Beloved, our people drink up the filthy water
Heroines and heroes take deep breaths of killing air
Our guts and lungs are filled with bitter chemistry,
Poison, pain and cancers we lock inside our bodies,
Accumulating toxic wealth, letting no one share it.
Law, progress, justice, these are the names of our diseases.
(Prem Nizar Hameed)
The legal proceedings that have followed the mass killings and environmental destruction, UCC (Union Carbide) and Warren Andersen’s status as absconders from justice, and the re-opening of the out-of-court settlement, are all clear indicators of illegality in the production and wake of the events of December 1984. In our earlier articles, we have demonstrated that, sociologically at least, we can re-cast these events as criminal. Moreover, the enduring harms to which Prem Nizar Hameed points, above, are indications that UCC, UCIL and Dow should all be objects of moral condemnation – while Dow’s efforts to ingratiate themselves with the international community as sponsors of the 2012 London Olympics must continue to be resisted.
When is a crime not a crime? This is a question that CrimeTalk will ask in 2012 as part of the current global interrogation of the ethics of capitalism, and whether the apparent absence of any ethics is inevitable or typical. As the global critique, and the legal problems raised by globalization continue, it raises issues about why politicians allow something to be done in their country that would be a crime in most other countries. One of the sadder answers is that a crime is not a crime in practice when the perpetrator commits the act abroad in a developing country with the collusion of local rulers in complete disrespect for the local population.
Christmas 2011 is almost upon us, with the ethos of capitalism under fire the world over. Let us remind ourselves why this is so, and why so many now want a much more socially responsible form of economy, by paying a visit to an iconic capitalist city... In Hong Kong today some people still live in cages. They are not prisoners. They are simply persons rendered invisible in a world city where belonging and citizenship are instilled through financial capital and personal connections. In this article I describe this social problem within the context of rising levels of inequality in Hong Kong. I also present the Hong Kong government’s response to the problem and underscore the inadequacy of this response.
Once I took two girls from the Square. When we came to a crossroad, a truck was changing directions. I slowed down (my motorcycle), but one of the girls said her feet got hurt and she called 7-8 hooligans to beat me up. It was close to Huafeng police station. When the police came out, all of them ran away. I was beaten heavily and could not even stand up. The police did not chase those hooligans. An ambulance also came as my fellow countrymen called 110 (China’s police hotline). Doctors asked me to get it checked at the hospital, but we are migrant workers, how can I do that? Taking an ambulance will cost us 200 yuan ($30 or £16) per ride. We have no money! Later on, one of my fellow countrymen took me to hospital with his motorcycle. When we arrived, I felt a little bit better. So, I decided not to get checked. We migrant workers suffer a lot! Late that night, I found those who beat me up in front of an internet café, so I went to the police station and asked the police to catch them. The police were unwilling to go. They asked me if I could recognize them. I said “yes, I could definitely recognize them.” Then, the police said if they denied (the offence), what should the police do? This is how the police replied! Police officers are local people, when local people beat us up, the police will definitely support them. Here we have no way out if we are beaten up. (A narrative of a 46-year old migrant motorcycle taxi driver Uncle Dong).
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