Invitation to PIH to sing 7pm on Friday, 14 September 2012, Augustine Church, Edinburgh
Scottish Friends of Bhopal is involved in organising a tour of Britain and Ireland of two Bhopal survivors in September of this year. The survivors will be in Scotland from 14–18 September. On Friday the 14th, they will be speaking to a public meeting at the Augustine Church, George IV Bridge.
Protest in Harmony has been invited to sing 3–4 songs to start the meeting — at 7pm. I have included more information about the tour below. We will be singing to support this tour and the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal. I hope you can join us.
If you will be able to sing with PIH on the 14th of September, could you let me know as soon as possible (kajenkins@blueyonder.co.uk). Thank you very much.
Request for help with accommodation
We are also looking for people who might be able to offer either Safreen or Namdev accommodation for some or all of the days they are in Edinburgh (14 and 15th Sept and 18th Sept) If you might be able to do this, please contact me. Thank you!
Kathy Jenkins
More information about the tour.
The Tour is to build awareness in the run up to the 30th anniversary of the Bhopal Disaster. A second and important purpose for the trip is to bring together the Bhopal Survivors with trade union and other activists involved in resisting pollution in UK communities.
The individuals who will be visiting will be Safreen Khan and Balkrishna Namdev. Safreen is the nineteen year old daughter of gas exposed parents and founder member of Children Against Dow-Carbide, which was formed in 2008 by young generation survivors to sustain the campaign against Dow and the ongoing disaster. Namdev is leader of the Destitute Pensioners’ Front (Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pension Bhogi Sangarsh Morcha). They are both active in the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB), which has instigated the tour.
Their itinerary in Scotland will be:
- Friday 14th — Public Meeting,7 pm
- Saturday 15th — Activist Meeting with the Environmental Justice Forum, Augustine Church, 2.30pm
- Sunday 16th — Rise Up Singing at Faslane
- Monday 17th — Meeting with Trade Union leaders and others at the STUC and visits to pollution impacted communities in the West of Scotland.
- Tuesday, 18th — Visit with Scottish Religious Leaders (TBC); Scottish Parliament Cross Party Group on International Development, 5.30pm at the Scottish Parliament; Fundraising dinner at the Kathmandu Restaurant, Forrest Road, 8.30pm
Information about the tour in England, Wales and Ireland can be found at: http://www.bhopal.org/ways-to-help/forthcoming-events/
More information about Bhopal, the continuing campaign and Scottish Friends of Bhopal
Almost 28 years on, toxic waste still lies strewn in and around the factory, contaminating the soil and leaking its poisons into the groundwater. More than 25,000 people have consumed this toxic groundwater for years, and there are serious health effects among these communities. Children of gas affected parents, and those of parents consuming contaminated water have severe and debilitating birth defects. It is estimated that at lest 25,000 have died as a result of the tragedy and 150,000 are chronically ill, for whom there is still no adequate health care provision. The situation remains a humanitarian and environmental tragedy.
Scottish Friends of Bhopal is a project of the Bhopal Medical Appeal. The BMA fund the only facilities in Bhopal that provide free, first class medical care to those affected by the 1984 Bhopal disaster and the ongoing water contamination; the Sambhavna Clinic and The Chingari Rehabilitation Centre. To date it has cared for more than 50,000 people. Please visit the Bhopal Medical Appeal website to learn more about the disaster and additional information about the clinics. The SFB began in July 2011 and is aimed at providing support, fundraising and awareness raising for Bhopal survivors and other victims of pollution. SFB aims to promote toxic issues within Scotland. The struggle for a safe environment and for justice for those exposed to environmental pollution is not unique to Bhopal — Bhopalis represents environmental injustice everywhere. SFB aims to use our link with Bhopal to work in solidarity with pollution impacted communities in Scotland