Rashida Bee

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Rashida Bee
NationalityIndian
Awards Goldman Environmental Prize (2004)

Rashida Bee is an Indian activist from Bhopal. She was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2004, together with Champa Devi Shukla. The two have struggled for justice for the surviving victims of the 1984 Bhopal disaster, when 20,000 people were killed, and organized campaigns and trials against those responsible for the disaster. [1]

Contents

Bhopal gas tragedy

Rashida Bee along with Champa Devi Shukla, both survivors of the infamous Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984, led an international campaign against Dow Chemical and its subsidiary Union Carbide and to get justice for the victims of that December night. In 1999, along with other victims, they filed a class-action lawsuit against Union Carbide. [2] In 2002, they organised a 19-day hunger strike in New Delhi, demanding that the former Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson face a criminal trial in Bhopal. They also called for Dow to provide long-term health care for survivors and their children, clean up the former Union Carbide site, and supply economic support to survivors who can no longer work due to illness. [3] [4]

Awards

On the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, in 2004, Bee and Shukla received the Goldman Environmental Prize awarded in a ceremony in San Francisco, California, on April 19. [5] Bee used the award money to open Chingari Trust, a trust to provide medical help to children born with defects. It has registered 300 children up to 12 years old. Space constraints, however, only allow them to accommodate 60 children a day. The centre has a speech therapist, physiotherapist, special educators and doctors. [6] The trust also provides employment for people who cannot work because of sickness. [3]

Personal life

Bee works at the Central Government Press, where she is a junior binder. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhopal disaster</span> 1984 gas leak accident in Bhopal, India

The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal gas tragedy was a chemical accident on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Considered the world's worst industrial disaster, over 500,000 people in the small towns around the plant were exposed to the highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate (MIC). Estimates vary on the death toll, with the official number of immediate deaths being 2,259. In 2008, the Government of Madhya Pradesh paid compensation to the family members of 3,787 victims killed in the gas release, and to 574,366 injured victims. A government affidavit in 2006 stated that the leak caused 558,125 injuries, including 38,478 temporary partial injuries and approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries. Others estimate that 8,000 died within two weeks, and another 8,000 or more have since died from gas-related diseases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Carbide</span> American chemical company

Union Carbide Corporation is an American chemical corporation wholly owned subsidiary by Dow Chemical Company. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers. Some are high-volume commodities and others are specialty products meeting the needs of smaller markets. Markets served include paints and coatings, packaging, wire and cable, household products, personal care, pharmaceuticals, automotive, textiles, agriculture, and oil and gas. The company is a former component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldman Environmental Prize</span> Award

The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. The award is given by the Goldman Environmental Foundation headquartered in San Francisco, California. It is also called the Green Nobel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Anderson (American businessman)</span> Chair and CEO of the Union Carbide Corporation (1921–2014)

Warren Martin Anderson was an American businessman who was the chair and CEO of the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) at the time of the Bhopal disaster in 1984. He was charged with manslaughter by Indian authorities.

Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) was a chemical company founded in 1934. UCIL employed 9,000 people. UCIL was 50.9% owned by Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation (UCC) located in the United States and 49.1% by Indian investors including the Government of India and government-controlled banks. UCIL produced batteries, carbon products, welding equipment, plastics, industrial chemicals, pesticides and marine products. A UCIL facility located in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh was responsible for manufacturing various chemical products this primarily included pesticides. In 1984, a gas leak happened at the UCIL plant in Bhopal, killing thousands of people, and harming victims by causing chronic illness. At the time of the disaster, UCIL was ranked twenty-first in size among companies operating in India. It had revenues of ₹2 billion.

Sunil Verma, himself a victim, was a campaigner for the rights of victims affected by the Bhopal disaster, the deadliest industrial disaster as of 2007. He testified in a case against the company when it came up for hearing in New York City in 1986. He formed the Children Against Carbide organization in 1987, when he was fifteen.

Students for Bhopal (SfB) is an international network of students and supporters working in solidarity with the survivors of the Bhopal disaster – the world's worst-ever industrial catastrophe - in their struggle for justice. Through education, grassroots organizing and non-violent direct action, SfB builds pressure against Dow Chemical and the Indian Government to uphold the Bhopalis' demand for justice, and their fundamental human right to live free of chemical poison. It was coordinated by Ryan Bodanyi, who founded the organization in 2003.

The International Medical Commission on Bhopal (IMCB) was established in 1993 to organise medical responses to the 1984 Bhopal disaster (India).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Live Earth</span> Organization

Live Earth was an event developed to increase environmental awareness through entertainment.

The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB) is a coalition of disaster survivors and environmental, social justice, progressive Indian, and human rights groups that have joined forces to hold the Indian Government and Dow Chemical Corporation accountable for the ongoing chemical disaster in Bhopal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indra Sinha</span> British writer (born 1950)

Indra Sinha is a British writer of Indian and English descent. Animal's People, his most recent novel, was shortlisted for the 2007 Man Booker Prize and winner of the 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Europe and South Asia.

<i>Animals People</i> Book by Indra Sinha

Animal's People is a novel by Indra Sinha. It was shortlisted for the 2007 Man Booker Prize and is the Winner of the 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize: Best Book From Europe & South Asia. Sinha's narrator is a 19-year-old orphan of Khaufpur, born a few days before the 1984 Bhopal disaster, whose spine has become so twisted that he must walk on all fours. Ever since he can remember, he has gone on all fours. Known to everyone simply as Animal, he rejects sympathy, spouts profanity and obsesses about sex. He lives with a crazy old French nun called Ma Franci, and his dog Jara. Also, he falls in love with a local musician's daughter, Nisha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sambhavna Trust Clinic</span>

The Sambhavna Trust Clinic, or Bhopal People's Health and Documentation Clinic, is a charitable trust run by a group of doctors, scientists, writers and social workers who have been involved with various aspects of the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal, India, ever since its occurrence in December 1984.

<i>Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain</i> 2014 Indian English-language historical drama film

Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain is a 2014 Indian English-language historical drama film directed by Ravi Kumar. Based on the Bhopal disaster that happened in India on 2–3 December 1984, the film stars Martin Sheen, Mischa Barton, Kal Penn, Rajpal Yadav, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Fagun Thakrar. Benjamin Wallfisch composed the film's music. Kumar's idea for making a film based on the Bhopal disaster came after he read a book about it. Shot over a period of 18 months, it was originally scheduled for a late 2010 release. However, the lack of responses from distributors kept delaying the release.

Champa Devi Shukla is an Indian activist from Bhopal. She was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2004, together with Rashida Bee. Shukla and Bee have struggled for justice for those who survived the 1984 Bhopal disaster, when 20,000 people were killed, and organized campaigns and trials against the responsible company and its owners.

Satinath (Sathyu) Sarangi was born in Chakradharpur, Jharkhand, India, on 25 September 1954. Since 1984 he has lived in Bhopal. Sarangi has been involved with the multiple activities run by a network of local, national, and international groups, pursuing health and economic needs, fighting legal claims, providing medical support, and working to ensure remembrance of the Bhopal disaster of 1984. Sarangi is the founder of several activist organizations and is also the founder and manager of Sambhavna Trust.

Rachna Dhingra is a social activist working in Bhopal with the survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy, a gas leak from a Union Carbide plant in 1984 that has killed 20,000 people. She is also currently a member of the Aam Aadmi Party of India.

The Remember Bhopal Museum is a museum in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India that commemorates the Bhopal disaster. It collects and exhibits artifacts and records of the affected communities. The museum was opened on 2 December 2014, the 30th anniversary of the disaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdul Jabbar Khan (activist)</span> Indian activist (1957–2019)

Abdul Jabbar Khan was an activist who fought for the victims of Bhopal Gas Disaster. Himself a victim of the gas leak, he devoted decades of his life, up until his death, towards seeking justice for the victims by fighting for their fair treatment and rehabilitation.

Narendra Prasad Misra, originally from Gwalior, was an Indian physician. He lived in Bhopal in the Indian State of Madhya Pradesh. Misra helped save thousands of lives during the Bhopal gas tragedy through his service.

References

  1. "Throwback Thursday: 2004 Goldman Prize Winners Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla". Goldman Environmental Prize. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  2. "Rashida Bee". India China Institute. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Rashida Bee of Bhopal, India, fights against the company that devastated her community". Grist. 20 April 2004. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  4. "Rashida Bee (India) | WikiPeaceWomen – English". wikipeacewomen.org. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  5. "Rashida Bee & Champa Devi Shukla - Goldman Environmental Foundation". Goldman Environmental Foundation. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Their story is the story of Bhopal - Livemint". www.livemint.com. 23 November 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2017.