The fifth annual Bhopal Conference, which was held at UIC this year, was our first real contact with the international Students for Bhopal group. We spent Friday night getting to know a lot of the members at a dinner graciously hosted by the Millards, Saturday learning about everything from the legal complications of the Union Carbide disaster to the underground workings of the Yes Men and getting a phone-update from an activist in Bhopal, and Sunday concentrating on efforts for the upcoming 25th anniversary of the disaster.
We were impressed by the many people who traveled so far to be at the conference, from the Georgians who drove for eleven hours to the intrepid girl from England, but most of all we were affected by the immense amount of inspiration that everyone provided. Six of the twenty-eight attendees of the conference had spent an extended amount of time at Sambhavna Clinic and all claimed that the experience had heavily shaped their lives, and that the incessent amount of hope that the people of Bhopal exude alone is reason enough to set foot in the clinic.
We came away from this conference with renewed excitement, (somewhat) more realistic expectations, and a long list of goals to bring to the clinic with us.
The only thing left for us to do was finish packing...
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