The large marquee in Brighthelm Gardens with the scary photos on the outside contains an exhibition of photos, videos and films about the disaster in Bhopal, India, in 1984.

They will shock and maybe even anger you but they are also a celebration of life and survival against all odds. You'll meet survivors of the world's worst industrial accident and you could even be served a cup of Bhopali tea by a real Indian princess.

Nearly 20 years ago, in central India, a pesticides factory owned by the Union Carbide company exploded one night, sending a silent, lethal cloud of gas across the sleeping city of Bhopal.

At least 8,000 people died then and thousands more were maimed. Their terrible injuries are being handed down to their children because much of the damage is genetic.

Now, tons of abandoned chemicals are leaking from the abandoned factory and poisoning the drinking water so the disaster is still happening today.

The death toll now stands at 20,000 and another person dies every day as a direct result of the toxic plant. Dow Chemicals have acquired the hugely profitable Union Carbide company but it denies it has any further duty to help the people of Bhopal.

So what has that got to do with Brighton? Five years ago, Tim Edwards embarked on a sponsored cycle ride from Brighton to Bhopal to publicise the ongoing disaster.

Robbed of everything but his bike and sleeping bag twice along the way, he still made it to Bhopal.

His determination was rewarded when he met and married the beautiful princess and heir to the Bhopal dynasty, The Sahiba Zadi Farah Khan.

Back home in Brighton Tim and Farah now co-ordinate the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, which aims to keep political pressure on the US government and Dow and to raise funds to help the people still suffering from the disaster.

The marquee exhibition features film shows including Bhopal Express (noon and 5pm) and documentaries (10am and 3pm) and an exhibition of photos by award winning news photographer Raghu Rai.

You can meet Sathyu Sarangi who runs the free Sambhavna Clinic in Bhopal and Champa and Rashida, two Bhopali women who last month won the Nobel Prize for the Environment.

And Farah will be serving chai tea.

It's all free but donations are welcome. And when you wonder how deep to dig into your pocket consider this. When the Exxon Valdes spilled oil in Alaska, the endangered sea otters were airlifted fresh lobster at a cost of $500 a day per otter.

That's what the survivors of Bhopal got in total compensation. Over 20 years it's about enough for one cup of tea a day.

-Marcus Pennell, Sussex Community Internet Project Community Base, 113 Queens Road, Brighton