| She came to Bhopal after
she was married at the early age of 14. “I was brought
up strictly in purdah and had no experience of the rough and
tumble of life. My husband worked as a tailor but earned very
little. I was married into a large family. I was soon to discover
that my husband suffered from a mental ailment that made him
forget his family responsibilities and leave home and disappear,
sometimes for years together. He left me on and off. I was
left pregnant and gave birth to a son. My in-laws heaped humiliation
on me and I had to sell the little jewelry I had to feed myself
and my son. My son contracted pneumonia and died. I did not
even know the way to the hospital. I felt utterly abandoned.”
Rashida Bee went back to her paternal home and started
earning her living by rolling bidis, for which she earned
Rs 2 for 1,000 bidis. It was her first experience of economic
independence. She returned to Bhopal and took up separate
accommodation with her seven brothers and sisters.
“A year later the Bhopal Khand (disaster) happened.
My husband had come back to live with me. We were all deeply
affected by the gas. We could hardly breathe and started vomiting
blood. A police van took us to the Jahangira Bagh Police Hospital.
Even today I suffer from insomnia, deep depression and breathlessness.
But that night I learnt the biggest lesson of my life. I saw
people panic, run and fall down dead and unconscious. I told
myself that I must learn to control my own destiny, to know
the forces that determine my life.”
Six months later she came to know that the MP government
had started a “yojna” (scheme) to give employment
to women gas victims.
“As part of the programme two centres for production
of office stationery were set up on November 25, 1985. 100
women, Hindu and Muslim, from severely exposed areas were
selected and given training in production of file covers,
writing pads, registers, note books and other stationery.
We were paid a stipend of Rs. 150 per month. After commercial
production began in April 1986, we were given jobs at a piece
rate and the goods were supplied to the government press.
My sisters and I thus became the family’s bread winners.
I got my sisters and brothers married. My husband lost his
ability to work altogether after the gas disaster and has
been unemployed ever since.”
Rashida Bee looks back at her early struggle with mixed
feelings. It gave her a sense of social consciousness and
she felt that she was participating in a larger struggle after
she saw the extreme suffering of the gas victims.
“It was at the production centre that I realised the
extent to which women were being deprived of the rights and
benefits to which regular employees are entitled. The women
at the centre started organising themselves and an all women
labour union was formed and registered in August 1987. The
issues that we took up were adequate wages, leave facilities
and the other basic rights of factory workers. We sat in front
of the Chief Minister’s office for three months and
chanted our laments and protests. A 1988 official directive
recommended that the Factory Act should apply to the Stationery
production centre. Following this, the women workers were
paid monthly wages in place of the payment by piece rate.
But even today, our wages are less than half of what is paid
to regular government employees. In June 1988, we marched
to Delhi on foot. We could not meet Rajiv Gandhi because he
was away on election campaigning but the PMO [Prime Minister’s
Office] made many promises. We continue with our fight.
Since the days when the Government was the main target of
their protests and demands, Rashida Bee has of late spent
much time leading the campaign to hold Dow Chemical –
Union Carbide’s new owner – accountable to the
people of Bhopal.
“On February 28, 2001, we protested in front of the
Mumbai office of Dow Chemicals. The representatives of Dow
agreed to negotiate with us but none of it yielded any results.
So we stormed the Dow office on April 26, 2002. On June 26,
2002, we sat on a 19-day hunger strike in New Delhi demanding
the former Chairman of UCC Warren Anderson’s extradition
to India and trial. Over 1,000 persons from 10 countries joined
our hunger strike. I have come a long way from the person
I was!”
Soft spoken, dignified and yet remarkably articulate, Rashida
Bee agrees to a taped interview. Today she is a leader of
what she proudly describes as “woman power” (mahila
shakti). And leadership has empowered her to view future action
in both realistic and multidimensional terms. Widely travelled
in Europe and US in all the cities where Dow Chemicals is
situated, she has spoken to company officials, union leaders,
and grass root workers. She has come to define “Bhopal”
as a larger struggle against corporate crime and the need
for corporate accountability.
SM: What is your present agenda? And what direction
is your struggle going to take in the future?
RB: At one level our agenda is very simple,
justice for Bhopal. We want criminal charges to be brought
against Carbide. We want lifelong treatment for suffering
victims, especially children who are born with defects. We
want employment for those who are without jobs because they
are physically incapacitated. We want the chemical wastes
from the factory site to be cleaned up by Dow chemicals, which
merged with Carbide in 2001. “Jhadoo maro Dow Ko”
is our latest slogan. We chose the jhadoo (broom) because
it is a domestic weapon and when a woman picks up a broom
she means business. It is also a symbol of the act of cleaning.
We are asking for something as basic as clean drinking water
and clean air to breathe.
SM: What are your plans for the coming anniversary
on 3rd December 2003?
RB: We have been fighting for the last 18
years and what have we achieved? Our fight is against a company
that is truly big, a powerful multinational giant belonging
to a powerful country. So a great deal of thought has to go
into whatever shape our struggle is going to take. We are
making big plans so that our show of strength will pressure
the company to take up responsibility for what happened in
Bhopal. When Champa Devi and I were recently in the US we
discussed our plans with people from different walks of life.
They agreed to a worldwide protest. On the 3rd [December],
in different cities, people will gather in big and small numbers
in front of offending companies and mark the day as a ‘black
day’ against corporate crime. We will arouse the world’s
conscience so that no thinking citizen will turn a blind eye
to Bhopal.
SM: Can you narrate your experience of meeting the
CEO of Dow Chemicals.
RB: We went to the shareholder’s meeting
and put forward our questions. Our first question to [Dow
CEO Mr. William Stavropoulos] was, “As the new boss
who took over from Carbide, why haven’t you come to
Bhopal to face pending [criminal] charges?” His reply
was evasive, that no criminal charges are pending against
Carbide. This was a blatant lie; he did not want to alarm
the shareholders at the prospect of the financial burden on
the company. But to mislead by withholding or misrepresenting
information is a legal offense and we are seriously considering
bringing charges against the company. Our next question to
him was direct, “Are you going to take responsibility
for Bhopal?” His reply was a firm “No”,
insisting that the issue was between us and the Indian government.
His contention was that we should approach our own government.
He met us barely for two minutes, though we had been promised
a 25-minute slot. He listened to me in total silence and his
only response was a cursory expression of sympathy and a repetition
that his company could do nothing.
SM: How did your meeting with other trade union
bodies go?
RB: We met leaders of a steelworker’s
union with a membership of over 15,000,000. They had heard
of Bhopal but had no idea of the reality of the situation.
Fed on misinformation, they believed that the gas victims
had received ample compensation. When we presented them with
the facts they were amazed to know the extent of damage and
the gross injustice we had suffered. They saw the link between
Bhopal and other communities suffering from polluting factories.
Other trade union bodies have promised us full support. They
will participate in protests, demonstrations, and boycott
of products to tell the world what really happened in Bhopal.
They agreed to speak to workers of Dow Chemicals to make them
aware of the brutal reality of Bhopal. The fact that such
a situation can be triggered off by sheer negligence and the
culprits can simply flee from the scene of the crime and disown
any responsibility is outrageous.
SM: Did you visit any Dow company in the US?
RB: Yes, we visited a Dow company in Louisiana. The
Area Director took us around and tried to tell us that they
follow stringent safety rules. The company was situated in
a poor locality mostly populated by African Americans. We
were surprised at the extent of poverty. The area was thickly
populated and there was only one escape route in case of a
disaster. We were made to sit in a glass-covered jeep and
given masks to wear. We saw leaking pipes and large drains
with blackened, corrosive waste material. The officials accompanying
us had rashes on their face and neck. They evaded our queries
and did not allow us to talk to any workers. They insisted
that things were in order, regular meetings were held to promote
community awareness and that all waste material was filtered
before being emptied in the river.
The Dow officials were sympathetic but utterly ignorant of
the facts. Why did you merge with a company with such a notorious
background was our query. Their set reply was that they thought
all matters had been settled. They were lying, of course.
So much has been written in papers and magazines and so much
has been shown on television, how can they claim such gross
ignorance? Why have two sets of safety rules, one applicable
in India and one in America, we asked them. Is it because
our lives have no value? They kept asking us what we wanted.
As self-respecting Indians, we were only asking for dignity
and right value of life. But I think we were talking at cross-purposes,
for they could not, or would not, understand us.
SM: What was the impact of the hunger strike that
you followed as protest in the US?
RB: Actually, they do not understand the meaning
of a hunger strike because they do not understand the meaning
of hunger! It is a Gandhian method where self-denial is a
mode of protest. It is a non-violent method without guns or
force. We do not display anger or rancour, only the suffering
that has been our lot, and ask for fulfillment of our demands.
We were able to draw the attention of the public and make
them aware of our cause. We used the public address system,
people gathered in numbers, cars slowed down and we were able
to distribute pamphlets. Many people agreed to join us in
a 24-hour hunger strike to feel for the cause of Bhopal. I
believe that a struggle always has a relay effect and people
open their minds
and embrace what is alien and different. My struggle for justice
has taught me the important lesson of solidarity. I have never
felt alone in my battles.
SM: You had a recent labour court victory. Can you
tell us about that?
RB: This fight has been going on for 14 years. We
are paid Rs. 2,200 when a government servant gets over Rs
5,000. Despite our victory, the MP government is doing nothing
to implement the court’s order, which was passed over
one month ago. We brought the delay to the notice of the authorities.
We will sit on hunger strike and start picketing government
offices. They have agreed to pay us arrears for 4 years. OK,
we are willing to forego 14 years but surely this is our right.
SM: How much significance do you give to woman power?
RB: Woman’s power is all-important. In the
fight for justice in Bhopal, women have played a big role.
They have had to discard their inhibitions, their sense of
diffidence and learn the power of speech. They have had to
participate in public fora. Women are naturally compassionate
and intuitive. They are patient and they have a great deal
of resolve to fight for their rights. In the beginning, we
had no experience of collective action, but what spurred us
on was the injustice done to us. Men are selfish and authoritative
and want to be front-runners. Any organization, which has
depended on men leaders in Bhopal, has become extinct. Women
who are led by men can never become self-reliant for they
start vying for attention.
SM: How does your organisation work?
RB: We meet once a week and all decisions are taken
democratically. If there is a difference of opinion, all voices
are heard. We go on dharna in batches of 50. After all, as
an all-women team we are vulnerable to police attack and arrest.
We raise our own funds. For our court case, each woman was
asked to pay Rs.100, or as much as she could afford, to pay
the lawyer his fees of Rs.50,000.
SM: Tell me something about your mates in the organisation.
RB: Champa didi and I are more than mates; we act
in perfect coordination. There are 12 office bearers and workers
at different levels. As an organization, we have never faced
dissatisfaction or lack of trust amongst ourselves. They trust
me with money and with whatever decision I take for the collective
good. They know I will never act in collusion with the authorities
nor will I stand to gain by being in the limelight. I take
advice from men but the ultimate decision-making power rests
with us. I believe that as a woman when I meet authorities
anywhere in the world, I have better bargaining power. They
listen to me. And I carry with me the experience of being
a woman who has had to discover her strength the hard way.
I feel I am a case in point, that a woman has to move outside
the narrow confines of the domestic space to realise her potential.
The others are in full agreement with Rashida Appa, as she
is lovingly called. One of them sums up matter rather succinctly,
“A woman’s life involves discarding relationships
that she has known from infancy and adopting strangers as
her own. If she can face the world outside at such a fundamental
level then why should any other struggle for empowerment scare
her?”
Suroopa Mukherjee teaches English at Delhi University.
She is the author of the book Bhopal Gas Tragedy – A
Book For Young People published by Tulika, Chennai, 2002.
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