Search

This gas leak took place in Bhopal, India and I think that the location has an important impact on the aftermath of the situation. After the gas leaked people protested to be compensated for their lost ones but many died before they were able to be justified. I feel that if this happened in America, circumstances would have been different, there would have been more media coverage, and action would be taken more swiftly. The location of this occurrence had an impact with how it was handled after and if it had occurred some place else then it would have been different. 

This film focuses on the environmental and social problem of having large gas (lethal) plants near cities or other populated areas where people can be harmed. Environmentally these gasses are no good because they are emitted into the air and are very soluble in the water which leads to ocean acidification. Ocean acidification makes it so that the ocean has a lower pH level, this can harm marine wildlife. Socially, the gas is toxic to people and as seen in the Bhopal tragedy, it can kill people or severely alter their lives. This could be seen through the immediate deaths of civilians, deformities of children born after the incident, and the families affected even years after hoping for justice.

From watching the video, I feel affected emotionally because it was definitely hard to watch so many people die, especially the innocent children. It is a hard pill to swallow to watch the lives of so many people taken away from them so unexpectedly in their own homes. I feel affected by seeing the photo of the unknown child because it was hauntingly touching as it was for so many people that advocated for justice after this tragedy. It was also really daunting seeing so many people being buried and burned in mass because they were not granted the ability to be respectfully honored for their death which I think is something very valuable. Intellectually I think that this film made me think about how this tragedy could have been possibly prevented if the plant had been maintained and checked up on regularly or if the plant wasn’t so close to a whole city in the first place. And I also feel gratitude to those who are still advocating for justice for the victims and trying to get people with government power to make that change.

Emergency responders and doctors are portrayed in the film with the upmost dedication, skill, and care for life. They were portrayed as the heroes of this disaster.

-          Initially, it discusses a circular published in 1997, which addresses the problems faced by undocumented immigrants in France and the problems they face getting medical treatment, which eventually went on to turn in to law and improve the welfare of ill illegal residents. This was in the face of many years of increasing laws restricting undocumented resident’s rights in France.

-          Then, it speaks of a specific plight of a French resident from Senegalese, and his request for medical attention, the avenues he had explored to get treatment, how he couldn’t return to his homeland, and how he had, in many ways, given up in the system and was relying on his failing body to arouse compassion from the government.

-          Talks about how the restructuring of the French economy has changed employment needs in France; once, foreign immigrant labor powered the workforce, and made a living through their physical well-being. Now, with the decline of this type of job availability, a change was needed to how the French government deals with illness in foreign residents.