Dear friends: This is the 30th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster. On or around December 3, 2014, the Remember Bhopal Trust -- of which I'm a trustee -- will be inaugurating a people's museum where visitors will see how contemporary India’s most traumatic industrial catastrophe has raised extraordinary questions about justice, industrial expansion, environment and international corporate crime. This is a fund-raising request for the museum.
The museum will showcase objects of deep personal memory from the night of the disaster and from the protest movement. Consider the stories associated with the below artefacts as a sample.
1. Bismillah Bee fled in panic, clutching her three-year-old Sajjad tightly to her chest, trying to escape the plumes of poisonous clouds that fateful night. She does not remember how long she ran, or in which direction. She did not even realise that her son had died in her arms. “Had he been alive, he would be married today, with children of his own,” she said, handing Sajjad’s peach-coloured sweater to museum volunteers.
2. Children Against Dow Carbide, a group that comprises third-generation pre-teen survivors, staged their first dramatic protest in 2008, in the heart of New Delhi in front of the residence of Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. They chained and locked themselves to the railings on the street and demanded that Mr. Singh resolve the problem of toxic water contamination in their neighborhoods. The chains and locks used are now artifacts in the museum.
We have raised funds to set up the museum. However, we are seeking to raise additional funds to cover the Rs. 6 lakhs that will be required annually to run the museum. People who can contribute in Indian Rupees are requested to do so.
To send a cheque:
Account Name: “Remember Bhopal Trust”
Send to: Nityanand Jayaraman, 92, 3rd Cross, Thiruvalluvar Nagar, Besant Nagar, Chennai 600 090
To wire transfer:
Account Name: Remember Bhopal Trust
Account Number: 3227002100047912
Bank: Corporation Bank, J.P. Nagar Branch, Berasia Road, Bhopal 462001.
IFSC Code: CORP0000441
MICR Code: 462017003
