In Memory of victims of corporate crime Photo

Photographer’s Note

Year :1984
Date: 3rd December

Place : Bhopal, Capital of Madhya pradesh, India.

Company :The Union Carbide plant (US based Company)

On that night 27 tons of methyl isocyanate,
hydrogen cyanide, mono-methyl amine and other lethal gases began spewing from Union Carbide
Corporation’s pesticide factory .. killing 2,000 people instantly.
25,000 people were admitted in a single hospital ...!

Severe cost-cutting meant that six safety systems
designed to contain a leak were inadequate or in operational.
Nobody outside the factory was warned because the safety siren was turned off.
Not until the gas was upon them in their beds, searing their eyes,
filling their mouths and lungs, did the communities of Bhopal know of their danger.

To date, 20,000 have died from gas exposure and the effects are now extending
into the next generation.
150,000 of the survivors are chronically ill and
communities are drinking contaminated groundwater because Dow(The new owner of the company)
has still not cleaned up the dangerous chemicals Union Carbide left behind.

As they describe..:
"We just ran and ran until we couldn't run any longer..."

A smaller version of Hiroshima exist in my country..

For more information visit :
Bhopal Tragedy
See the face of death

maciekda, Dinyar, arnabchat, rich, KevinRL, ramesh_lalwani, t_wullems, jayita, kaud, ChrisJ, supereira, khmelins, RGatward trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

Dinyar (704) 2004-12-06 9:07

Nicely done Adi.

Very good note too. A friend of mine was there too and her eyes are spoilt permanently.

Thanks for reminding us.

arnabchat (7052) 2004-12-06 9:13 [Comment]

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clodreno (0) 2004-12-06 9:14

I just saw a show of french TV on the anniversary of this terrible event. Glad you are posting something to make people think about it and remember it..
I was about to post a picture I took in 1984 in jodhpur of a eveready truck, heyr are part of Union carbide...
And mister Warren Anderson is still free.... Incredible....

[2]

jasmis (50901) 2004-12-06 10:15

Well done. Simply, but crying aloud.

KevinRL (819) 2004-12-06 15:57

A timely posting, thanks.

ramesh_lalwani (3209) 2004-12-06 16:12

A sad reminder of Bhopal Gas Tragedy.Thanks for posting.

kaud (1838) 2004-12-07 6:56

Splendid.
Touchy.
Ad this time you touched our heart with the lit candle and the truth about Bhopal.
I can remember the date. I was in class VI then. Final exams of my school were going on. That time televisions were not so popular. The only live media to get news was a radio which broadcast the news on the 4th morning. We all (me, my parents, .. ) gathered round it .. .. speechless but yet to know what will be the actual loss counted.

You said "A smaller version of Hiroshima exist in my country.." - and I am to say you are wrong. You can't compare these two. War took a lot of lives and Hiroshima did it also. You compare Bhopal's tragedy with Nazi gas chamber tragedies. Bhopal gas tragedy was just a cold blooded murder.

On that night 27 tons of methyl isocyanate was stored inside the gas chamber which is beyond limit.
Safety regulations were not maintained.
Safety siren was turned off.

Sorry Ad, Change the title of the image to "In Memory of victims of a cold blooded murder".

[2] +

supereira (9576) 2004-12-07 10:24

Interesting shot!I like the colors and the contrast between them.Goofd light and sharpness.Well done!

ChrisJ (70443) 2004-12-08 4:08

Excellent & timely reminder. I read an article yesterday on a US company (Newmont Mining Corporation) that is mining gold in Northern Sulawesi, Indonesia. There are allegations that arsenic & mercury have been deliberately discharged into Buyat Bay, & locals are complaining of headaches, difficult breathing, skin tumors and rashes. Three villagers filed a $543 million lawsuit against Newmont in August, contending that mine waste had caused the illnesses and ruined their fishing income.

Newmont, based in Denver, has vigorously denied polluting the bay and says the illnesses are caused by poor sanitation and nutrition.

But the company has mines at 4 other locations around the world, & all of them report a similar story. I think the companies managers should be sued, & not the employees, who are just following orders.

kartick1 (0) 2004-12-09 5:30

The flame of the candle in the sombre background symbolises this photography.
Thanks for the photo, hope and pray Bhopal dosent' happens again anywhere...

kartick

RGatward (19749) 2004-12-12 5:08

One news item I caught whilst away was that, at last, they've admitted responsibilty, so a very apporpriate posting. I see what Arnab means about the shot, but the note well justifies its presence on TE.

Benedict (7062) 2006-12-27 20:27