By ATIBA ROUGIER, 7/28/2015. It’s 4 am in Bhopal. I am up doing prep work for later today. A few of us will be taking a guided tour of the Union Carbide site @ 11 am. Afterward, we will walk around the colonies directly affected by the gas leak of 1984 and the subsequent contaminated water. I know it will be a mentally and emotionally draining experience…but it must be done. I just finished sending a few e-mails to my family to check in. The prayers are sounding through the air, I wish you can experience it!!! Funny how a place can inspire you—being in this holistic space has an effect—consciously and subconsciously. For breakfast, I had a cup of coffee followed by Tulsi tea, an apple, and a pear. Here’s a view from my room…and obviously after I wrote that, I thought of Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own, haaha!
We conducted a few patient interviews this morning. Interviews are always a bit awkward especially when it is around such a sensitive topic like this and so early in the morning! I know for me, and most people, diving into raw emotional trauma at the start of the day is exhausting and draining.
I have started my “final reflection” presentation, so I will work on that until we leave for the site visit @ 10:45 am. Until then, cheers.
PS: It is sunny and not raining for the first time in days! Yippee.