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Bhopal: 30 Years - Portraits B/W

23 images Created 3 Nov 2014

Portraits of mothers and their disabled children.

On the night of December 3rd 1984, Bhopal became the site of the most devastating chemical disaster in industrial history. Thousands of people died immediately as poison gas leaked from a pesticide plant and formed a deadly cloud that moved through the Indian city. In retrospect Bhopal was the seminal catastrophe of globalization, as the company responsible for the leak was an Indian subsidiary of the American corporation Union Carbide, now DOW Chemical. Who would assume liability, who would care for the victims, and the survivors?

Three decades later, the Bhopal disaster just won't go away. Courts in India and the United States are still dealing with the consequences of the accident, as activists around the world work to hold the guilty parties and their legal successors to account - while the latter don't feel responsible. In Old Bhopal, the ruins of the former chemical plant are still standing, and hazardous waste from the pesticide production preceding the disaster in 1984 is still contaminating soil (on which some people build houses) and groundwater (which some people drink) - while those living in New Bhopal dream of India's fragile economic miracle.

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  • 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 Bapu Colony, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India.
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  • Saba, 31, a '1984 Gas Survivor', is being helped by her husband (left) when washing their disabled son Aman Qureshi, 14, a boy affected by severe cerebral palsy, while sitting inside their bathroom in Aishbag Colony, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India.
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  • Lata Demade, 34, a '1984 Gas Survivor', is about to lift her daughter Mahima, 10, a girl affected by severe cerebral palsy, while in their bathroom in Navjeevan, one of the water-affected colonies in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India, near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex.
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  • With great effort, Farida Sultan, 44, a '1984 Gas Survivor', is lifting Azhar, 16, one of her two severely disabled sons affected by severe muscular dystrophy, while inside their home in Shahjahanbad, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India.
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  • Mohammed Mohsin, 14, a boy suffering from severe cerebral palsy, is being fed water by his mother, a '1984 Gas Survivor', inside a public hospital in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India, near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex.
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  • Poona Bai, 40, a '1984 Gas Survivor', is holding her son Raj, 7, a boy suffering from a severe neurological disorder, while standing in front of their home in Oriya Basti, one of the water-affected colonies in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India, near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex.
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  • Samir, 14, a severely disabled boy, is having his teeth brushed by his mother, Wahida Bee, 32, a '1984 Gas Survivor', using her finger, while inside their home in Kasi Camp, one of the water-affected colonies near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India.
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  • Ashia, 31, a '1984 Gas Survivor', is lifting her disabled son Anas, 11, a boy affected by severe cerebral palsy, while inside their home in Aishbag Colony, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India.
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  • Before being dressed up, Rachi, 7, a girl affected by microcephaly and myoclonic epilepsy, is being dried with a towel by her mother Jyoti Jadav, 34, a '1984 Gas Survivor', while inside their home near Saifiya College, in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India.
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  • Aliyar, 18 months, a boy suffering severe hydrocephalus, is being held by his mother, Roxana, 31, a '1984 Gas Survivor', while inside the Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre, in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India, near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex.
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  • Shabana, 30, a '1984 Gas Survivor', is deep in thoughts while looking after her severely disabled young daughter, Sufiya, one and a half years old, while lying on a bed inside their home in Kabar Kana, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India. Sufiya is Shabana's first child and she is now scared of considering further pregnancies. Sufiya is affected by a neurological disorder causing severe seizures and slow brain development. She is not able to eat or swallow food naturally, and is living exclusively on water and milk.
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  • Poona Bai, a '1984 Gas Survivor',  40, is holding her son Raj, 7, a boy affected by a severe neurological disorder, while making Indian chai tea for her family in Oriya Basti, one of the water-affected colonies near Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India, near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex.
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  • Before attending Chingari Trust Rehabilitation Centre, Rupa Raiqwa, 44, is tying the belt of her disabled daughter Sanjena, 11, a girl affected by severe cerebral palsy, while inside their home in Chola, one of the water-affected colonies near Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India, near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex. Sanjena's father, 44, is a '1984 Gas Survivor'.
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  • Shazia, 24, is administering medicines to her daughter Humera, 2, a girl affected by a severe neurological disorder, while sitting on a bed inside their home in Nawab, one of the water-affected colonies in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India, near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex. All four grandparents of Humera are '1984 Gas Survivors', and her parents have been drinking contaminated underground water until 2011, when the local government started to provide regular pipelines to parts of this colony.
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  • Parveen Khan, 34, a '1984 Gas Survivor', is holding her disabled daughter Misba Khan, 10, a girl affected by cerebral palsy, while in the garden of Chingari Trust Rehabilitation Centre in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex.
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  • Suraj Pratap Singh, 18, a boy affected by severe cerebral palsy, is being fed by his mother, Kaser Bai, 40, a '1984 Gas Survivor', while inside their home in Chola, one of the water-affected colonies in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India, near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex.
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  • Siddhesh, 12, a boy affected by severe cerebral palsy, is being fed lentils and soup by his mother, Meeta, 33, while inside their home in Nariyal Kheda, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India. Siddhesh's father has abandoned them years ago. His mother, a '1984 Gas Survivor', is also suffering from a mild mental illness, and they now live with Siddhesh's maternal grandfather on the meagre pension he is earning after working as a civil servant.
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  • Firdaus Haneef, 13, a girl affected by severe cerebral palsy, is being helped to colour a drawing by her mother, Asma, 35, a '1984 Gas Survivor', while sitting on the floor of Chingari Trust Rehabilitation Centre in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex.
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  • Bharti Gupta, 32, a '1984 Gas Survivor', is looking at the correct way to fit the lower legs' supports used daily by her disabled son Unnati, 6, a boy affected by a severe neurological disorder, before leaving their home in Pashpa Nagar, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India, in order to attend Chingari Trust Rehabilitation Centre, located near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex.
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  • Before being dressed up, Rachi, 7, a girl affected by microcephaly and myoclonic epilepsy, is being freed of a cord to her ankle, her mother Jyoti Yadav, 34, a '1984 Gas Survivor', use to keep her from wandering off on her own, and being at risk of abuse and danger, while inside their home near Saifiya College, in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India.
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  • Sharma Khan, 31, a '1984 Gas Survivor', is applying some talco on the face and neck of her disabled daughter Sufiya, 7, a girl affected by severe cerebral palsy, while in their home in Shajahanbad, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India.
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  • A smiling Suraj Pratap Singh, 18, a boy affected by severe cerebral palsy, is being lifted by his mother, Kaser Bai, 40, a '1984 Gas Survivor', to be washed in front of their home in Chola, one of the water-affected colonies in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India, near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex.
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  • Aadite, 10, a boy suffering from a severe neurological disorder and malnutrition, is being held by his mother, Lakshmi, 30, while inside their home in Kabit Pura, near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, central India. Aadite's father, Raju, a '1984 Gas Survivor', died in March 2013 at the age of 32, due to lungs failure. Aadite now lives in a small room with his mother, who works six days a week as a cleaner, his two sisters Mayuri, 13, Mahag, 8, and his younger brother Anuj, 6. None of the siblings in this family are attending school or any kind of practical education.
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