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Sambhavna's
6th Annual Day celebrations kicked off early in the hot
afternoon with a massive children's drawing competition,
organised by Amita and Mahindra, both technicians in the
Sambhavna lab. Many came from the local bustees, some born
to gas-affected parents; there were children of friends
and supporters of Sambhavna; children of clinic staff and
a group from a local project, the Nitya Seva Shelter for
street children. There were also the clinic regulars, who
often come to chat with staff, draw or help with whatever
is going on at Sambhavna; some of whom have been visiting
the clinic since it opened in September 1996.
As about two hundred children got down to getting creative,
parents, friends and staff met and talked, just as they
do at the clinic itself. Sambhavna has always striven to
be a place of refuge and welcome where people can meet and
share their stories of struggle and give each other some
hope for the future. The atmosphere here was very much one
of celebration and looking ahead: people were laughing and
joking, children were excitedly running from one display
to the other and everyone who came experienced a very different
kind of fun education.
Celebrations
at the site of the new Clinic
This was Sambhavna's biggest function yet, a true celebration
of how they have made a difference and won the respect and
trust of so many in the gas-affected communities. The exhibitions,
games, alternative fashion show and Qawali music concert
were held in an L-shaped series of airy tents on the site
of the new clinic to be - the foundation stone of which
was laid on the 8th September 2001 (building is due to start
in November 2002). The new clinic will be eight times the
size of the present building which Sambhavna outgrew a long
time ago. Its location right in the heart of the most severely-affected
communities is crucial, as many gas-affected people find
it difficult to walk the half mile to where Sambhavna is
now.
Medical
effects of the gas leak
The first tent housed a general exhibition on the medical
effects of the gas leak. The collection of autopsy specimens
and accompanying photographs were explained by Nishant,
a volunteer community researcher at Sambhavna. Most of these
were from the immediate aftermath of the disaster and the
three years following and were on loan from the local medical
college. The actual specimens ranged from a spontaneously
aborted foetus on the night of the disaster to a kidney,
lungs, hearts, a liver and skin in varying degrees of gas
exposure. The crowd around this display was for the most
part quiet, the children were curious and the adults attentive.
According to a local newspaper report the following day,
this was the first time in 18 years that people had been
told about the medical effects of the gas so clearly.
A guided tour of the Clinic's work
The next tent was an introduction to Sambhavna: their beliefs,
vision and experience; who they are and how they work; their
current activities and future plans; their successes, failures
and limitations, as well as reports of income and expenditure
statements. Sambhavna has always maintained a policy of
transparency with its accounts available for all to see
and visitors welcome at any time. Their momentous efforts
have been recognised and rewarded by many including most
recently the Mead 2001 Award. This and other awards were
also on display, a reminder of just how much has been achieved
so far although if you talk to any one of the staff they
will quickly reel off how much there is still to do, all
too aware as they are of the sheer scale of the problems
experienced by survivors (Sambhavna has registered around
11,500 people to date and there are an estimated 120,000
- 150,000 still in need of immediate medical attention with
around 10 - 15 people dying every month as a result of exposure
in í84 and the compounded effects of living neglected
in such a toxic environment.)
Seven foot high human body explains Ayurveda
Mohsin, Aziza's son (Aziza assists in the gynaecology clinic
and educates women in the communities) and Dr Deshpande,
Sambhavna's Ayurvedic doctor made a 2D, seven foot polystyrene
body, displaying the main areas of the body affected by
the gas (pretty much all of them). These were linked to
light switches that lit up the affected body part and the
most effective treatment Ayurvedic for that condition, some
being a combination of allopathic and Ayurvedic medication.
This huge twinkling body attracted much interest; many would
never have seen a human body displayed in this way and had
great fun with the lights.
Shirodhara, an Ayurvedic therapy, has brought sustained
relief to many gas-affected people suffering from anxiety,
depression, aching limbs and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Biju, Sambhavna's Panchakarma Chikitsa therapist for men,
demonstrated this ancient technique of directing water (from
a pot with a hole in the bottom) to specific points on the
forehead. Next to him was Alka, who gives Panchakarma Chikitsa
therapy to women. She explained some of the different herbs
used at Sambhavna, their medicinal properties, and how they
should be used, including wheat seedlings which are very
effective in treating safed pani (literally white water),
excessive vaginal secretion - a common side effect of the
gas among women but also one of the most taboo. Many women
and girls feel that they cannot talk about their problems
for fear of bringing shame upon themselves and their families,
and being labelled as unmarriageable. Alka was also in charge
of ensuring that nobody went without a nutritious snack
of two types of sprouted beans with fresh lime and salt
served in banana leaf bowls.
Children learned about yoga...
Children didn't only get to draw. Many did Yoga in the next
tent with Nivrita, Sambhavna's Yoga instructor - a treatment
that has become more and more accepted since it was first
offered at the clinic. Many of the gas-affected are Muslim
and used to believe that Yoga was only practised by Hindus.
Sambhavna has gone a long way to change that; they hold
regular Yoga camps in the communities and many registered
at the clinic report sustained relief from their respiratory
problems through Yoga practice.
...and had fun with the Jhadoo game
In contrast to the calm of Yoga came the excitement of the
jhadoo (broom) game. Handling the mass of children desperate
to knock down Dow was not easy! Considering Carbide merged
with Dow only last year, the Dow name is well known to many
of the gas-affected and their children. They had to swing
a jhadoo, with 'aim and power', in the words of Sathyu,
Sambhavna's managing trustee, in order to knock down the
poor unfortunate cardboard cut-out representing Dow which
fell pathetically at the feet of a triumphant survivor with
her jhadoo held high. The children didn't tire of this game
for hours and made lots of noise at Dow's repeated downfall.
3D model of factory explains water contamination
Ritesh, one of Sambhavna's community healthworkers had spent
days building a 3D model of the Carbide factory and surrounding
bustees. He talked hundreds of people through the contamination
process explaining how concentrated carcinogens, mercury
and other life-threatening chemicals seep deeper into the
groundwater and spread over a larger area each year (anywhere
between 300 and 700m), further contaminating the wells,
soil and air of the local population. A mini working well
ensured big interest from all, from tiny children who looked
too small to walk to gas-affected adults who struggle to
stay standing for long.
Snakes and ladders game and model bastee
Women's health is given special priority at Sambhavna which
was reflected in the handmade snakes and ladders game -
a demonstration of women's health education that Sambhavna's
female community healthworkers take into the bustees. Aziza,
Masarrat and Gudoo recreated a bustee setting, complete
with small houses made of grass and almost life-sized plaster
of paris models of a Sambhavna healthworker and women gathered
in the community. An accompanying audio tape educated listeners
about breast examination, water contamination and how to
tackle medical and social problems.
The alternative fashion show drew a huge crowd
Much planning and excitement had gone into the alternative
fashion show directed by Mahindra, Sambhavna's pathology
worker, who also made all the special Bhopal fashions. As
the sun set on the T-shaped catwalk, Sambhavna staff paraded
the season's outfits to thumping bass and enlightening commentary
from Nivrita and Amita. Around a thousand people gathered,
jostling for space next to friends and calling to others.
There was a long wait while various staff could be seen
darting from backstage to the commentary area, finalising
the music, commentary and order. There was as much preening,
adjusting and pre-show nerves as any "real" fashion
show.
The
well-dressed exploiter
The show opened with Manuradha who modelled a beautiful
brown striped safari suit complete with extra large pockets
representing all the elements of the corrupt system that
exploits the impoverished gas-exposed for their own ends
- the middlemen, the salaried class, the companies and the
industrialists, the business community and so on. Her bulging
pockets for were overflowing with money swindled and misappropriated
from various sources. Next came Alka as the typical 'leader'/politician
making money in the name of the survivors. She wore a stylish
fur cap with secret front pocket to stash away all her "hard-earned"
money. Pranay became a Dow public relations executive with
a forced "perma-smile" baseball cap that covered
his face all too easily.
Smart
casual look for drug dealers
Masarrat Natasha sashayed down the catwalk as a medical
officer in a classy safari suit with large back pocket detail
- just right for all those harmful and indiscriminately
prescribed drugs that plague Bhopal survivors as well as
the drugs which only get as far as the black market. Mahindra's
moment came as an impoverished survivor when she showed
off a natty Bhopali-style handbag with a big hole in the
bottom - her partner modelled an equally fetching shirt
with pockets with holes - further representations of the
bottomless pit of corruption that survivors are constantly
trying to get out of.
Gloves
for the hands-off doctors
Aziza was stern in her stride as she showed off a pair of
long gloves - symbolic of the typical doctor from Bhopal
clinics and hospitals who regard themselves as too far above
the survivors to even touch them. Visitors to Sambhavna
have broken down in tears saying that in all the years since
the disaster no doctor has even taken their pulse.
The
survivors' chemical protection suit
Naveen,
who works in Sambhavna's documentation centre stepped out
in a protective paper suit and gas mask - "the daily
need of survivors who live in the vicinity of the Dow/Carbide
plant with its massive and fast-growing levels of contamination."
Haut
couture a la Warren Anderson
Last
to show off the latest Bhopali fashions was Shekhar, who
assists part-time at the clinic. He strode confidently down
the catwalk in a white suit, sipping from a champagne glass
and sucking on a cigar; this was Warren Anderson fashion:
the outfit was only complete when Shekhar pulled the hood
of the jacket right over his head and face and he went into
hiding. By the time the models reappeared for their final
"cat" walk, the crowd was going crazy, whistling
and cheering, some dancing. The models stood together and
waved and were called back for another encore, stopping
for the press photographers on their final walk backstage.
An
evening of Qawali
And there was more to come! The Qawali concert, a traditional
Urdu form of music and song, was the climax to Sambhavna's
Annual Day. The two lead singers, both Sufis named Layeeq,
thrilled the crowd and sang a few songs especially for the
children. After a tame start the two singers began to challenge
each other with poetry and satire and worked up to flinging
cutting insults much to the delight of the crowd. The Layeeqs
and accompanying musicians (playing two upside down plant
pots and a harmonium) left a wild audience screaming for
more despite several encores.
A
celebration of hope and possibility
Many in Bhopal who were not exposed to the gas maintain
that the tragedy is over, that people are no longer suffering
and believe that the city should 'move on' and forget what
happened. Sambhavna works passionately against these kind
of ignorant attitudes and believes that survivors need to
understand why they continue to suffer, why their problems
in many cases are getting worse, and what is happening in
their environments if present and future generations are
to shake off the multiple taboos of being gas-affected and
regain control of their health and lives, and a sense of
dignity and self-worth. This 6th Annual Day achieved so
much in this respect - the staff and friends of Sambhavna
celebrated with the people of the communities who they treat
at the clinic and in which they work; and educated young
and old alike through having fun. This was for all a celebration
of hope and possibility for the future and a reminder that
"many little efforts in many small places by many ordinary
people can change the face of this world".
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