For Immediate Release
September 14th 2024
(Monaca, PA, USA) – Survivors of the devastating 1984 Bhopal, India gas disaster spoke powerfully about their experiences and quest for justice, while drawing parallels with similar struggles for environmental justice in Western Pennsylvania and East Palestine, Ohio. Today, over 150,000 Bhopalis are battling chronic illnesses due to the exposures of themselves or their parents, 500,000 lives remain physically and economically harmed by the disaster, and groundwater contamination is ongoing.
Fahrat Jahan was one of two speakers who were infants when the preventable catastrophe occurred. Farhat said, “Women hold all the brunt of the disaster. When you have a child with a birth defect, it feels like the illness is on the woman. Nothing can be done without fighting and we continue to fight.” Farhat and speaker Bati Bai Rajak were, like thousands of others, directly exposed to deadly methyl isocyanate. Both have worked hard to: obtain free medical care; conduct research on groundwater contamination and health disparities facing the gas-exposed population; and lead advocacy efforts towards accountability for and clean-up of the disaster.
The September 12th event, organized by the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB) and the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (BCMAC), with support from the Clean Air Council, was part of a national speaking tour by Bhopalis ahead of the 40th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster on December 3rd. On the 20-stop tour, survivors are meeting with frontline communities, environmental justice leaders, students, academics, and others.
Speakers noted that no Union Carbide officials were ever held criminally responsible, and the company only paid victims and families of those killed trivial amounts of compensation. Farhat explained that the 40-year struggle for justice has been “healing and empowering, but it takes a lot out of you. You make allies, though, and that brings you in new directions. The most important thing is that the corporations get the message that they won’t get away with this.”
One of those allies is the environmental justice movement in Pennsylvania. Hilary Flint, Director of Communications and Community Engagement at event sponsor BCMAC, noted the parallels with the struggles against the toxic exposures after the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment and Beaver County’s ongoing fight against the Shell petrochemical plant. “It was a blessing to learn from women who survived the worst industrial disaster/CORPORATE CRIME in world history,” Hilary said. “I’m grateful that they’ve fought for FORTY YEARS, yet my heart breaks knowing that my community will likely have to do the same thing. But when we SUPPORT each other, WE WIN.” Rachna Dhingra of tour organizer ICJB commented, “Victims of corporate crime, whether in Bhopal or Beaver County, often face a long, hard struggle for justice. We are eager to build solidarity with the communities of Beaver County as they work to hold Shell and Norfolk Southern accountable for their actions.” Survivor Bati Bai said, “Your fight and our fight is the same. We’re all fighting corporate criminals in one way or another.”
The International Campaign is meeting with federal lawmakers, seeking to designate Dec. 3 as Chemical Disaster Awareness Day and working with local groups to make Dec. 1-7 a Week of Solidarity with Bhopal. Any organization willing to hold a solidarity event on the week of Dec. 3, 2024 is invited to fill out this form.
Media Contact: Rachna Dhingra – rachnya@gmail.com, WhatsApp number: +91 98261 67369
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