Finding Hope through Defiance

Bhopal, India. 1984. A massive gas leak (30 tons of toxic gases) occurred at a Union Carbide pesticides factory. It was late in the night, and the gas drifted through homes and streets. People ran to the hospital - and into the deadly wind. That night two to three thousand died. Since, many more have died from the gas's effects and from birth defects caused by both gas exposure and contaminated water - Union Carbide had hastily put toxic chemicals in an unlined pit, causing them to leak into groundwater.

In 2001, after denying responsibility for years (there was a small settlement with the government of India but for nowhere near enough money), Union Carbide was bought out by Dow Chemical. Dow also refuses to accept responsibility, clean up the chemicals in the groundwater, or pay the survivors.

This all sounds horribly depressing. And it is, but that's not the whole story. We found great amounts of hope and defiance in Bhopal. The people there are engaged in a brave struggle to both win re-compensation from Dow and prevent any other chemical disasters from happening anywhere in the world.

We arrived in Bhopal and got settled into the volunteer dorms at Sambhavna, a wonderful clinic providing free treatment to survivors and those later affected. Sambhavna has a policy for most volunteers that they stay at least a few weeks, which I think is neat. You don't really understand a place if you're only there for a day or two. It was all of us in a single room, but it felt comfortable and cozy and I was grateful to stay with such an amazing organization.

Then, we were given a tour by Sambhavna's founder, Satyu. He is incredibly smart and brave, having been jailed several times for his nonviolent activist work. His wife Rachna works with the international campaign and is equally as strong and awesome. At the clinic, they provide a combination of modern medicine and natural Ayurvedic healing, and take care to only use natural soaps and other products. We also toured Chingari, an organization founded by two incredible women to care for the children left with disabilities due to the poisoned water. They provide free treatment as well, and we were able to tour their facilities and see how much love they put into the care of the children.

Later in the week, we visited the Union Carbide factory site. It's abandoned now, the land owned by the government. It was incredibly haunting to see the site where so many deaths had been caused, the factory pipes rusting and surrounded by plants. Something rather beautiful about Nature healing the wounds that humans have caused, and reclaiming the land. The site was so peaceful, so quiet, so innocuous. It didn't seem like it could have caused so much pain.

The slogan used by the activists and people of Bhopal is "We all live in Bhopal." By this, they mean that chemical manufacturing happens everywhere, not just in India but in our backyards. And that there is still the possibility of more Bhopals, wherever dangerous chemicals are used and safety measures are cut to increase profit. They are doing wonderful work to put pressure on Dow and to raise consciousness about the danger of chemicals mixed with desire for profit. I strongly encourage all of you to support them, to watch the excellent documentary Bhopali, and to check out the website run by Bhopal activists:

http://www.bhopal.org/

We must get Dow to take responsibility, and we must prevent this from happening again.

Peace and love,
Malyn

Sunrise on the Ganga River

Hi everyone!

I'm picking up where I left off - with my travels to Varanasi. We left Delhi in the afternoon on Sunday (over a week ago now) and took an overnight train there. The train rides have honestly been one of my favorite parts of this trip - you get to have wonderful conversation with the five other people in your compartment, watch India race by as you stand in a train doorway, and be rocked asleep by the train's motion.

We arrived the next morning and walked the short fifteen minutes to the Catholic church where we were staying - the road was a dusty dirt one like most we would see in Varanasi. During the next few days, I stayed with the lovely Nicole and Laurel in a triple room, in a small dorm block behind the church. All of us attended class later that day with Father Emmanuel, a younger priest who sometimes wore a leather jacket and had incredible knowledge of Hinduism. He spoke with us about Hinduism's origins, doctrine, and practices, then did the same with Buddhism over the next few days. I deeply enjoy learning about religion, so this was great!

In the evening, we drove down to the area nearby the Ganga (the proper Indian name for the Ganges) to wander and then attend sunset prayers. The streets of Varanasi are more chaotic than many I've crossed, with peddle rickshaws and cars and bikes and people everywhere. Our group strolled around the ghats, which are wide staircases down to the river. At the bottom, people immerse in the river and pray. It was all lovely in the sunset. All of us as well as many, many other people sat down on a ghat landing to watch the prayers take place.

The word prayer doesn't quite do it justice. What we witnessed were a collection of rituals and songs dating back thousands of years, that have been performed on the river every night since their creation. The oldest Sanskrit songs were prayers of thanks not only to the Ganga River but to all rivers for their sustaining of life. Beautiful. Whatever critiques I may have of organized religion, however many times I question religious practices that perpetuate oppression, there is still something so awe-some in watching diverse people come together to celebrate something greater than themselves. It made me excited to experience candlelight Christmas services once I'm back.

The next morning we awoke early to see the sunrise from boats on the Ganga. All of us boarded a wooden boat and slowly drifted down the river, sailing past different ghats and temples. Some of the ghats we passed are used for cremating bodies - the Ganga is an especially holy place to do so - but most are simply used for prayers. I am fascinated by birth and death rituals (really, by all rituals) because there is something so deep, so connected to what it means to be human in them. The Ganga was utterly beautiful, and it felt AMAZING to be on a boat again, especially on a river with so many stories and so much meaning. After, we sat peacefully on ghat steps and drank chai masala (spiced tea - excellent) out of small clay cups.

Over the next few days we visited a multitude of gorgeous Hindu and Buddhist temples, learning and seeing and experiencing. We also tried some street food - generally safe if it's hot or peel-able - and it was delicious. And on a side note, I discovered that the acoustics in our room's bathroom were resonant and wonderful for solo singing performances. Sadly no one was around to hear my lovely (?) renditions of Christmas carols.

Our last day in Varanasi was Thanksgiving. I was able to briefly call my family on Roshen's cell phone, and it was amazing to get to speak to them <3 In the morning we wandered the streets of Varanasi and shopped, and then went back to the church for lunch - where we'd been prepared a Thanksgiving meal! Mashed potatoes, green beans, meat, chapati, and then cake and ice cream for dessert! It was beautiful. Thanksgiving dinner happened on our overnight train to Bhopal and was simple sandwiches and a banana, but Thanksgiving lunch was wonderful.

The train to Bhopal is where I leave off for now - that's all another long story!

Peace and love,
Malyn