Before reading your dissertation I was completely unaware of the Bhopal gas leak. This just goes to show how uninformed Americans are of international crises. I remember watching a TED talk where the presentation dealt specifically with America media's lack of equality on international stories. I further researched the incident and discovered that, for being the worst industrial accident in history, very little has been done to raise awareness of the disaster.
The incident occurred in 1984, however the issue is still relevant today due to the nature of the crisis. The leaked gas was actually a poisonous pesticide that caused long-term health effects. The list of effects includes eye problems, respiratory problems, and birthing defects. The reason social media could have played a role is because the aftermath of the crisis was a crisis within itself. The thousands of casualties were unanticipated, and furthermore doctors and hospitals were misinformed on how to treat the pesticide poisoned patients. Although it is too late to go back and provide India with the proper technology tools to communicate with the medical industry, it is not too late for social media to help victims. The U.S. supreme court filed a class-action suit on behalf of the victims. Though the case is currently pending, many affected Indians remain unaware that they are entitled to a part of the settlement of the United States case. The best way to get the word out to these victims is social media. It does not really matter which platform (facebook or mobile phone sms) the important matter is that a line of communication be opened between what is happening with the U.S. court case and the victims of the disaster.
In essence, by providing communication through social media to Indians we are really benefit India and the U.S. Americans are more or less unaware of the happenings of the Bhopal gas leak due to the geographical insignificance and the overshadowing of other international crisis stories. At the same time, Indians are unaware of the aftermath efforts being conducted by U.S. courts. In other words, both America and India will gain complete insight on the crisis as well as the aftermath of the crisis, everyone wins.
This is a great blog post that definitely speaks to the complexity of the Bhopal tragedy. One question I have is what do you mean by "Indians are unaware of the aftermath efforts being conducted by U.S. courts"? And how can they be made more aware of these efforts?
ReplyDeletePerhaps this wasn't publicized throughout the U.S. was the lack of technology and information delivery at the time. As technological systems have become available over the years, individuals have been able to champion causes and leverage the power of the internet to muster huge audiences and followings. It is interesting to me that presently, there is not a consolidated social networking system dedicated to crisis and disasters - both contemporary and historical... Somewhat of a Facebook "Causes" system, but a standalone. While one wants to stay informed of these issues worldwide - it is difficult to get a big picture from systems like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube where content is driven by search, your data and your online relationships... How does the cloud know to inform me of Bhopal efforts when I am no way logically connected to Bhopal?
ReplyDeleteI think an important thing about the gas leak is how we can learn from it and prevent leaks like this one in the future. Either by taking the correct safety measures, making sure employees are educated on the proper procedures and safety routines, or just by having a warning/evacuation system set up to inform the public if a leak occurs.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you have heard about the 1,661 mile extension pipeline carrying crude oil from Canada across the US. http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/environment/2011-06-08-keystone-pipeline-epa-leak_n.htm
It is extremely controversial because they have similar lines that have leaked before causing harm to the environment. The two issues don't align completely but they are similar and such a huge pipe could cause a lot of destruction, we need to learn from these past events to change our actions in the future!
What I find most interesting about today is that disasters spread so fast by word-of-mouth on social networking sites. Within seconds or minutes of a disaster the entire world will know of it. It makes me very sad to think that I have never heard of the Bhopal gas leak. Although it happened before I was born, I today was unaware that it is the worst industrial accident in history. You think they would have taught us this in world history in high school. But besides the point, it would have been greatly beneficial if social media existed back then. We have seen that it can do great things for the community. It allows people all over the world to be aware of catastrophes that are going on. Through social media sites people can set up groups and join causes. Also like you mentioned, the Supreme Court has filed a class action suit for the victims. Through social media we can spread the word.
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