Many had never heard of Bhopal until December 3rd 1984 when news of the Union Carbide pesticide factory gas disaster put this central Indian city on the world stage for all the wrong reasons.
The Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) accident happened in the early hours of the morning, a lethal cloud of toxic methyl isocyanate gas (MIC) settled over Bhopal’s residents while they slept. Thick as fog the gas permeated the decrepit structures that populate Bhopal’s large slum colonies. Chaos and panic ensued as half a million people were exposed to the noxious cloud. Thousands collapsed, and many died on the streets, life slipped away from them as they inhaled the deadly fumes. Within days more than 8000 people had perished, and still thousands more were left seriously ill.
Now nearly three decades later more than 30,000 people live in colonies that are still affected by the toxic waste that has never been cleaned up and continues to pollute underground water reserves. Birth defects, neurological illnesses and other severe health issues burden a people that have largely been ignored by the outside world.
This is where Alex Masi’s book, Bhopal Second Disaster, awarded with the 2012 FotoEvidence Book Award and published by FotoEvidence is such an important work, for this young UK photojournalist has put the spotlight back on what is regarded as the world’s worst industrial accident, and shown its continuing human toll.
In April 2009 Masi visited Bhopal for the first time. Having completed his degree in photojournalism at the London College of Communication a couple of years earlier, he was keen to explore subjects of injustice and specifically children’s rights. After photographing projects in South Africa and Israel he headed to India. Masi says he had heard of Bhopal, but wasn’t aware of the fact that restitution had not been made and as a consequence its inhabitants were still exposed.
Over a period of three years Masi made eight separate visits to Bhopal where he collaborated with the NGO Bhopal Medical Appeal (BMA), its dedicated staff working tirelessly with the people still suffering from this disaster. BMA provides support through the free health clinic, Sambhavna Trust, and the Chingari Rehabilitation Centre for children born with severe birth defects.
Emotionally impacted by the plight of the Bhopalis, Masi says, “Bhopal is a story where it’s impossible to be impartial. The facts are stark, the existence of the toxic waste is not something that can be disputed, nor that Union Carbide didn’t care about the people living near the factory…I want to make images that will touch the emotions of people who see them”. And in Bhopal Second Disaster he has certainly achieved this.
With Masi’s images there is no ambiguity to the suffering these physically and intellectually disabled children and their families endure on a daily basis, and Bhopal Second Disaster is a poignant reminder of the monstrous legacy handed to generations of Bhopalis.
When looking at a body of work like this, it is often difficult to single out any particular image, the photographs as a whole making a powerful statement. But in this instance two photographs stand out for me and in many ways encapsulate the sentiment of the impact of this disaster on the young – the photograph of a child with severely deformed legs juxtaposed with an image of rocking horses makes a strong statement on the universality of child’s play and how the disability this child suffers has robbed him of so much.
But Masi’s book isn’t only about the devastation that has been meted out on these people, it is also a validation of the strength of the human spirit. Masi has captured moments of joy and laughter, and these are emotions he intentionally chose to convey. Despite the atrocious conditions they have to endure, those affected still desire to celebrate life as Masi says in his book – “most of the people I have met were kind, genuine and welcoming…(and) hold life dear to their heart and wish for a better future”.
While Bhopal Second Disaster focuses heavily on the birth defects and health ramifications, there are also a number of strong images that convey the ever-present danger to the residents of these impoverished colonies – pools of water left after the monsoonal rains lap at the entrances of slum dwellings, children bathe in contaminated waters and brooding storm clouds gather above the deserted pesticide factory that has been left to rot, an image considered reminiscent of the toxic plume of 1984.
Having spent so much time with the Bhopalis Masi has become personally involved and through ‘The Photographers Giving Back Award’ in Sweden has been able to financially contribute to the education and wellbeing of Poonam, a young girl who is pictured in the book sitting in the rain. These funds will also aid her family.
Photography plays a vital role in human communication. With Bhopal Second Disaster Masi has reinforced the power of the still photograph in its ability to make the viewer stop, think and consider each of the elements of an image that combine to tell us a visual story.
In the face of incomprehensible tragedy often words fail us and it is then that “people trust their eyes” says Indra Sinha who has worked with the Bhopalis for nearly 20 years through BMA and has written the introduction to Bhopal Second Disaster. Sinha maintains that a picture is sometimes all the evidence we need in order to understand a catastrophe of this scale. Masi’s award-winning collection of photographs supports that belief.
Alison Stieven-Taylor
About FotoEvidence
FotoEvidence was formed to “continue the tradition of using photography to draw attention to human rights violations, injustice, oppression and assaults on sovereignty or human dignity wherever they may occur”. The annual FotoEvidence Book Award recognises a photographic project “documenting evidence of a violation of human rights”. Instituted in 2010, Alex Masi is the second winner of the Award.
Exhibition FotoEvidence Book Award 2012
From October 25th to November 4th, 2012
VII Gallery
28 Jay Street, Brooklyn
NY 11201, USA
Gallery hours : 10am – 6pm Daily
Book
Bhopal Second Disaster
© 2012 FotoEvidence
8″x 12″, 80 pages, 55 Color Photographs
Language: English
Forward by Indra Sinha
Text Editor: David Stuart
Photo Editor: Regina Monfort
ISBN 978-0-9834913-6-1
