AID Volunteer Pragya Bhagat writes her impressions of the "Students for Bhopal" Conference in Indiana. Pragya plans to visit Bhopal soon.

I see myself surrounded by passion. In the circle where I sit, I see people that have devoted their Labor Day weekend to one cause – justice for Bhopal. And even though the gas leak that killed thousands happened twenty-two years ago, the hearts of those present here are brimming with compassion for the survivors of the disaster, with rage for the criminals walking free. The 2nd Annual Students for Bhopal Conference has begun in Bloomington, IN.

Conference calls with Rajan Sharma, the attorney for the International Coalition for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB), and Sathyu Sarangi, a vital figure at the Sambhavna Clinic, provides us with valuable updates.

At the conference, we learn how to create local campaigns, how to expel Dow from our universities, and how to create city council resolutions. We learn the meaning of non-violent direct action, and how to effectively pitch events to the media. We learn from the experiences of others. We learn as much as we can, and then we learn some more, till the last session of the conference.

As the weekend comes to a close, we sit outside in a circle, on the damp cobblestone of Indiana University, and pass around a label of Sevin, the chemical that “is responsible for the deaths of thousands”. As the street lamps dimly light the somber faces, I embed this image in my memory – a group of individuals from all walks of life who have come together here in search of a better future for those that live an ocean away from them. And as the conference began, it ends- I see myself surrounded by passion.

-- Pragya Bhagat, AID Austin