It has been three decades and the survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy, world’s worst industrial catastrophe, are still struggling to come to terms with the maimed life they are forced to live.
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the disaster children born to women survivors of the gas tragedy with congenital disabilities held a candlelight vigil to remember those who perished in the disaster.
They also staged a play highlighting the plight and pain of those affected by the gas disaster. Children with different types of congenital disabilities like cerebral palsy, down syndrome, muscular dystrophy, impaired hearing took part in the candlelight vigil and the play.
The Chingari Trust, an organization looking after the survivors, had organized an exhibition highlighting their activities and the plight of the survivors.
The Union Carbide pesticide manufacturing factory had spewed 40 metric tons of poisonous Methyl Iso-cyanate gas on the night of Dec. 2-3, 1984 killing 3,000 people instantly. Some 25,000 died over the years. Over half a million are still suffering from the side effects of the poisonous gas and several thousands have been maimed for life.
According to Ms Rashida Bee & Ms Champa Devi Shukla, Co-Founders and Managing Trustees, the Chingari Trust has worked for seven years for the rehabilitation of 2nd and 3rd generation children born to parents and grandparents affected by the 1984 gas tragedy and the ongoing water contamination. The Trust has undertaken care of the children born with congenital disorders such as deformed body, cut lips, under developed or without fingers and with mental retardation.
Meanwhile, representatives of five organizations working for the welfare of the survivors have presented their list of demands.
Addressing a press conference on the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the Union Carbide disaster held the two US corporations, Union Carbide and Dow Chemical, primarily responsible for the ongoing disasters in Bhopal. They demanded that Union Carbide and Dow Chemical answer criminal charges and obey Bhopal court’s summons, pay additional compensation, and arrange for clean up of the toxic contamination in Bhopal.
The organizations demanded that the US government acknowledge and express regret for financing the hazardously designed Union Carbide plant in Bhopal through the EXIM bank. They demanded that the US government also express regret for refusing to extradite prime accused Warren Anderson who died about a month back while absconding from Indian courts.
The organizations called upon the Indian government to move on extradition of John McDonald, secretary of Union Carbide, and not allow Dow Chemical to make any investment in the country until it accepted Union Carbide’s liabilities in Bhopal.
The organizations also demanded that the Indian government set up a commission on Bhopal for effective medical care and economic rehabilitation and social support and create a special prosecution cell for speedy prosecution of the accused Indian corporate officials including Keshub Mahindra.
Bhopal gas tragedy survivors observe anniversary
Bhopal gas tragedy survivors observe anniversary
UPDATE 2-Walk for peace: Buddhist monks arrive in Washington after 2,300-mile journey
- Monks started in Texas, walked through nine states
- Walkers trod daily through frigid winter weather
WASHINGTON: Draped in burnt-orange robes, two dozen Buddhist monks arrived in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday on a 2,300-mile “Walk for Peace,” a self-described spiritual journey across nine states that has been cheered on by crowds of thousands. “People want this,” said Joan Donoghue, 59, from Silver Spring, Maryland, who had come out with four of her friends on Tuesday to see the monks. “I went on Sunday in Virginia and I waited outside for a long time and I talked to so many people and they all said the same thing: that our country needs this. We feel divided and people want more kindness and more compassion and more peace.”
The monks began their walk in Texas more than three months ago, at times braving frigid winter temperatures, sometimes with bare feet, to raise “awareness of peace, loving kindness, and compassion across America and the world.” The marchers continued on despite a powerful winter storm that spread a paralyzing mix of heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain from the Ohio Valley and mid-South to New England, compounded by bitter, Arctic cold gripping much of the US Accompanied by Aloka, a rescue dog from India who has gained a following on social media as “the Peace Dog,” their journey comes at a time of growing tensions in the US President Donald Trump’s tough immigration policy has seen surges of immigration agents and National Guard troops deployed in some cities, with both American citizens and immigrants killed by federal agents.
“We walk not to protest, but to awaken the peace that already lives within each of us,” said Bhikkhu Pannakara, spiritual leader of the Walk for Peace. “The Walk for Peace is a simple yet meaningful reminder that unity and kindness begin within each of us and can radiate outward to families, communities, and society as a whole.”
They will spend Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington and end their journey in nearby Annapolis, Maryland on Thursday.
The walk has garnered support from millions of people on social media, with many sharing messages of support for the monks. Supporters have braved snow and rain to meet and offer flowers to the monks as they passed through their cities. In Washington, hundreds of people came out to see the monks as they walked along a road informally known as Embassy Row because of the high number of embassies and diplomatic residences.
Coleman O’Donoghue, 62, of Washington, caught the attention of many of those onlookers as he carried a large flag with the peace symbol on a sea of blue. Tuesday was the fourth time he and his wife, Bonnie, had seen the monks.
“They are beautiful distraction from the chaos that is taking place in the city, the country and in the world right now,” O’Donoghue said. “It gives everyone a second to pause and think about something that is not as stressful as what the chaos is creating.”
While they waited hours just to see the monks for less than a minute, many of the spectators said the camaraderie and good energy made the experience worthwhile.
Julie Segor, 58, of Washington, made friends with a couple she met while waiting. Carl, 61, and Christine Varner, 65, of Maryland, pooled their flowers and fruit with her to give to the monks as they passed.
“It was a shared common interest to see the monks on the peace walk and give them some fruit and flowers,” Christine said.
During their stop in North Carolina, the state’s governor, Josh Stein, thanked the monks for bringing hope to millions with their message of peace, equality, justice and compassion.
“You are inspiring people at a time when so many are in need of inspiration,” Stein said. The Walk for Peace has made stops in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. The monks met with spiritual and other leaders after arriving in Washington. They also held an interfaith ceremony at the National Cathedral.
During the ceremony at the cathedral, Kimberly Bassett, the District of Columbia’s secretary of state, presented the monks with a proclamation honoring them on behalf of the Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser.
“Today may mark the end of a 2,300-mile walk but it is not the end of our journey for peace. Your pilgrimage has brought people together across cities, states and communities,” Bassett said.
Although the walk has been positive, it has not been without obstacles. While walking through Dayton, Texas, a truck struck the monks’ escort vehicle, injuring several people, according to local media. Two monks sustained serious injuries and one had his leg amputated.
Despite the accident, the group continued to trek across the US to honor not only their original message of peace but also their brothers.
