India is marking the 25th anniversary of the leak at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in the city of Bhopal. The victims have generally been left in a legal haze since the ill-fated night (Dec. 2, 1984) when a toxic-gas cloud spread across the central Indian city.
印度博帕尔城联合碳化物杀虫剂工厂发生毒气泄露事件至今已经整整25年了。自1984年12月2日毒气泄露以来，这场灾难的受害者一直被笼罩在法律的阴云中。
Victims of the gas leak, accompanied by family members and supporters, took to the streets of Bhopal to demand long-delayed justice.
毒气泄露的受害者和他们的家人、支持者走上街道，呼吁得到耽搁已久的公正判决。
They want accountability for the deaths of thousands of people and the ill effects suffered by - in the Indian government's estimate - a half million individuals.
他们要求对数千名死者和饱受疾病困扰的人有个交待。据政府估计，有50万人受到泄露事件引发的病痛困扰。
There have been numerous civil and criminal cases, filed in India and the United States.
在印度和美国，无数和泄露事件相关的民事诉讼和刑事诉讼被提交。
Warren Anderson, 88, who was then chairman of Union Carbide, faces manslaughter charges in India. The United States, five years ago, rejected India's request to extradite him.
当时任联合碳化物公司主席的88岁高龄的沃伦．安德森在印度受到过失杀人罪的指控。美国五年前驳回了印度引渡安德森的要求。
A nearly one-half-billion dollar settlement was paid by Union Carbide to the Indian government in 1989. Disabled survivors say what eventually trickled down to them, amounting to an average of a few cents a day since the tragedy, is woefully inadequate to pay medical bills and replace lost income.
致残的幸存者说，自悲剧发生以来，分到他们手中的钱平均每天只有几美分。这根本不足以支付医药费和抵偿失去的收入。
India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, commented in a statement that the victims "can never really be fully compensated."
印度总理曼莫汉·辛格在一份声明中说，受害者“永远无法得到充分补偿”。
The parent company of the Indian subsidiary was bought by Dow Chemical of the United States in 1999. Dow maintains all legal liabilities were settled with that one-time payment.
1999年，美国陶氏化学收购了联碳印度子公司所属的总公司。陶氏化学说，联碳公司向印度政府支付一次性赔偿金后，此事法律责任的追究已经完结。
New York-based lawyer Rajan Sharma, who represents Bhopal plaintiffs in a groundwater contamination case, filed in 1999, disputes Dow's stance.
来自纽约的拉伊·沙尔玛是1999年提起诉讼的博帕尔地下水污染案件中原告方律师。他对陶氏的观点予以反驳。
"The U.S. Court of Appeals has rejected that argument at least four times," Sharma said. "There is absolutely no doubt the present-day litigation that concerns environmental pollution stemming from the Bhopal plant is completely outside the scope of the 1989 settlement."
Sharma, speaking to VOA from Bhopal, says he hopes American judges will rule the plant's original owner is legally responsible, no matter how much time has passed.
沙尔玛在博帕尔接受美国之音采访时说，无论事情过去了多久，他希望美国法官能判决工厂原所有者负有法律责任。
"We are cautiously hopeful that the American courts will see that Union Carbide is playing a game here whereby it will not submit to the jurisdiction of India's courts. It will not allow India to apply its own laws to address this problem. The American courts will see that if they do not address this Union Carbide will essentially to have been allowed or permitted to escape liability altogether."
“我们希望美国法院能看到，联碳公司在耍花招。它不在印度法院的管辖范围内接受审判。它不让印度应用自身的法律解决这一问题。美国法院应该意识到，如果不解决这一问题，联碳公司就得到了逃避一切法律责任的许可。”
Dow declined VOA's requests for an interview.
Union Carbide claimed a disgruntled employee sabotaged the plant, causing the leak of tons of toxic gases. Activists contend a faulty plant design or neglect was to blame.
联合碳化物公司说，一名心怀不满的雇员对工厂的破坏造成了污染事件。活动人士认为，工厂设计失误或者是松懈的安全标准酿成毒气泄露。
Union Carbide documents no one has bothered to remove remain at the neglected site inside buildings with broken doors and smashed windows. Lawyers and activists say the files, could be pertinent to the lingering legal cases.
联合碳化物公司的文件没有人清理，被留在门窗破损的大楼里无人注意的角落。律师和活动人士说这些文件可能和悬而未决的法律案件有关。
Telegrams and other papers obtained by VOA from the site discuss leaks and other problems at the facility prior to the December 1984 disaster. The full picture is slowly vanishing, however. Security guards on the site say they use the remaining documents to light fires on chilly nights.
美国之音从博帕尔获得的电报和其他文件中涉及了1984年12月灾难发生前，工厂设施气体泄露以及其他问题。然而，要想还原事件的全部却越来越困难。那里的保安人员说，他们在寒冷的夜晚用留下的文件生火取暖。 |