Believe
Who? the Bhopal
Tragedy
The
case of Bhopal
It is an
interesting challenge to work out your
own position on a controversial issue using the
Internet. One great advantage of the Net is
the speed at which you can gather information
from different sources. But how do you arrive
at the truth? Who to believe?
The tragedy
of Bhopal occurred in December 1984, and
is recognised as the worst ever industrial
accident. A gas leak from a pesticide
factory swept through the sleeping city of
Bhopal in India and resulted in death and injury
on a catastrophic scale. Union Carbide, a giant American
chemical company had a controlling interest
in the plant. Several years after the accident,
Union Carbide paid a settlement to the government
of India of some $470 million, and in
1995 announced that "Union Carbide's involvement
with the aftermath of the Bhopal tragedy is
over Although some will continue to citizen
any response by us, we believe the corporation
has consistently acted in a humane and decent
fashion toward the victims over the 11 years
since the Bhopal tragedy, and that most people
examining the facts will reach the same conclusion."
Last year
I did some extensive on line research on the
Bhopal tragedy. Like most people who acquaint
themselves with the story of Bhopal, I was
amazed at the statistics and very curious to
learn more. The first web site I tried was www.bhopal.com I was struck by the fact
that Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) own this
domain name when they no longer have any operations
in Bhopal. It was certainly smart of the company
to grab this particular domain, as the site
is used to promote their version of events
in Bhopal, and is no doubt one of the first to
be discovered by those wanting to research
the tragedy. The site is persuasive in its
design, information is presented in short concise
paragraphs, the language is simple and
relatively free from emotion and supported
by statistics. The site succeeds in promoting
UCC's position on the tragedy, and one
is easily left with the feeling that the company
really have done everything possible to manage
the effects of the tragedy.
Of
course there are many campaign groups throughout
the world who feel that UCC have escaped responsibility
for the disaster. Opponents of UCC have
marshalled an enormous weight of counter evidence
against the company. Of particular note are
the two sites run from Bhopal itself, www.bhopal.net and www.bhopal.org These sites are very informative,
but lack the sophisticated image of the UCC
version. The figures presented by the campaign
groups are wildly at odds with those of Union
Carbide, in particular concerning the number
of deaths, and the aftermath of the tragedy.It
becomes increasingly frustrating to research
issues like Bhopal, particularly if you are
seeking to find answers to the important questions.
Why did the accident happen? Who was to blame?
What are the actual medical statistics?
Have Union Carbide fulfilled their obligations
to the victims of the disaster? One has to
face the fact that the Internet has not
really made a difference in our ability to
find answers to questions such as these, however
carefully the evidence is evaluated. However
in our search for answers, there are a few
obvious considerations when looking at on line
resources:
-
The domain name itself
is no guarantee that a web site is authoritative.
-
The design of a site
is no guarantee of the accuracy of the content.
-
Research as widely as
possible.
-
Read information carefully.
After spending a lot of time on the fact
sheet at www.bhopal.com/FactSheet.html I
realized that the omission of certain key points
was more revealing than the information actually
presented.
-
Don't be persuaded by
emotional language
-
Don't trust statistics, especially
if the source is not made clear.
-
How easy is it to contact
the authors of a web site? (Try e-mailing
Union Carbide if you can!)
-
Remember that the values
and attitudes of people closest to such
issues demand great sensitivity.
To some extent it is possible
to evaluate evidence from the different
parties involved in the Bhopal tragedy, and
reach a kind of compromise understanding, for there
are some self-evident truths. A pesticide factory
really was constructed in the middle of a densely
populated area of a city and many people died
from a gas leak. The company has paid
compensation. To progress beyond such general
findings becomes increasingly difficult, and
puzzling over the conflicting mortality
figures for example, is unlikely to be profitable,
nor in the end, will the outcome ever be beyond
dispute.
What
is the rationale for continuing to study the
Bhopal tragedy? My own opinion is that Bhopal
reminds everyone, regardless of age, of the
importance of asking questions. Why for example,was
the Bhopal plant not protected by
the same computer safety systems as the sister
plant in the USA? This remains a perfectly
valid question for Union Carbide. Had sufficient
questions been asked of the company in the
early 1980s when it was clear that a number
of gas leaks had taken place, the accident
may never have happened. In fact local people
had become increasingly concerned and vocal
about safety standards at the plant before
the accident, but at the time their voices
were not heard by the international community. By
continuing to highlight the profile of
the victims of Bhopal, the campaign groups
are helping to prevent similar Bhopals in the
future.
In a recent book review,
Billy Bragg is quoted as saying that "what
corporations fear most, are consumers who ask
questions" I hope that this web site will stimulate readers
to ask questions of corporations, and
communicate with and offer support to people
whose lives have been adversely affected
by them.
Visit
some of the sites below. Ask your own questions.
Reading list:
Union
Carbide's version of events Union
Carbide's version of events. This is an important
site and I recommend reading it first.
Community.net (Australian-based site
- follow "recent news" link to find the
letter from Union Carbide to concerned individuals)
Bhopal.org The Bhopal-based site for the
victims A good collection of recent press clippings
and reports of the continuing legal case
Bhopal.net Survivors testimonies pictures
and information about the Sambhavna Clinic
Corporate Watch (An interesting
selection of Bhopal pages)
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