The Yes Men Fix the World Page #4

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that they have got

a payout from Dow,

then an hour or two later

they find it's untrue.

Let's put this

in contrast:

We may have given people

two hours of false hope,

Dow has given them

20 years of suffering.

I mean this is

what we're faced with.

Are you expecting

the next knock at the door

to be Dow's lawyer?

No idea

what Dow will do.

DOW'S LAWYERS DIDN'T CALL.

AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE

LEARNED FOR THE FIRST TIME

THAT 20 YEARS ON,

BHOPAL WAS NEVER CLEED UP.

BUT THE MEDIA ALSO REPORTED

THAT MANY:

OF THE VICTIMS IN BHOPAL

CRIED TEARS OF JOY

UPON HEARING THE NEWS.

AND WERE THEN:

BITTERLY DISAPPOINTED.

HAD WE ACTUALLY UPSE THE PEOPLE WE'D MEANT TO HELP?

THERE WAS ONLY:

ONE WAY TO FIND OUT.

HERE WE ARE.

WE'RE IN INDIA.

- HEY.

AND THIS IS BHOPAL.

BHOPAL IS A BIG CITY.

THERE'S OVER

A MILLION PEOPLE HERE.

UNFORTUNATELY WE HEARD

FROM A LOT OF NEWS REPORTS

THAT THE VICTIMS

HERE IN BHOPAL:

WERE EXTREMELY UPSE BECAUSE WE HAD

RAISED FALSE HOPES

ABOUT THEM ACTUALLY

GETTING SOME COMPENSATION

AFTER 21 YEARS.

WHAT DO YOU THINK

THEY'LL DO?

WELL, I DON'T KNOW.

WHAT'S THE LOCAL CUSTOM HERE?

WE'RE HERE

AT THE SAMBHAVNA CLINIC

AND THIS PLACE WAS SET UP

BY A BUNCH OF PEOPLE

TO HELP TREA THE GAS VICTIMS

OF THE WORST INDUSTRIAL

ACCIDENT IN HISTORY.

Rachna Dhingra:

SO PATIENTS COME IN

FROM HERE.

THIS IS A FORM, BASICALLY,

WHERE WE DETERMINE THEIR

HISTORY OF GAS EXPOSURE--

HOW FAR:

THEY WERE LIVING

OR WERE THEY SLEEPING

IN A TENT THAT NIGHT?

AND THEN THEIR:

SEVERITY GRADE IS DETERMINED.

THESE ARE SOME:

OF THE DISABLED CHILDREN.

EVERY SYSTEM OF THE BODY

HAS BEEN AFFECTED--

THE MUSCULOSKELETAL,

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM.

40% OF THE WOMEN COMING HERE

UNDER 40 HAVE MENOPAUSE.

YEAH.

- THIS IS SATHYU.

- HEY.

HEY. OH MY GOD.

- I AM GLAD

TO SEE YOU.

- HEY.

HEY.

WE GOT THE NEWS:

THAT DOW WAS WILLING

TO PAY $12 BILLION.

AT FIRST WE JUST--

WE FELT THE NEWS WAS

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE...

- UH-HUH.

- ...AND DOW WAS TOO BAD

FOR THE NEWS TO BE TRUE.

- YEAH.

- STILL, WE THOUGH MAYBE IT IS TRUE,

MAYBE THEY'RE JUS SEEING SENSE IN THIS.

FOR ABOUT AN HOUR WE WERE

UNDER THAT IMPRESSION.

YEAH.

DID PEOPLE CRY...

- WITH JOY?

- I CRIED.

- OH NO.

- LOTS OF PEOPLE CRIED.

WERE YOU KIND OF ANGRY

AT FIRST, THOUGH,

- WHEN YOU HEARD

IT WAS A HOAX?

- NO, I WASN'T ANGRY. NO.

WOW.

- DO YOU THINK

IT WAS WORTH IT?

- TOTALLY WORTH IT.

WE ARE SAYING:

NO MORE BHOPAL.

WHAT PEOPLE HAVE

GONE THROUGH HERE,

NO ONE ELSE IN THE WORLD

SHOULD GO THROUGH THIS.

I THINK WE'RE

IN SHIVAJI NAGAR

AND IT'S BEEN

A LITTLE BIT OF A--

A BIT OF A--

WELL, A BIT OF A--

A MAZE GETTING HERE.

A LITTLE--

WHAT DO YOU CALL THAT?

WE GOT LOST.

THAT'S WHAT IT'S CALLED.

WE'RE TRYING TO MEET UP

WITH A JOURNALIS TO INTERVIEW

AND WE GOT LOST.

HERE HE IS.

HERE HE IS.

OH MY GOD.

RAJKUMAR KESWANI BROKE

THE DISASTER STORY.

IN FACT,

HE BROKE IT YEARS BEFORE

IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

SO YOU HAD ALREADY

PREDICTED HOW MANY TIMES

THAT THE DISASTER WOULD

HAPPEN BEFORE IT HAPPENED?

WHEN YOU HEARD:

IT WAS A HOAX,

THE THING THAT WE DID,

WERE YOU, LIKE--

WHAT DID YOU THINK

OF IT... AT FIRST?

I THOUGHT THAT WAS

A WONDERFUL THING TO DO.

WE WERE PU INTO A SITUATION

WHICH WE NEVER:

THOUGHT OF,

THAT WOULD:

ACTUALLY HAPPEN.

SO IT IS JUST LIKE

BEING IN THE HEAVEN.

BECAUSE I'M SURE I'M NO GOING TO BE IN THE HEAVEN,

SO IF ONE--

IF I'M EXPECTING HELL

AND SOMEONE PUTS ME,

FOR A WHILE, IN THE HEAVEN--

SO I SAID,

"OKAY, THANKS."

- HI.

- HI.

20 YEARS SINCE

THE DISASTER,

THE POISONS LEFT BEHIND

AT THE PLAN WERE STILL LEACHING

INTO THE GROUNDWATER.

COMMUNITIES THAT YOU SEE

IN RED HAVE NOT GOTTEN

A SINGLE DROP:

OF CLEAN WATER.

- Sathyu:
OH, REALLY?

- YEAH.

- Sathyu:
UNTIL NOW?

- UNTIL NOW.

EIGHT COMMUNITIES, REALLY?

ARE GETTING.

ABOUT 12%

OF THE REQUIREMENT.

BUT THIS IS:

CONTAMINATED WATER.

SOME OF THEM:

USE IT TO DRINK,

COOK, WASH CLOTHES.

DOW COULD CLEAN UP THEIR MESS,

BUT THEY DIDN'T.

INSTEAD THEY SPEN TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

ON AN AD CAMPAIGN

TO CLEAN UP THEIR IMAGE.

FOR EACH OF US,

THERE'S A MOMENT OF DISCOVERY.

AND JUST THEN,

IN THE FLASH OF A SYNAPSE,

WE LEARN THAT LIFE

IS ELEMENTAL.

AND IN THE DAZZLING BRILLIANCE

OF THIS KNOWLEDGE

WE MAY OVERLOOK THE ELEMEN NOT LISTED ON THE CHART.

ITS IMPORTANCE:

SO OBVIOUS,

ITS PRESENCE IS:

SIMPLY UNDERSTOOD.

THE MISSING ELEMENT IS

THE HUMAN ELEMENT.

AND WHEN WE ADD I TO THE EQUATION,

THE CHEMISTRY CHANGES.

THE HUMAN ELEMENT IS

THE ELEMENT OF CHANGE.

THE HUMAN ELEMENT:

NOTHING IS MORE FUNDAMENTAL;

NOTHING MORE ELEMENTAL.

THIS IS KEVIN FINN.

HE TRADES BONDS.

THIS IS WHAT I DO:

SIT HERE:

AND JUST LOOK:

AT THIS SCREEN:

FOR 12, 14 HOURS A DAY.

IT'S VERY ROMANTIC,

ACTUALLY.

MORE THAN:

ANYONE ELSE WE KNEW,

WE THOUGH KEVIN COULD EXPLAIN

WHY DOW WOULDN'T DO

ANYTHING TO FIX BHOPAL.

HE TOLD US WHAT HAPPENED

WHEN ANDY WENT ON THE BBC.

Kevin:

I GOT A CALL FROM MY CLERK

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT--

DOW CHEMICAL MADE

SOME ANNOUNCEMEN THAT THE STOCKHOLDERS

OF DOW CHEMICAL DIDN'T LIKE,

BECAUSE DOW STOCK

WENT DOWN,

THE S&P 500 FUTURES

WENT DOWN.

I HAD TO GO ROLL OUT OF BED.

MY CLERK'S FREAKING OU BECAUSE MY POSITION'S

GOING AGAINST ME.

MY FRIEND TELLS ME

HE THINKS IT'S SOME

GLOBAL CONSPIRACY

OF TRADERS:

TO TRY TO SCREW US,

AND HE FINDS OU IT'S TWO JOKERS.

THE EFFECT OF OUR

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE B.B.C.

WAS THAT DOW STOCK

LOST OVER $2 BILLION

IN 23 MINUTES.

THIS TELLS ME:

ALL THE NEWS THAT'S

HAPPENING IN THE WORLD.

SO ON DECEMBER 3rd

IF I WAS SITTING HERE

WATCHING THIS,

IT WOULD SAY,

"DOW CHEMICAL

DECIDES TO SETTLE

WITH THE BHOPAL PEOPLE."

AND PEOPLE THA OWNED DOW CHEMICAL

WOULD BE LIKE...

"SOLD!"

EVERYBODY WE TALKED TO

ABOUT THAT WAS REALLY HAPPY

THAT DOW WAS DOING

THE RIGHT THING.

SURE. SURE, OKAY.

I'M NOT SAYING

THAT THEY SHOULDN'T BE.

I'M JUST SAYING THAT,

SURE, IT SEEMS LIKE

A GOOD THING:

UNLESS YOU'RE

A DOW CHEMICAL STOCKHOLDER

AND YOU'RE EXPECTING

THE $20 BILLION

TO GO TOWARDS A DIVIDEND

TO COME BACK TO YOU

OR TO COME BUY:

SOME NEW CHEMICAL PLANT.

AND IT'S GOING

TO THESE PEOPLE THAT,

AT LEAST AT THIS POINT,

AREN'T ABLE TO GET ANY MONEY.

YOU COULD SEE:

HOW THEY WOULD BE UPSE ABOUT THAT, RIGHT?

WE WERE CONFUSED.

AS KIDS, WE LEARNED THA IT WAS BAD

TO DO SOMETHING BAD,

AND IF YOU DID:

SOMETHING GOOD:

YOU GOT A REWARD.

YET WHEN WE ANNOUNCED

DOW WOULD DO SOMETHING GREAT,

THE MARKET GAVE:

DOW A SPANKING.

SO HOW COULD:

WE GET COMPANIES

TO DO THE RIGHT THING?

- WE NEEDED TO CHANGE

THE RULES OF THE MARKET,

BUT THAT MEANT REGULATION,

AND REGULATION:

MEANT GOVERNMENT.

THE ONLY PROBLEM WAS

GOVERNMENT WAS:

DRINKING FRIEDMAN'S

FREE-MARKET KOOL-AID.

Reagan:

FREE MARKETS ARE WORKING

MIRACLE AFTER MIRACLE

OF ECONOMIC GROWTH.

Clinton:

OPEN MARKETS:

AND RULE-BASED TRADE

ARE THE BEST ENGINES

WE KNOW OF.

THEN THE GOVERNMEN STEPPED BACK

AND LET THE FREE ENTERPRISE

SYSTEM DO ITS WORK.

THEN THE BETTER WE DID,

THE MORE ROBUS OUR ECONOMY GREW,

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