Damn! This has been a long blog hiatus and so much has happened but the only way to take on the daunting task of our much postponed catch-up blog is to dive right in with a timeline of anecdotes. our trip to the south deserves its own blog for sure but here’s some more detail on the anniversary and our current situation…
-Dec. 2 and 3rd was the anniversary of the Bhopal gas disaster (in which roughly 20,000 Bhopalis were gassed to death and hundred of thousands made ill by highly toxic MIC gas escaping the nearby Union Carbide pesticide factory). It was the climax of weeks of preparation by everyone at Sambhavna clinic and various survivors’ organizations, who held numerous press conferences drawing attention to the continued plight of not only the gas disaster victims (and their kin) but those who are victims of the second disaster, soil and water contamination caused by UC’s irresponsible disposal of industrial waste.
On the night of the 2nd we held torched along with hundreds of Bhopalis (primarily women) and echoed the protest leaders in their calls like ‘Insaaf karo!’ (bring justice) and ‘Ham Bhopal ki nari hey! Phul nahi Chingari hey!’ (we are the women of Bhopal we are not flowers, we are flames). The protest culminated in front of the gates of the rotting, rusty old UC factory and the torch flames formed one light speckled organism illuminating the iconic statue of a woman fleeing the gas with her children clinging to her. people shouted ‘ham ek hey!’ (we are one).
On the 3rd the march was longer in distance, more populous and out in the glaring light of day. we passed out neon yellow headbands with ‘justice for bhopal’-themed prints on them to everyone who showed up at the starting point (a busy road shaded by an overpass near the Bharat cinema, called Bharat talkies) and marveled at the effigy (a devilish DOW exec bending backward Matrix-style with 6 Bhopalis- some muslim and some hindu- attacking him with all of the agility and gravity-defying power of extras in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). At 25 feet, the effigy doubled as a photo op and a bright, rally caboose. we marched again to the UC factory. this time taking a long winding route around Old Bhopal, and shouting with vigor ( Alizarin and I through the hijabs- head scarves- we had a lady tie in that bandit style that leaves only your eyes exposed. ahhh the things that gori goris must do to avoid the scandalizing snaps of press cameras) and chugging water when we got a chance. The rally ended with the ceremonial burning of the Dow man, a series of awards given out by ICJB and a lot of snack eating. there was unprecedented media attention and the atmosphere hosted palpable feelings of both accomplishment (after 25 years of sustained struggle for justice and prevention of similar tragedies) and urgency (in the face of a continuing and ever-worsening environmental, medical and social crisis). There was also a sense of relief after weeks of planning, working and worrying. we all took deep breaths and sat on the rock piles a few meters from the wall bearing skulls, crossbones and messages of infuriation at UCC/Dow. We shared samosa and popsicles and headed back to the clinic where long time Bhopal supporters were gathered around conversing furiously and eating with their fingers and the buzz of another anniversary HOGEA was all about. at night we went out to dinner at a nice veg place in MP Nagar with bright red special gobi (cauliflower) and sitaphal kulfi (custard apple block ice cream) and then I talked late into the night with Nava (from Canada) and Rupesh (from Chennai) about environmentalist movements and bollywood and Bhopal gossip. We went to sleep dog tired and still in shock from the craziness of the day.
After the Anniversary but before the South…
Mostly, we chilled out and hung out a lot with Dina, Rachna and Sathyu. We played a crazy and heated game of pictionary for our last night with Dina which involved Sathyu and Rachna constantly accusing eachother of cheating, Sathyu drawing a sheep that looked like a fish and Dina dawning her ostensibly homosexuality-inducing nighty to everyone’s delight. the next morning, we dragged our baggy-eyed asses to the charming Bhopal domestic airport to pick up Joey, who was fatigued but full of stories of the Gujarati family that he was practically adopted by on the plane. For the next few days we finished some writing we had to do for Rachna, showed Joey some crucial parts of Bhopal (Chowk market, the dhabas on Berasia, the mural at UC’s gates and Sambhavna’s garden) and packed up for our big adventure to Kerala….
… Since returning from Kerala, Nina, my achee achee dost from camp Kinderland (our secular jewish, socialism-influenced hippie haven of a summer camp) has come and Alizarin and I have been showing her around, getting all suited up with shalvar cameez and eating kilos of dahi (fresh buffalo curd) with her. we have also planned and started working on several short and long term projects for Sambhavna. We organized and created a clearly-labeled, numbered system for Sambhavna’s 108 photo albums that is chronological from 1984 to the present. We worked on clipping articles from dozens of Indian newspapers concerning Bhopal, medicin and the environment for Sambhanva’s extensive archives. We helped rake and remove leaves from the garden and tied all of the hibiscus plants lining its edges to sticks so they will grow straight after pruning them with thick clippers. Now we are making 20 illustrated signs for the doors of various rooms in the clinic for illiterate people. We are also making a map of the ayurvedic herb gardens so that people can find the herbs they need for teas and decoctions more easily. In the long term, we have two extensive reports to write on various environmental and health related issues and are working on a graphic novel about Bhopal for kids (in Hindi and English). In short, we have tons to do and shockingly little time to do it. it seems like the end of march and our departure from the new home that Bhopal has become to us is approaching so rapidly now. The only way to console ourselves is to look forward to our trip to Nepaul with Ruth, Sam Hines, Nick Stracco and now Vilte (one of my best friends and most hardcore fellow lithuanian beer fanatics) and to try to take advantage of each day here- soak up the brigh colors on berasia, smile at the hordes of kids bombarding us with ‘HI!’s and learn as much as we can…Bhopal mahesha!
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