Christmas is usually a good time for contemplation, a time to ponder on another year past, a time to make up some New Years resolutions, which will be forgotten in a few weeks. There certainly seems to have been a lot of contemplation going on in the offices of Dow, the new owners of Union Carbide, although seemingly with a lack of the usual festive good cheer, as the company took action on the 18th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster.

Firstly the CEO Michael D. Parker used the anniversary of the incident as an opportunity to express his “profound sadness,” of Union Carbide’s negligent gassing of thousands in the Indian city of Bhopal, killing between 3,000 and 20,000 and leaving thousands more injured. He assured us that, on December 3rd (the disaster took place shortly after midnight on December 3rd, 1984), he would be quietly reflecting on the lessons of Bhopal. I have never met Michael Parker, nor am I an acquaintance of many of the Dow board members. I can only guess at what lessons they may have gleaned from the single biggest incident of corporate killing in my lifetime. But looking at their actions since Michael Parker’s letters I think we can get a pretty good idea.

The first lesson seems to be that penniless victims are a good moneymaking opportunity. Not content with having destroyed a community Dow/Union Carbide are now in the process of suing those who suffered from its gross negligence. On 2nd December 2002, about 200 women victims brought some of the waste Union Carbide had left in Bhopal to Dow’s headquarters in Mumbai. The two hour long protest briefly tied up one staff member who came to placate the protestors. Dow’s response is to sue the protestors, for $10,000. This is despite the fact that Dow is a company with over $22 billion in assets. Greenpeace has made the point that “The damages demanded by Dow will amount to about 10 years income for the survivors charged but is less than one days sales revenue for Dow. “ To put this in perspective Dow/Carbide provided $300-$500 compensation to those most severely affected by the disaster. Bhopal certainly does provide lessons on how to victimise people, and if nothing else, that is a lesson Dow appears to have learnt well.

Another lesson that appears to have been gleaned from the crimes of Bhopal is the belief that the Indian legal system only deserves credibility when it is supporting the interests of Dow/Union Carbide. The case for the extradition of former CEO Warren Christopher to face charges of culpable homicide rumbles on with total disregard from Dow. As it was Michael Parker was not to be found spending December 3rd alone with his thoughts, pondering the lessons of Bhopal. Protestors from the University of Michigan found him hosting a Christmas Party at his family home. Nonetheless Michael Parker did find some time to come outside and tell the protestors he was certain that the Indian and American Courts would not find against Dow. Perhaps he knows something we don’t?

Now that Michael Parker has been ousted as the CEO of Dow perhaps he will have more time to contemplate on his “profound sorrow” for the suffering of the Bhopal victims; suffering he helped worsen through the refusal of his company to accept culpability. Perhaps new boss William Stravopolous will finally take responsibility for the crimes of Dow/Carbide. Probably, however they will continue to maintain their non-compliance, and continue to stamp out dissent wherever they find it. One thing is certain however, the victims of their actions in Bhopal cannot be forgotten like some bad New Years resolution. They will not let them forget.