dear amanda, i applaud you, i think you might be...

2004-12-05T11:13:00.000-05:00

dear amanda,

i applaud you, i think you might be one of the few people in america who know what union carbide did in india, never mind who can still get angry about it. i spent the last few months in and out of bhopal doing research for this amnesty report that was released on monday.

when india sued union carbide in the american courts, union carbide argued to have the case moved to india. their lawyers said that “Indeed, the practical impossibility for American courts and juries, imbued with US cultural values, living standards and expectations, to determine living standards for people living in the slums or ‘hutments’ surrounding the UCIL, Bhopal, India, by itself confirms that the Indian forum is overwhelmingly the most appropriate. Such abject poverty and the vastly different values, standards and expectations which accompany it are commonplace in India and the third world. They are incomprehensible to Americans living in the United States.”

this argument meant that an american company had enough comprehension to build a plant, employ, and endanger the lives hundreds of thousands of indians, but an american court could not comprehend what justice would mean to these same indians---this is the level of absurdity that surrounds everything related to the bhopal case.

that email i promised is on its way.

love,
nithya

Comments on SHEER MANDAMONIUM : 20th Anniversary of the Bhopal Tragedy

dear amanda, i applaud you, i think you might be...