What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City

What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City (2018) is pediatrician, scientist, and public health advocate Mona Hanna-Attisha’s (Dr. Mona) debut book that provides an in-depth look at the government’s poisoning of Flint residents and subsequent coverup. This story, according to Dr. Mona, is also about much deeper crises that the broader American society is currently facing: a breakdown in local democracy; misguided austerity policies; environmental injustices that disproportionately affect low-income and minority communities; and indifference to the plight of other human beings. At the center of this story is Dr. Mona herself—an Iraqi-American whose family’s history of resistance against Saddam Hussein and other corrupt government officials inspired her pursuit of justice for Flint kids.

Dr. Mona uses a combination of personal stories and cited research to draw the reader into the Flint water crisis story. The story begins with Dr. Mona telling a patient that it is safe to use Flint water for mixing baby formula. To her horror, her friend Elin tells her at a barbeque that the water is not safe for consumption according to a former EPA colleague. This colleague, Miguel Del Toral, leaked a memo that provides evidence the city was not using corrosion control when it switched the city’s water source from Detroit water systems to the Flint river, which resulted in lead leaching into the water. These realizations sent Dr. Mona on the path to exposing the Flint water crisis. The spirit of her grandfather who taught her to always stand up for injustices buoys her.

Dr. Mona provides readers with the political and scientific context to understand the Flint water crisis. From the beginning of the water switch, Flint residents raised concerns to city and state authorities. Yet, these authorities showed indifference. Dr. Mona starts to reach out to city and state officials to gain access to state-level blood data. Mona stands on the shoulders of giants, such as John Snow, Paul Shekwana, and Marc Edwards, who have all felt duty bound to use research to protect the public from environmental contaminants.

Similar to the Flint residents, city and state officials also tell Mona that the water meets federal standards and is safe for drinking. These officials continue to ignore her request for access to the children’s data.

Dr. Mona begins to wonder if something else, like the fact that Flint is a poor and primarily African American community, might be driving the indifference among public officials. The city has a long history of racist policies, partially fueled by GM. Despite the constant battles that Flint residents face, they remain tenacious and hopeful. It is this spirit of Flint that also drives Mona to continue fighting against the clear injustices. Dr. Mona and her colleagues work to build political support. In so doing, they hope more people will start to see the urgency of the situation.

Mona emphasizes multiple times in the book that there are no safe levels of lead. Despite knowing how crucial it is to protect children from lead exposure, the federal government has not regulated lead in water. Recognizing that she and her team will likely not get support from local, county, or state government officials, they work to find support elsewhere, including within the clinic and pediatric world and other water experts, such as Marc Edwards. With IRB-approved access to blood-lead data processed by Hurley, Mona and her team have robust proof that lead has poisoned Flint kids for nearly two years. The findings demonstrate that the Flint water crisis is a truly horrific example of environmental injustice; one that Mona, partly driven by her family’s history of activism and resistance, must continue to fight against.

Dr. Mona and her colleagues are insistent that they take their findings to the public, even without the mayor and other city officials’ support. Mona is worried about the reaction of her family, public, and field to her results, but she understands that this crisis is far larger than her. It is about protecting children. At the press conference, Mona reveals that Flint babies are drinking contaminated water. The backlash from city and state officials is unsurprisingly rapid and brutal. Science eventually wins out, and city and state officials are forced to concede that Dr. Mona’s analysis is sound. Dr. Mona’s fight, however, is not over. Instead, she and her team work to determine the best wrap-around-services to help Flint kids impacted by this horrible environmental calamity.