March 19, 2007
Dear friends:
Today, at 2 p.m ., the six of us broke our 14-day hunger strike in response to a written assurance by the Madhya Pradesh Government conceding our key demands. It has been an eventful and drama-filled month for all of us. In the last four years, we have sat on five hunger strikes. We have succeeded in enforcing our will in every one of them. The confidence with which we undertake hunger strikes has all to do with our conviction in our demands, and even more importantly, our knowledge that we Bhopalis are not alone. The overwhelming support by friends young and old in the US, UK, India and elsewhere; the round-the-clock phone-in and fax campaigns set up by our young friends in the US have shown the Madhya Pradesh Government what our muscle power is. More than 2000 faxes and 500 phone calls. That did shake the Government up. We are all for this kind of grassroots globalisation. Although, thanking anyone for their support would be inappropriate, we do wish to acknowledge our friends around the world -- the website updaters, the callers, the faxers, the sms senders, the bloggers, and just about anybody who had their thoughts tuned to Bhopal.
In struggle and solidarity,
Rashida Bee
Shehzadi Bee
Guddi Bee
Jabbar Khan
Rachna Dhingra
Satinath Sarangi
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal ki Aawaaz, Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Many more pictures are available on the front page of http://www.bhopal.net.
I don't have much to add to what the Bhopalis have already said, but I did want to point out that the movement for justice in Bhopal is stronger today than it ever has been in the 22 years since Carbide turned Bhopal into a gas chamber. There are many reasons for this, and foremost among them is the commitment, determination, and dedication of the survivors themselves. Gassed, poisoned, sick and often destitute, they've created one of the world's most important movements for justice and corporate accountability. This 15-day hunger strike is only the latest example of the grueling struggle which the survivors continue to wage for one very simple reason: they want to live. Although the Bhopalis are considered 'expendable' by so many – the corporations, their government, the global marketplace – they believe in their own right to live, and they won't give up the struggle until that right is recognized.
But the Bhopalis cannot do it alone. The support of compassionate people all over the world – people like you – has helped us win several important victories over the past few years (see http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/Victories.htm) – victories that have improved the lives of tens of thousands. We know that it's possible for ordinary people to make a difference because we've seen it happen. With your help and support, we'll continue to build the movement for justice in Bhopal until there are no more victories left to win.
Justice for Bhopal!
RB is ME
Take Action TODAY to Support the Bhopalis' Right to Live!
Sorry for duplicates UBUNTU
Send a FREE FAX to the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh here:
http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/FaxAction07/fax_action.php
Twenty-two years after their loved ones were gassed to death, their health stolen, their dreams shattered, survivors of the 1984 gas disaster in Bhopal continue to suffer at the hands of their own government. For years, the Madhya Pradesh state government has delayed and denied basic means of survival to tens of thousands of Bhopalis: things like poison-free drinking water, competent health care, and jobs or pensions for those too sick to work. But the Bhopalis believe in their own right to live, and a year ago a group of Bhopal survivors walked 500 miles – from Bhopal to Delhi – to ask the Prime Minister of India for help. Although both the Indian Government and the Supreme Court have ordered the MP government to act, little has been done and the Bhopalis have launched a sit-in to demand justice. If the state government doesn't take action, the Bhopalis - gassed by Carbide, poisoned by contaminated water, forced into destitution – have pledged to starve themselves to death.
Read about the victories we've won thus far...
Read daily updates from the Bhopal dharna blog!
Learn more about the sit-in and how you can help!
The Bhopalis Demand:
1. Adequate health care
2. Economic rehabilitation by providing jobs for 10,000 survivors of the disaster
3. Social support in the form of a monthly pension
4. Supply of safe drinking water and toxic waste containment
5. Set up a proper administrative system in charge of long term relief and rehabilitation of the survivors
**Read the complete demands online.
22 Years is Enough! The Bhopalis Demand Justice and a Life with Dignity!
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