Bhopal gas disaster victims demand justice

Gas disaster survivors fight on
 
By Jyotsna Singh 
BBC correspondent in Bhopal  


Thousands of students and social activists across India and the world
are marching and holding midnight vigils on Tuesday, demanding justice
for the victims of a toxic gas leak nearly two decades ago.
 
There has been widespread anger at the treatment of the Bhopal victims

Almost 2,000 people died instantly when tonnes of the paralytic methyl
isocyanate gas leaked from a pesticide plant in Bhopal, central India,
in the early hours of the morning on 3 December, 1984.

The plant was owned at the time by the US company, Union Carbide. 

The story of the gas victims, say rights groups, has been one of
callous delays and wrangling between Indian and US courts over damages
and medical care.

Earlier this year, a US court rejected a compensation claim against
Union Carbide, saying the company had fulfilled its duty to clean up
the site.

Union Carbide has accepted moral responsibility for the disaster and
paid out $470m in compensation in an out-of-court settlement in 1989.

Promises not kept 


In the narrow alleyways of the shanty town near the plant, where
thousands of the gas victims still live, is the house of Raisa Bi.

 
Raisa Bi barely has enough money to cook for her ailing husband 

She has been struggling to provide medicines for her ailing husband,
who suffers from acute stomach pain and breathlessness.

Life has never been the same for Raisa and thousands of others in her
neighbourhood since the gas disaster struck.

The worries over proper medical care for her husband are compounded by
the dire financial state Raisa finds herself in.

She earns less than $2 a week from sewing work provided by a local
non-government organisation (NGO), Swabhiman (Self-pride).

It is barely enough to pay for food for both of them. 

"I don't have the documents to prove that I am poor, so I can't get
any benefits from the government. Nobody was given any jobs.

  The growing international voice may finally force the governments
and the company to act for the victims

Satinath Sarangi, NGO worker  

"It has been 20 years since the promises were made! I haven't had a
life. We have been left to God's mercy," Raisa told the BBC.

Nagma, aged 19, earns a living for her disabled parents and brother by
making paper bags.

She was one year old on that fateful morning in 1984. 

"We have little hope," she says. 

'Callous' approach 

Nearly 20,000 people have died of various diseases since the disaster,
which injured nearly 100,000 people.

Almost half of the survivors were left totally or partially disabled. 

It has been a tough battle getting help for the survivors of one of
the world's worst industrial disasters, as courts in the US and India
argue over damages, medical costs and compensation.

 
The shantytown near the chemical plant still bears the scars of 1984 

The Indian Supreme Court was asked to intervene after a dispute
between the state and national governments over the legal right to
disburse nearly 1.5 billion rupees (about $33m) in compensation, paid
by Union Carbide which was later taken over by another company, Dow
Chemicals.

The NGOs working in the area describe the attitude of the governments
as "simply callous".

They have appealed to the governments to act urgently on issues such
as providing free medical care, employment and most importantly, safe
drinking water.

"It has been scientifically proven that water from nearly 100
hand-pumps in the area is unsafe," says Abdul Jabbar, a gas victim
himself, whose Swabhiman organisation provides small, casual jobs for
gas survivors.

"But none of the governments are taking it seriously," he says. 

Mounting concern 

NGOs are also demanding medical research into the after-effects of the
gas leak.

"Women are suffering from early menopause at 30 to 35 years," says
Satinath Sarangi, who heads an NGO, Sambhavna (Brotherhood), involved
in providing medical help to the victims.

"Cancer and TB cases are four times higher among people living in the
gas-affected area," he said.

 
Activists in Bhopal protest against the lack of relief for victims 

"Many gas victims' babies have been born with deformities. Why is
there no research to help a more systemic approach in dealing with
these cases?" asks Mr Sarangi.

Between Tuesday and Wednesday student groups and activists all over
the world will hold midnight vigils and demonstrations demanding that
Indian and state governments, as well as Dow Chemicals, take full
responsibility for the rehabilitation of the Bhopal victims.

Human rights activists see hope in the mounting international concern
for the victims.

French writer Dominique Lapierre donates the proceeds of his book on
Bhopal to help gas victims.

Over the last two years, Greenpeace activists have also held several
protest demonstrations attacking government inaction.

"Thousands of students from the US, European Union, Britain, Japan and
many other countries have sent us letters of solidarity and support,"
says Mr Sarangi.

"The growing international voice may finally force the governments and
the company to act for the victims."