The blank stare of an infant buried so that only its face can be seen above the soil. A young girl choking from an invisible force and grasping for one last breath before falling limp.
These images from a poisonous gas leak in Bhopal, India, that killed 20,000 people in 1984 are difficult to forget.
And the people of Bhopal are still suffering two decades later - 100,000 residents have chronic illnesses related to the disaster and a 1999 Greenpeace test discovered the local soil and groundwater had 20,000 times expected mercury levels. Survivors and families of the dead say the corporation responsible for the leak hasn't given them justice or resolution.
Union Carbide Corp., the American owner of the pesticide plant where the disaster occurred, attributed the mishap to sabotage, but Amnesty International activists blame poor safety standards and a faulty plant design. The company gave the Indian government a mere $470 million in an out-of-court settlement - half of which has been distributed to the 500,000 residents exposed to the gas.
Each Bhopal victim received a whopping $500 - an insult compared to the high cost of corporate negligence within our own borders. In response to their 1989 oil spill in Alaska, Exxon coughed up $250 million in criminal fees, another $900 million for the civil settlement and $2.1 billion for the cleanup effort. Dow Corning paid $2.35 billion to the 20,000 women who suffered complications from silicone breast implants.
Dow Chemical, the world's largest chemical company - with annual sales of more than $30 billion - bought Union Carbide in 2001, but refuses to take responsibility for the continuing disaster in Bhopal. Their inaction exemplifies a broader corporate culture, one in which profit is made at any cost and American lives are more precious than those of people in underdeveloped countries.
When Dow bought Union Carbide, it took over the company's assets and liabilities. Because Dow dissolved the entity that would have been responsible for future reparations, it became the caretaker of the Bhopal legacy. Dow thus has a moral responsibility to clean up the leak's environmental effects and to compensate the victims for medical costs.
The University has strong ties to Dow through research and grant funding. The University signed an "exclusive licensing deal" in nanotechnology research with Dow in 2002. Although the exact contract terms were not made public, Steve Nichols, associate vice president for research, said it was probably one of the University's "top five deals" in terms of financial investment. The research collaboration was renewed last month.
If UT and other universities refuse to take Dow's money - which should be going to the victims of Bhopal - the image-conscious corporation might fold under public pressure.
The student assembly at The University of Michigan passed a resolution in 2003 asking their administration to quit doing business with Dow. But, in order for Michigan to divest from Dow, a spokesman for the university's president said students would have to prove a "particularly egregious offense that undermined the University's name," and prove widespread campus support.
Neglecting to fix the world's worst industrial accident qualifies as an objectionable crime and continuing to associate with them does tarnish our image. Perhaps the University and Michigan administrators can make a trip to Bhopal together after the Rose Bowl to see the horror first hand if doubts persist.
Dow is not going to have a change of heart and find compassion for the people suffering in Bhopal overnight. If enough universities penalize the company, it will hit them in the only place that seems to matter - their pocketbooks. UT students can help push the Tower toward divesting by signing a petition being circulated by the local chapter of Amnesty International.
UT administrators should do what Michigan's didn't - disassociate from business with Dow until they restore justice in Bhopal. It will send an important message to corporations: You have a moral responsibility to the people whose lives you irreversably damage.
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