Archive for the 'Social issues' Category

A unique buffet

Twenty-five years down the line, the scars of the Bhopal gas leak tragedy continue to haunt the lives of the natives. As the ongoing campaign to bring justice to the survivors continues unabated, the following is a first-hand account of a unique protest:

A quarter century later Bhopal’s survivors are still fighting for justice. Ahead of 3rd December, the survivors of the tragedy and their supporters have launched a week-long protest to condemn the inaction of the state government to remove the toxic waste from the vicinity of the factory. In response to the preposterous claim made by the Joint Secretary of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department that the level of toxicity in the soil inside and around the factory compound is way below danger level and if 200 gm of it is consumed orally by a person weighing 70 kg, it will not have any effect, implying that any food or plant grown in that soil is “safe” for consumption, a Vish Mukti Bhoj was organized on 28th November in front of the factory by the survivors of the tragedy.

Around 30–40 women from Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karamchari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha and Bhopal Group for Information and Action launched a unique and tongue-in-cheek protest to bring out the ridiculousness of the joint secretary’s claim. The protesters sat in a line with paper plates and bowls in front of them that contained the contaminated soil and water from the factory and surrounding areas. The plates came with name tags for Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan, Minister for Gas Relief and Civic Administration Babulal Gaur, Chief Secretary Rakesh Sahni and other bureaucrats to invite them to eat the soil and drink the water that their government claims to be safe and free from contamination. Huge black banners were put up that said: “Jhoot bolna bandh karo” (Stop lying) along with a dummy crow depicting the theme of “jhoot bole kauwa kaate” (A crow will bite you if you lie).

A report released today by the Centre for Science and Environment confirms what the survivors of the tragedy already know — the groundwater has been contaminated as far as 3 km from the factory site and contains almost forty times more pesticides than Indian standards. (For more details on the Bhopal gas tragedy visit ICJB and Students for Bhopal.)

Shweta Vachani, 28 November 2009

Chilling reminders

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department’s flippant, insensitive claim needs no refutal, for the evidence is apparent. CNN IBN’s Nilanjana Bose finds how the tragedy “has left a permanent imprint on the city of Bhopal”. In her half-hour piece “Scars from the Bhopal Gas Tragedy”, she documents how the next generation is paying dearly for it: Watch it here (viewer discretion advised).

~PD

Darkest before dawn

While the city of Bhopal slept on the night of 3–4 December 1984, they were unaware of the 27 tonnes of toxic gases that leaked from the Union Carbide Plant, exposing half a million people to a poisonous gas cloud containing methyl isocyanate, and possibly carbon monoxide, hydrogen chloride, nitrogen oxides, phosgene, hydrogen cyanide and momomethyl amine.

Ten thousand people were dead within 72 hours, and twenty-five years later the death toll lies at 25,000 and still rising, with over 100,000 people affected. Toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCC plant when the powers-that-be decamped to evade responsibility continue to pollute the ground water, leaving hapless residents still at risk.

Today, the picture remains as bleak as ever, a humanitarian disaster on a massive scale. Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), now owned by Dow Chemical Company, in refusing to admit liability, have left thousands of lives and livelihoods on the brink. Survivors grapple with a multitude of long-term health effects, including respiratory, neurological and immune disorders, reproductive health issues, eye problems and more. Birth defects among children due to their mothers being exposed to the poisonous gas remain common.

Burdened by the effects on their bodies, livelihoods have been compromised, pushing those already on the margins into destitution. With key stakeholders such as the government and Dow/Carbide crying off from taking responsibility, the survivors of Bhopal are fighting an uphill battle.

Escape, the best form of defence

As 4 December 1984 dawned, Bhopal woke to its streets covered with dead bodies. Today one person per day still dies because of what happened that night. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary Dow and UCC claim not to be culpable, continuing to pass off the leakage as sabotage. However, investigations have revealed substandard safety standards in the Indian plant, as well as the fact that the MIC tank alarms had not been working for four years. In addition, none of the leak prevention mechanisms were working on the fateful night:

1. Flare Tower: Disconnected
2. Vent Gas Scrubber: Out of caustic soda and inadequate for unsafe volume of gas
3. Water Curtain: Not functional; designed with inadequate height
4. Pressure Valve: Leaking
5. Run Off Tank: Already contained MIC
6. Mandatory Refrigeration for MIC Unit: Shut down for 3 months to save money

( StudentsforBhopal.org)

Testimonies from workers and independent studies paint a pretty bleak picture:

According to former workers of the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, while the factory was in operation, massive amounts of chemicals – including pesticides, solvents, catalysts and wastes – were routinely dumped in and around the factory grounds. These include deadly substances such as aldicarb, carbaryl, mercury, and several chlorinated chemicals and organic poisons. In 1977, Carbide constructed Solar Evaporation Ponds (SEPs) over 14 hectares 400 meters north of its factory. Toxic effluents and toxic wastes were routinely dumped there. Two tube wells dug in the vicinity of the SEPs were abandoned because of the noxious smell and taste of the water.

A 1990 study by the Bhopal Group for Information and Action found di- and trichlorobenzenes in water samples taken from wells being used by communities living near the factory fence lines, and phthalates, chlorinated benzenes and aromatic hydrocarbons in the soil samples taken from the SEPs. In 1996, the State Research Laboratory conducted its own tests on water and concluded that the chemical contamination found is “due to chemicals used in the Union Carbide factory that have proven to be extremely harmful for health. Therefore the use of this water for drinking must be stopped immediately.”

In 1999, Greenpeace and Bhopal community groups documented the presence of stockpiles of toxic pesticides… as well as hazardous wastes and contaminated material scattered throughout the factory site. The survey found substantial and, in some locations, severe contamination of land and water supplies with heavy metals and chlorinated chemicals. Samples of groundwater from wells around the site showed high levels of chlorinated chemicals including chloroform and carbon tetrachloride, indicative of long-term contamination.

( StudentsforBhopal.org)

Facing criminal charges of culpable homicide (manslaughter), the UCC has effectively fled the country. In addition, Dow/Carbide has consistently refused take responsibility to clean up the site and compensate the victims justly.

Some four years after the disaster the Government of India reached a settlement with Union Carbide that was a betrayal to the survivors. Without consulting the people directly affected by the disaster, they settled for a figure that was equivalent to a just 15 per cent of what was originally filed for, and also absolving UCC of other liabilities. Needless to say, the survivors filed a complaint, leading to a part reversal of the settlement, and as of now two cases remain pending. A civil case in the Southern District Federal Court, New York, and a criminal one in Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court, Bhopal. The extradition of Warren Anderson, then CEO of UCC, is also sought, to have him stand trial in India.

Justice blinded

Today, a quarter of a century on lives and livelihoods continue to be affected. The 390 tonnes of toxic chemicals from the factory that lie exposed, with burst and corroded tanks that seep their poisonous matter into the earth inexorably with each passing year of heavy monsoon rain, leaves thousands of residents still at risk.

The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, a coalition of survivors and environmental, social justice, progressive Indian, and human rights groups, has relentlessly been campaigning for Dow/Carbide to own up to its responsibilities, and clean up the site; provide necessary health care to survivors; provide economic and social support to those who have lost their livelihoods due to the exposure; and not to mention stand trial for what the world unequivocally believes to be a horrific “crime against humanity”.

They also campaign with the Governments of India and of Madhya Pradesh to — among other things — ensure Dow’s liability; set up a national commission on Bhopal to clearly articulate a policy for long-term monitoring, care and rehabilitation of survivors; ensure treatment for survivors as well as those exposed to toxic water; clean up drinking water supply; dispose of chemical wastes from the UCC plant; seek the extradition of Warren Anderson; and blacklist Dow and Union Carbide.

Help Bhopal

For more information, including how you can help the ICJB, visit Students for Bhopal and The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal.

~PD

Let’s talk about India’s “worst kept secret”

There is a conspiracy afoot. A conspiracy of silence. Of turning away from a heinous crime happening under our noses. As close as our own homes, neighbourhoods, schools, parks and places of worship. Perpetrated by family members, family friends, neighbours, teachers and instructors, and domestic help.

The silence surrounding the issue of child sexual abuse (CSA) gives it tacit support to continue unabated. Despite evidence to the contrary, people are curiously reticent to talk about it and acknowledge its existence. A 2007 study by the Ministry of Women and Child Development pegged down 53 per cent of Indian children as having been sexually abused. But having exchanged notes with others brings one to the distressing conclusion that the numbers are in fact far, far higher. Here it is in black and white: A vast majority of women and quite a few men have been forced into non-consensual sexual acts during childhood and adolescence. Someone recently pointed out that you would have to have been extremely lucky to have grown up as a girl in India without being subjected to some form of sexual abuse. This is not to sideline male survivors, but just to point out the position of women in a deeply patriarchal structure.

It could be speculated that an overarching reason for the low rate of reporting and documentation of CSA — and thus a minuscule amount of redressal and counselling for survivors — is that the perpetrator is often someone the child knows well or is closely associated with. It could be a neighbour, a family friend “uncle”, or even a family member. The position of the perpetrator in the family or social circle and the power exercised by them over the child results in a majority suffering in silence. Or worse, being made to suffer in silence because the immediate family would rather not risk rocking the boat by making such “shameful incidents” public. Yes, incidents, because statistics also show that CSA survivors are usually abused repeatedly.

In a culture that glorifies the sanctity of the patriarchal family, the dos and don’ts are very clear-cut, especially with respect to the position of women vis-à-vis men. A testimony of a CSA survivor I read recently recounts how the perpetrator, an uncle, continues to hold his exalted position in the family despite the truth being known to all. This is an all too common story, and perpetrators are often secure in the influence they have over the child or in their standing in the immediate community. All this, of course, is reinforced by the aforementioned conspiracy of silence, of sweeping uncomfortable issues under the carpet of respectability.

But what’s a dark tunnel without a light at the end of it? There are number of groups and individuals coming to the aid of CSA survivors through support and counselling. Equally important is raising awareness for prevention and intervention. RAHI (Recovering and Healing from Incest) is one such organization, working with adult women survivors of incest and sexual abuse.

On 1 November 2009 I will be running the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon on behalf of RAHI. Please consider supporting my run with your contribution. Your money will help RAHI provide individual and group services to survivors of CSA, and also in their work of education, training and research into incest and sexual abuse of children. In addition, it will be used for office equipment, space to conduct workshops and programmes, print literature and so on.

Your donation can be as small or big as you like, but rest assured it will make a big difference; it will be your contribution towards breaking the silence on our society’s worst kept secret.

To support my run:

Run donations closed; please visit RahiFoundation.org to support RAHI in their work

There is no good reason to stay silent about children being abused.

~PD