William De Oliveira - Experiences from 'Bhopal'

I went to school in India. Goa was my home till the age of 12 until we moved to the UK. However, I did not know about Bhopal then because nobody spoke of the disaster. It was at an  A-Level sociology class in London that I first heard about the disaster. It is not a surprise that Bhopal was mentioned during a discussion on Marxism, the woes of capitalism and profit driven corporations. In any case, it seemed that the disaster had more of an impact over here than it did in my Indian home-state.

Apart from the hour-long A-Level class, I had never thought about Bhopal. I learnt then that something leaked somewhere and scores of people died, but I did not know about the consequences suffered by those affected, even to this day. Taking part in this play opened my eyes to injustice; it opened my eyes to the impunity of corporations and disregard for those who must suffer through no fault of their own. The play also got me thinking about the nature of activism today. Standing on stage as Andrew Liveris, I began to get an insight into the other side of the fence: the side where those in power sit, the side that activists point their fingers to.

In the play, my character - Liveris, was confronted on stage by what I perceived to be a “misinformed” Sarah who couldn't understand that Dow was not involved with Union Carbide at the time of the crisis. Sometimes, people in power are just that: people in power. Their status does not make them guilty by default.

It got me thinking, would I buy something that was involved in the killing of thousands? The answer would probably depend on the circumstance. And if my answer was yes, that should not make me guilty too. I would expect to be judged on how the new acquisition works under my ownership. Hence, I can see why the CEO of Dow would see Sarah as a nuisance.

Having said that, I do still believe in taking responsibility even if not directly guilty. Maybe, activists should relent from pointing the finger and concentrate on convincing Dow to be their partners in delivering justice to those who were wronged.