley Business School Conference, February 2007
• 22nd Bhopal Disaster Anniversary, December, 2006
• Protest at IU career fair against Dow, November, 2006
• Annual Students for Bhopal Conference, September, 2006
  
• Remembering Bhopal on Earth day, April 2006
• Candle light vigil for Bhopal victims on disaster Anniversary (2005, 2004)

How you can help!

There are two protagonists who have a role in solving the problems of the Bhopal survivors -- Dow Chemical and the Government of India. Being in the US, our prime concern is the former, though we tackle GoI though fax/online campaigns, such as during the march to Delhi. Dow Chemical, the largest chemical company in the world, is a hard nut to crack since they have perfected pollution and cover-up to an art over the part century. We tackle them through

“Funeral” Mark 22^nd Anniversary of Bhopal Disaster

This December 2-3rd, 2006 marks the 22nd anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Disaster. Join the Association for India's Development in remembering the the 22,000 victims of the accident and the 150,000 survivors who are affected by the fallout since 1984. Show solidarity in getting justice from Dow Chemical for cleaning up the pollutants left behind at the factory site and providing medical assitance to the survivors.

Media Coverage

• Herald Times (local copy), Front Page, Sunday, December 3rd
  
• Indiana Daily Student: Campus News section (Monday, December 4th) & Letters to the Editor (Thursday, December 7th)

[Press Release] [Action Report] [Photos]

WHAT	Remember the Bhopal victims and protest the inactions of Dow Chemicalsby reenacting the day of the disaster through a funeral procession and die-in
WHEN	Saturday, December 2nd 11AM
WHERE	Sample Gates, Indiana University
WHY	Show solidarity with the Bhopal victims » read more | 1 attachment SFB 2006 Conference Bhopal | Event 2006 SfB Conference Update By Pragya Bhagat   I see myself surrounded by passion. In the circle where I sit, I see people that have devoted their Labor Day weekend to one cause – justice for Bhopal. And even though the gas leak that killed thousands happened twenty-two years ago, the hearts of those present here are brimming with compassion for the victims of the disaster, with rage for the criminals walking free, and with smiles for the 30 other people around them, gorging on bagels smothered with cream cheese. It’s eight-thirty in the morning in Bloomington, Indiana. The 2nd Annual Students for Bhopal Conference has begun.   Do not let the term ‘students’ mislead you. The attendees of the conference range from college going students that are wise beyond their years, to working professionals that are young at heart. The beauty of it all is that age aside, we are all students here, striving to learn more from the residents of Bhopal at the ground level, from each other, and from ourselves.   The conference is a tremendous success for various reasons. Superb organizing by volunteers of AID Bloomington results in smooth transitions, punctual food arrivals, memorable social events, and long lasting bonds between conference attendees. Conference calls with Rajan Sharma, the attorney for the International Coalition for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB), and Sathyu Sarangi, a vital figure at the Sambhavna Clinic, provide us with valuable updates that will influence the direction our campaigns will take at the local levels. The Advisory Board’s debut is also a highlight of the conference, as they are spearheading the national SfB campaign along with Ryan Bodanyi.   » read more IU Career Fair 2006 Bhopal | Event AID Bloomington Protests Dow at IU Career Fair The AID chapter at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN added another leaf to their Bhopal campaign by organizing a protest against Dow Corning, which was present at a career fair the IU campus on Thursday, November 2nd, 2006. Over 30 volunteers from AID, enthused by their recent hosting of the Students for Bhopal conference at Bloomington, wielded banners outside the career fair and distributed flyers to students entering the venue. A steady stream of protestors visited the Dow Corning representatives at their table and questioned the negligence of their company. A concerted PR campaign before, during, and after the protest ensured that the protest was covered by the Campus newspaper as well as the city newspaper through press releases, press reports, and letters to the editors. This helped spread the message that "Students need to make an Informed Choice" when applying for jobs. A first-hand account of the protest by two of AID Bloomington volunteers follow. » read more