‘Stand in your no’: Bhopal disaster survivors, Louisiana activists show solidarity in fight against pollution
In 1984, about 40 tons of gas leaked out of a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, killing thousands of people and damaging the health of others. The Bhopal disaster, considered the world’s worst industrial disaster, had a lasting impact on the community for years and generations to come.
“The disaster might have happened 40 years ago, but it continues to unfold in our lives even today in many ways,” said Bati Bai Rajak, one of the survivors.
The plant was owned by Union Carbide, now a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, which owns many chemical plants in Louisiana.
Environmental justice activists from Louisiana and India came together on Friday in New Orleans to discuss their fights against petrochemical pollution. For the 40th anniversary of the disaster, survivors are traveling across the United States on a speaking tour run by the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal. The campaign aims to bring attention to the effects of petrochemical pollution and build solidarity in the U.S. where Dow Chemical is based. Louisiana was their first stop.
Hosted by the NOLA Freedom Forum, the discussion included two survivors of the Bhopal disaster, Farhat Jahan and Bati Bai Rajak, and Rachna Dhingra, a social activist who works with them. They said people in Bhopal are still suffering from the effects of groundwater contamination and debilitating chronic health issues, such as cancer, diabetes, lung problems and neurological damage.
Environmental activists speak at event in New Orleans to raise awareness about the effects of petrochemical pollution.
“We rely on medicines. Without medicines we cannot live our lives. And in all of this we had to prove that our sickness and our injuries and our cancers and our dialysis are as a result of your poison,” said Jahan in Hindi. Jahan was 2 months old when the gas leak happened. Her mother carried her in her arms while trying to run away.
Dow Chemical still refuses to clean up the mess, saying it did not inherit Union Carbide’s liabilities in the merger.
“Now we are in a situation where more than 200,000 people who live around the factory, their groundwater is contaminated with persistent organic pollutants,” said Dhingra, who used to work for Dow Chemical. “And we have thousands of children who are being born with birth defects.”
The survivors were joined by environmental justice activist Jo Banner, one of the founders of The Descendants Project, and Kim Terrell, a staff scientist at Tulane Environmental Law Clinic.
“We all could benefit from sharing information more and sharing strategies and figuring out what works,” said Banner. “One thing I’ve seen is that when you have success, it’s kind of hard to know exactly what worked, right? You’re trying 10 different things to stop this company and all of a sudden they announced that they’re pulling out.”
The effects of the pollution from these plants and the ways they avoid accountability are similar in both Louisiana and India, the activists said. For example, in both places, the burden of proof is placed on the communities to show the pollution is harming them.
“It’s the same talking points, whether it’s Wallace, Louisiana or Bhopal, India,” said Banner. “‘Oh, you have no proof, you have no peer reviewed research. How do you know it wasn’t because of lifestyle?’”
The two groups discussed their challenges, such as a lack of interest from public health researchers to help gather that proof and the lack of protection from federal governments. Jahan helps collect data on the impacts of chemical exposure in Bhopal.
“We do this because our governments have refused to carry on that work and survivors have had to become not only leaders but also researchers,” she said.
Environmental activists came together in New Orleans to raise awareness about the effects of petrochemical pollution. From left to right: Farhat Jahan, Rachna Dhingra and Bati Bai Rajak
Last week, U.S. district judge James Cain Jr., permanently barred the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice from enforcing certain civil rights protections in Louisiana, making Black and brown communities suffering environmental injustices even more vulnerable. Banner said since the state and federal government aren’t protecting them, they’re now trying to reach an international audience.
“We’ve been abandoned, and we have to get that message out,” she said. “Because we’re always having to think outside the box. That’s what our ancestors did.”
They also talked about how they keep the fight going.
“One thing we have learned is that you make it fun. You incite humor. You sing songs,” said Dhingra.
The Descendants Project recently celebrated stopping a grain elevator from being built in St. John the Baptist Parish. The group raised concerns about how the project would affect nearby historic sites. After permitting delays, the company scrapped the project.
“We say tactics, but it’s really utilizing the rights that have been given to us and knowing about that,” said Banner. “So my word is y’all fight, keep fighting, keep saying no and stand in your no.”
The panel’s moderators compared these ongoing struggles against petrochemical pollution to Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza. During the Vietnam War, student protesters demanded universities divest from Dow Chemical, which produced napalm used to defoliate forests in Vietnam. Those protests set the stage for today’s pro-Palestinian student protests.
“The throughlines we wanted to explore between what’s happening in Palestine, what’s happening in Bhopal, what’s happening in ‘Cancer Alley,’ literally all over the world, the same things keep happening,” said Adan Murad with NOLA Freedom Forum. “And so, to learn from each other, to skill share and understand how we can stop it or at least fight against it is really incredible to see.”
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