From Union Carbide to Unilever: Fighting corporate crime in India
Channel: Channel AID
Date: 2016-03-12

The Unilever mercury plant in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, India poisoned the land and its workers (http://kodaimercury.org/). The community that faced this inhuman tragedy is yet to realize justice and environmental activist Nityanand Jayaraman has been fighting for victims' justice for years. 

Six months ago, a campaign launched in India saw rapper Sofia Ashraf sing "Kodaikanal Won't - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSal-ms0vcI ", in a rap video that went viral and exposed Unilever's toxic legacy of mercury pollution in Kodaikanal. The consumer goods giant with an annual image management budget of $8 billion was broadsided by a clever social media campaign pegged on a copycat music video shot in one day with a shoestring budget of $250. Unilever was forced to respond that they were "determined to solve" the issue. Assurances aside, the fight for compensation for mercury affected workers and remediation of the polluted environment is still on.

Given the abject lack of political will to enforce environmental laws, community struggles are all we have to protect our environment. But such struggles have no chance of success without local, national and international solidarity. 

Come join us to hear powerful narratives of the affected people and donate towards this good cause. Funds will be used to assist communities fighting against environmental degradation and corporate crime with legal, scientific, strategic and media advocacy.