Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a screening of Bhopali, a documentary based on the Union Carbide gas leak of 1984 and the ways in which it still affects residents of Bhopal, India today. Before attending this showing, I knew nothing of what happened in Bhopal, in fact, I did not know it had happened at all. On the night of December 2, 1984, the Union Carbide plant leaked 27 tons of a lethal gas called metho isocyantate (MIC). None of the six security measures were in operation because Union Carbide had ceased them in order to save money and maximize profit. They knowingly put people’s lives in danger, and because of this, thousands of people died.

It is estimated that seven to ten thousand people died immediately on the 2nd or 3rd of December, but the gas has continued to affect the region. Now, over 25,000 people have died because of the gas leak. Over 120,000 people, especially children, are affected with diseases such as cerebral palsy or mental and physical disorders. In addition, the factory was abandoned by Union Carbide when the company was bought by Dow Chemicals, and although Dow acquired UC’s assets and liabilities (one of which being the factory) they have not cleaned it up. There are still hundreds of metric tons of chemicals inside and around the factory, which contaminate the soil and the water of the region. This means that the people living in Bhopal are drinking contaminated water. They do not have access to clean water. All of this information is available in the documentary and also on the Bhopal website.

For 29 years since the gas leak happened, the people of Bhopal have been fighting for clean water, money to pay for their medical treatments, and simply for justice. Union Carbide and Dow have never paid for the damage they caused. Sanjay Verma, one of the victims of the disaster and a lead in the documentary, hosted a question and answer session last night after the film. He told us of the time in 2006 people from Bhopal walked to Delhi, a trek of over 500 miles, to speak with the Prime Minister of India and ask for clean water. He promised them he would, yet two years later nothing had happened. They trekked back to Delhi in 2008, and this time the PM began installing pipelines in Bhopal. Since 2010, a small section of Bhopal has been able to have clean water for one hour a day. This is not enough.

Humanitarian organizations such as Amnesty International have been working with the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB), “a coalition of people’s organizations, non-profit groups, and individuals,” to pressure Dow Chemicals and the US and Indian governments to give the people of Bhopal healthcare, clean water, and proper rehabilitation for the survivors and their children. However, as Sanjay Verma told us, it is important that Dow Chemicals be the one who pays for all of this. If the Indian government pays, it will come out of taxpayer dollars. In essence, the people of Bhopal will be paying for their own health care. The question is under which country’s laws is Dow responsible. Must they follow Indian laws because the factory is in India, or American ones because they are an American corporation? Verma also stated that a few years ago when Barack Obama visited India, one of his advisors had a conversation with an Bhopali activist (which was released on Wikileaks) in which the Obama advisor said in not-so-nice words that Bhopal was not a topic to talk about. This could be because Dow Chemicals is a huge corporation, and as world-renowned environmentalist David Suzuki stated in his introduction of Sanjay Verma last night, corporations are treated as people in the United States and are allowed to contribute huge amounts of money to political campaigns. Dow was a corporate contributor in the Obama campaign. In 2008, Obama praised banks for giving “critical” loans to Dow. Giving money to politicians is a way that huge corporations protect themselves from backlash for wrongful actions. Aquene Freechild, a volunteer and former staff member at the ICJB stated, ““The only reason Dow hasn’t had to show up in court is because of collusion with elites in India and even more, because of the protection of the U.S. government.” This is a national political problem that is unfortunately affecting thousands of people in Bhopal.

Bhopali has brought more attention to the problems facing Bhopali citizens, as it has closely shown the lives and struggles that are prominent in Bhopal. It was filmed by director Van Maximilian Carlson, who did not seek help from any outside organizations. It is different from the Lost Boys documentary God Grew Tired Of Us because it was not spearheaded by a large organization like National Geographic or backed by famous people with lots of money. Bhopali seeks to inform its audience and encourages them to become active in the fight for the rights that should be given to the people in Bhopal. Many of my classmates raised concerns about the portrayal of the West in GGTU and how it seemed that the focus of the film was not the struggle the Lost Boys faced, but rather the way Americans helped and saved them. I found this the contrary to Bhopali, perhaps because they have not gotten help yet. The film was more of a report on the current state of damage caused by the Union Carbide disaster than an attempt to Westernize it to the humanitarian aspect. Perhaps this is because it was not backed by lots of money and big names but simply made by a documentary maker. No matter what, I strongly suggest watching this documentary and getting informed on this issue, the largest industrial disaster in the world.