Today in Labor History December 3, 1984: A methyl isocyanate leak from a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, killed over 3,800 people and injured up to 600,000 more. Up to 16,000 people died, in total, over the years following the disaster. The Government of Madhya Pradesh has paid compensation to family members of 3,787 of the victims killed. Numerous local activist groups emerged to support the victims of the disaster, like Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla, who won the Goldman Prize in 2004. Many of the activists were subjected to violent repression by the police and government. Larger international groups, like Greenpeace and Pesticide Action Network also got involved. The disaster has played a role in numerous works of fiction, including Arundhati Roy’s “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness” (2017) and Indra Sinha’s “Animal’s People” (2007). It has also been referenced in music by the Revolting Cocks “Union Carbide” and the Dog Faced Hermans ”Bhopal.”
@MikeDunnAuthor
I remember well that insurance companies executives rushed to have the family of deceased or injured victims, and signing a settlement agreement of a few hundred $, a huge amount for those people, preventing them from suing the company after that and obtaining the thousands and ten of thousands of $ they might have claimed and would have no doubt obtained.
Was a teenager then and I remember seing these obnoxious people as a pack of hyenas.
They would have a bonus of many thousands of $ for each settlement they had those illiterate victims signed.
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