For my family: Action instead of despair

For my family: Action instead of despair

Dear Tracy, On the night of the gas disaster in Bhopal, I was six months old and living across from the Union Carbide pesticide plant with all ten members of my family. When the toxic gas filled with deadly chemicals leaked from the plant, panic broke out. One of my sisters wrapped me in a blanket and ran away. She is the only reason I survived. On that December night, the gas killed my parents, two of my brothers and three of my sisters. Just three of the ten of us remained. On behalf of my family, call on President Obama and Prime Minister Modi to take action for survivors of the disaster in Bhopal. My sister and I grew up in an orphanage in Bhopal. Because of the disaster, I never knew what it meant to have parents. To date, it is estimated that more than 20,000 people have died as a result of the leak. Hundreds of thousands more suffer from ongoing health issues. Though it's been more than 30 years, generations born in the years and decades since the disaster are still "surviving" Bhopal. The contaminated air, soil, and water have caused birth defects and other health problems for survivors, their children and grandchildren. Bhopalis like me have never received adequate compensation to cover injuries sustained. I personally suffer from pulmonary embolism, which is a blood clot in my lung. Many others have been driven deeper into poverty. And yet, the companies involved in the leak have never been held fully accountable. Together, we can work to change this. We must push the U.S. and India to create a joint plan of action that provides adequate medical assistance and a full environmental clean-up of the site. It's easy to feel angry about the leak, and the loss, and my people's ongoing struggle for justice. But I won't allow my story to devolve into a place of despair. Together with Amnesty International and the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, I'm choosing to be active instead in pushing the leaders of India and the U.S. to act. Join me.