Bhopal is the site of the world’s worst chemical disaster. It is also the site of a vibrant international movement for justice and a life of dignity for marginalized people affected by toxic pollution and corporate crime. Safreen Khan and Sathyu Sarangi have traveled from Bhopal, India to share their experiences in Bhopal where more than 23,000 people have died due to toxic disaster; and relate them to our own struggles in Boston and beyond for safe, healthy communities. The green jobs movement in the US brings an opportunity for forward thinking that seen also in Bhopal with green income generation and health care organizing to help sustain the half million disaster survivors.

When: Monday, May 11th

Time: 6-8pm

Where: Boston Room, Boston Public Library, Copley Sq.

 700 Boylston Street, Boston, MA

Who: Safreen Khan, Children Against Dow Carbide, Bhopal

Satinath Sarangi, Sambhavna Clinic, Bhopal

Gladys Vega, Chelsea Collaborative

Elizabeth Saunders, Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow

Kristin Urquiza, Corporate Accountability International

Co-Sponsored by: Boston4Bhopal Coalition, Chelsea Collaborative & Chelsea Green Space, Corporate Accountability International, International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal & Jobs with Justice

Directions: Copley Stop on the Green Line, Back Bay on the Orange Line

 http://www.bpl.org/general/directions.htm

Inside the Library – Take a left immediately after the main entrance, where it says circulation desk, the Boston room will be the 2^nd door on your left.

Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=700+Boylston+St.,+Boston+MA&oe=utf-8&rlz=1R1GGGL_en___US314&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&gl=us&ei=DQgDSpPLEYaGtgeMqo2JBw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1

Parking: There are parking garages at Exeter and Stuart St. and at Berkeley and Boylston Sts.

The event is free. All are welcome!

Facebook event:

http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=86213852014&view=user#/event.php?eid=86213852014

2nd-generation Bhopal survivor Safreen Khan and Bhopal campaigner Sathyu Sarangi, are touring the US and Canada this April and May as part of a Bhopal Campaign 25^th Anniversary Tour. The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal is a coalition of survivor groups and allies around the world working for justice and a life of dignity for the survivors of the Bhopal Disaster, and for a toxic free future for us all.  

Safreen Khan

Safreen belongs to a family of six members who live behind the Union Carbide factory. Her mother was exposed to the gas in 1984. After which they moved to their new house in Gupta Nagar only to discover that their water was laced with the same poisons from the same factory that had gassed thousands of people. Now having nowhere to go, Safreen and her family continue to live in the area and consume poisoned water daily.
Safreen and her sister Yasmin were the youngest members of the team of 50 survivors who walked from Bhopal to Delhi to meet the Prime Minister earlier this year.

Satinath Sarangi

Satinath, known as Sathyu, is a metallurgical engineer turned activist who arrived in Bhopal a day after the disaster and stayed on to become a key figure in the struggle for justice in Bhopal. He is a founding trustee of the Sambhavna Clinic, a non-profit clinic dedicated to the holistic treatment of gas-affected persons in Bhopal. As the founder of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action, Sathyu has been involved with relief, research and publication of studies on the health impacts of the ongoing disaster on the residents of Bhopal.

Gladys Vega

Executive Director, Chelsea Collaborative

Gladys Vega joined the Chelsea Collaborative staff in 1990 and is the original organizer of most of the Collaborative's community coalitions. Chelsea Collaborative works to empower Chelsea residents to enhance the social, environmental and economic health of the community and its people. She is one of Chelsea's most prominent and important community leaders. Gladys is a student at Cambridge College and is close to earning her bachelor's degree. She has supervisory and organizing responsibility for the Latino Coalition, Summer Youth Employment Initiative, After School Community Building Tutoring Program, Peer Leadership for a Gang-free, Violence-free School Year and the Latino Immigrant Committee. Gladys also provides technical assistance and presents at many training workshops.

Elizabeth Saunders

Environmental Health Legislative Director, Clean Water Action

Elizabeth joined the Clean Water Action team in January of 2001 as a Campaign Organizer working with the New England Zero Mercury Campaign and (shortly thereafter) the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow -- a statewide coalition to prevent harm to our health from toxics.  She led Clean Water Action’s efforts to pass the Massachusetts Mercury Products Bill which culminated in a victory in 2006.  Currently Elizabeth coordinates the legislative campaign of the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, acting as a lobbyist, media liaison, coalition coordinator, and grassroots organizer.  Elizabeth has a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Yale University.  She has called Massachusetts home for her entire life and currently lives in a co-operative house in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston.

Kristin Urquiza

Campaign Director, Think Outside the Bottle, Corporate Accountability International

Kristin Urquiza is Corporate Accountability International's Think Outside the Bottle Campaign Director. Think Outside the Bottle is a campaign working to promote, protect and ensure public funding for our public water systems. With Think Outside the Botttle, Kristin is leading outreach to governors, mayors, faith groups, key allies and members to support public systems by opting for tap over bottled water.  Prior to coming onto staff earlier this year she spent 6 years organizing with The Fund, a national non-profit group focused on building up grassroots support for environmental campaigns. In that role she oversaw hundreds of staff in several states working to insure a new energy future for America.  She graduated from Yale University with a degree in Art History.

More information on Bhopal and the 25^th Anniversary Survivors’ Tour at: www.bhopal.net