Foreign advocates, local experts, witnesses and survivors of an industrial disaster that killed an estimated 22,000 people and left even more injured in Bhopal, India, will host a panel discussion tonight at Portland State to discuss the tragedy on the eve of its 25-year anniversary.
The survivors have been traveling around the country to raise awareness of repeated refusal by Bhopal industries and government to aid those impacted, despite lingering health concerns, and to prevent similar events from occurring elsewhere.
The event begins at 6:30 p.m. tonight in room 228 of Smith Memorial Student Union and is open to all. Refreshments will be provided.
Among the panel’s speakers is Safreen Khan, a Bhopal resident and disaster survivor.
Disaster struck Dec. 3, 1984, when 27 tons of lethal gas leaked from a pesticide factory owned by Union Carbide and swept through the city shortly after midnight.
The estimated death toll from gas poisoning reached 22,000, while approximately 150,000 others were severely injured. But toxins still linger 25 years later, said Divya Singh, one of the panel’s organizers, creating unsafe, chemical-laced drinking water that people within poor communities have no choice but to drink.
“That’s nothing. If you think in terms of the cost of life, it’s not worth what they have suffered through,” Singh said.
Khan organized a group to campaign against Dow Chemicals, the company that bought the Union Carbide, urging people to hold Dow accountable.
“No communities around the world should be affected by the kind of disaster that happened in Bhopal,” Singh said, adding that she hopes panels like these draw political support from the U.S.