The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, North America (ICJB-NA) launches a North American screening tour of the award-winning documentary, Bhopali, accompanied by survivor-activist, Sanjay Verma
It will soon be three decades since the people of Bhopal, India were exposed to 40 tons of the highly toxic chemical, methyl isocyanate (MIC) due to the negligence of the American-owned Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), which is now owned by the Dow Chemical Company.
The Bhopal gas disaster has resulted in 25,000 deaths to date, and currently affects over 500,000 people. Chronic health problems stemming from initial exposure to MIC (including sickness in the respiratory, ocular, neurological, neuromuscular, gynecological and reproductive systems) continue to plague survivors 29 years later. Moreover, unsafe dumping practises by UCC have led to soil/groundwater contamination in 22 communities. Perhaps most tragic is the mutagenic effect of MIC exposure, leading to higher rates of developmental disabilities and congenital malformations amongst the children of survivors.
Despite this, survivors have sustained a 29 year struggle for justice.
The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, North America alongside Amnesty International Canada/USA, the Association for India’s Development (AID) and our local allies are launching a North American screening tour of the award-winning documentary, Bhopali, accompanied by survivor-activist, Sanjay Verma. For Verma, the Bhopal gas disaster meant the loss of seven members of his immediate family (his parents, three sisters and two brothers) in a matter of 24 hours. Sanjay’s household is often referred to as having lost the most number of family members in the Bhopal gas disaster. For this reason, Sanjay’s story figures prominently in the acclaimed documentary,Bhopali.
A trailer of the film can be found here: www.bhopalithemovie.com
Accompanying Mr. Verma will be Rick Hind of the Greenpeace Toxic’s Campaign. Mr. Hind will discuss the Clean Air Act and local toxic hot spots, in an effort to show that “We all live in Bhopal.”
We invite you to join us at the screening event and Q&A session with Sanjay Verma and Rick Hind scheduled in College Park on October 5th at 3:00pm. The event will take place at the Armory Room, No. 0131, University of Maryland, College Park Campus.
For more information on the College Park stop, please contact:
Shyamala Gopalan
shyamalagn@gmail.com
For general information on the tour, please contact Reena Shadaan.
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, North America
www.icjb.org