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BANANA WORKERS
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Nemagon sufferers.
Photo: Jennifer F. Marshall
Former banana workers in Nicaragua and
other parts of the world have suffered severe health problems including
sterility as a result of a highly toxic chemical called DBCP. This was used
in the banana plantations by the company Dole Food, long after it was banned
in the US.
On International Women's Day, 2004, an urgent action was put out by Banana Link,
Central American Women's Network, Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign
and the Scottish Trades Union Congress.
You can read this below, together with background information.
For up-to-date details and developments contact:
Banana Link on 01603 765670 or
www.bananalink.org.uk
Central American Women's Network (CAWN) on 020 7833 4075
www.cawn.org
BANANA WORKERS URGENT ACTION. International
Women's Day, March 8th 2004
URGENT ACTION: WOMEN CHEMICAL SURVIVORS CALL ON
WORLD’S BIGGEST FRUIT COMPANY TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
March 8th 2004
From Banana Link, Central American Women's Network, Nicaragua Solidarity
Campaign, War on Want and Scottish Trades' Union Congress
Nearly 1,000 Nicaraguan women - all former banana plantation workers -
have called today on transnational company Dole Food to take full
responsibility for permitting the use of a highly toxic pesticide which
has ruined their lives.
Tens of thousands of former banana plantation workers across the world
have suffered severe health problems including sterility as a result of
applying a highly toxic chemical – called DBCP - long after it was
banned in the US. Women in banana communities continue to give birth to
deformed babies because they came into contact with DBCP and other toxic
chemicals in the course of their work.
To add insult to injury, Dole is now alleging that some of the banana
workers and their legitimate trade union organisations in Nicaragua are
lying about their health problems and the link with the chemical.
Together with male colleagues women banana workers are calling on Dole
to drop this legal case as well as to accept responsibility for the high
price workers have paid for the use of DBCP. Women who believe that they
have been affected by the pesticide have had particular problems proving
the link between their handling of the product and their subsequent
health problems
Over the last three weeks, thousands of affected women and men have
walked over 100 miles from the north western province of Chinandega to
the capital, Managua, to highlight their plight.
Several groups of survivors are still camped outside the Nicaraguan
Parliament in their efforts to get their government to force the
companies responsible to finally pay up compensation ordered by
Nicaraguan courts.
Nicaraguan trade unions have launched an appeal this International
Women’s Day for banana consumers and all concerned people around the
world to write to Dole Food demanding that they comply with the
judgement of the Nicaraguan court and drop their counterclaim.
Background
In 1979 Di-Bromochloropropane (DBCP)was banned in the US. However,
companies like Standard Fruit (now part of Dole Food Company) continued
selling stocks of DBCP in countries such as Nicaragua, Costa Rica and
Honduras. Despite a Nicaraguan court ruling women and men whose health
and reproductive rights have been violated have still not been justly
compensated.
Nicaraguan Law 364 facilitates the recourse to justice for people who
have been affected. In late 2002 a group of several hundred former
plantation workers were finally vindicated when the Nicaraguan courts
awarded them the right to compensation totalling US$490 million from
three fruit and chemical companies – Dole Food, Dow and Shell.
A year ago, ten thousand victims walked the same 100-mile route to try
and stop the Parliament from repealing a law which made it easier for
affected people to seek redress from the companies involved through the
courts. On that occasion they gained enough political support to stop
the law being repealed, but only after they had exposed the role of the
US embassy in trying to overturn Nicaraguan national law. |
