Michelle Siu
Forgotten but Not Gone- Thalidomide Victims
Thalidomide victim Bernadette Bainbridge, 52, has seal-like hands, one ear, partial facial paralysis and is completely Thalidomide victim Bernadette Bainbridge. Forgotten but Not Gone- Thalidomide Victims. November 2014. Reliant on her elderly parents because of her disabilities. Some nights she prays she will pass away before her parents as she is fearful of the uncertainty of how she would manage without them. Her mother took thalidomide which was once considered a "miracle drug" and federally approved in Canada for ailments such as insomnia and morning sickness when it was in fact damaging an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 unborn babies worldwide. The Canadian federal government gave its victims a one-time compensation payout in 1991 of $52,000 to $82,000 a person-- an insult to the now middle-aged victims. This photo was part of a large project by The Globe and Mail's investigation into the thalidomide scandal. Immediately after this photo ran front page, this long-forgotten issue was brought up in parliament leading to a unanimous vote by all Members of Parliament to give full support to victims of thalidomide. After decades of fighting for compensation the survivors and their families were in tears. Ottawa is now promising annual payments but negotiations are still in progress.
The Globe and Mail