To commemorate the 21st anniversary of the Bhopal gas disaster, a candlelight vigil was organized by AID Baton Rouge on the evening of Dec 3, 2005. About 30 people attended the vigil, which commenced with the lighting of candles. Prakash Narayanan, an AID volunteer, addressed the attendees on the tragedy, current health of survivors and their fight for justice against Union Carbide (now DOW) and the Government of India. Information about the disaster was also provided on posters for everyone to read. A minute silence was then observed in remembrance of the dead and those who are still suffering to this day from the aftereffects of the gas leak.

As a follow up to the anniversary, a documentary titled “Litigating Disaster” by Ilan Ziv was screened the next day during the chapter’s weekly community service hour. The documentary features Raj Sharma, the attorney for the Bhopal victims, and includes never before seen documents and exclusive interviews with former Union Carbide employees. The documentary generated considerable discussion among those present, including action that could be taken by the Baton Rouge community to increase awareness, and listed demands to be met by Dow and the Government of India. There were also some questions on the next appropriate day when some action could be taken here.
On the whole the vigil and the movie generated a good discussion and people are waiting to make the next move to spread the word that “We all live in Bhopal” and “No more Bhopals”.

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