Bhopal:30 years of Tragedy
photo by Alex Masi (Corbis)

01

Toddlers who died as a consequence to the’1984 Gas Disaster’ thirty years ago, are exhibited in a special section of theGandhi Medical College in Bhopal, India. Almost half of the pregnant women exposed to Union Carbide’s killer gas aborted spontaneously.

02

Rachi, 7, a disabled girl affected by microcephaly and myoclonic epilepsy, is unsuccessfully trying to unknot a cord to her ankle, her mother Jyoti Yadav, 34, a ‘1984 Gas Survivor’, use to keep her from wandering off on her own, inside their home near in Bhopal, India.

03

Lakshmi, 30, is holding her disabled son Aadite, 10, a boy affected by microcephaly, cerebral palsy and malnutrition, inside their home in Kabit Pura, Bhopal, India. Aadite’s father, Raju, a ‘1984 Gas Survivor’, died in March 2013 at the age of 32 due to lungs failure.

04

Neha, 7, is standing in her near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex in Bhopal, India. Neha was born blind, affected by a severe neurological disorder, and due to insufficient care she, has developed a skin infection and severe malnutrition. Neha’s mother, a’1984 Gas Survivor’, died in 2011.

05

A girl is walking barefoot next to a woman collecting water from a broken municipal pipe running near a drain in Kasi Camp, one of the water-affected colonies standing close to the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex in Bhopal, India.

06

Fist up towards the sky, Rashida Bee, 57, (centre) is demonstrating along other ‘Gas Survivors’ next to the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex in Bhopal, India. Rashida Bee is the founder of ‘Chingari Trust’, one of two vital medical institutions funded by ‘The Bhopal Medical Appeal’.

07

Aadite, 10, a boy suffering from spastic microcephaly, cerebral palsy and malnutrition, is laying motionless on a bed inside his home in Bhopal, India. Aadite’s father, Raju, a ‘1984 Gas Survivor’, died in March 2013 at the age of 32, due to lungs failure.

08

Warming up during the morning, two young siblings are sitting by the fire in front of their home by the railway tracks in New Arif Nagar, one of the water-affected colonies next to the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex, site of the ‘1984 Gas Disaster’ in Bhopal, India.

09

From the room she is relegated to during the day with the use of a cord to her ankle, Rachi, 7, a disabled girl affected by microcephaly and myoclonic epilepsy, is looking out onto the street in front of her home in Bhopal, India.

10

A girl is jumping in the air with her hands towards the sky while playing with a flying toy in New Arif Nagar, one of the water-affected colonies standing next to the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex, site of the infamous ‘1984 Gas Disaster’in Bhopal, India.

11

A woman is collecting her dry laundry while neighbors are enjoying a fresh afternoon on the roofs of their homes, standing next to the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex, (visible in the top/right) site of the infamous ‘1984 Gas Disaster’ in Bhopal, India.

12

Aadite, 9, a boy suffering from spastic microcephaly, cerebral palsy and malnutrition, is watching cartoons while lying motionless on a bed inside his home in Bhopal, India. Aadite’s father, Raju, a ‘1984 Gas Survivor’, died in March 2013 at the age of 32, due to lungs failure.

13

Two girls are playing on one of the hazardous, sealed, hand-pumps in Arif Nagar, one of the water-affected colonies standing next to the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex, site of the infamous ‘1984 Gas Disaster’in Bhopal, India.

14

Crying and sick with high fever, Firdaus Haneef, 16, a girl affected by severe cerebral palsy, is being comforted by her mother, Asma, 35, a ‘1984 Gas Survivor’, while sitting on the floor of their home in BapuColony, in Bhopal, India.

15

At dawn, a woman is standing by the railway tracks in New Arif Nagar, one of the water-affected colonies standing next to the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex in Bhopal, central India, site of the infamous ‘1984 Gas Disaster’in Bhopal, India.