Ward Morehouse, a committed Bhopal and anti-corporate activist, died on Saturday 30th June 2012. He was 83 years old.
Morehouse died while swimming laps in his local pond- one of his favorite things to do. Morehouse had dedicated over five decades of his life to activism, starting off as the founder of the Center for International and Comparative Studies, and then publishing textbooks for the New York State Education Department which aimed at helping students better understand foreigners. Next Morehouse founded the Council on International and Public Affairs (CIPA) a not-for-profit human rights organization where he first heard about the tragedy in Bhopal.
Morehouse contributed significantly to the struggle for justice in Bhopal, founding the International Campaign for Justice (ICJB) as well as authoring several key books about the gas disaster. Morehouse relentlessly hounded Union Carbide to take responsibility for the disaster- in shareholder meetings, in the courts, in international human-rights tribunals, in the newspapers, and in the streets. He has kept close contact with victims’ advocates in Bhopal and organized coalitions of U.S. medical, scientific, environmental, church, and labor groups to keep the pressure on Union Carbide.
Morehouse was compassionate and extraordinarily humble- the first to praise his colleagues and the organizations with whom he worked.
Morehouse was also co-founder of Programs on Corporations, Law and Democracy (POCLAD) an American anti-corporate research collective.
Ward Morehouse will be remembered very fondly by all of those involved in the struggle for justice in Bhopal.
