Chornobyl Challenge coalition formed to mark 10th anniversary

by Roman Woronowycz

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - On the eve of the 10th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear accident a coalition has formed to commemorate the tragedy of Chornobyl and to refocus the eyes of the world on its aftermath.

Chornobyl Challenge '96, a group of more than one dozen organizations, from diaspora political organizations to fraternals and from Ukrainian Churches to a United Nations-affiliated organization, have joined to set up a series of events, which will begin on February 4 with a fund-raising banquet.

It will culminate the weekend of April 26 in Washington, exactly 10 years from the day when the No. 4 reactor at the Chornobyl Atomic Energy Station blew skyward, sending plumes of ash and debris over hundreds of squares miles and a radioactive cloud over much of Ukraine, Belarus and northern Europe. That weekend the organizers are planning a mass rally, an ecumenical service and a concert at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

"The point is to make the public aware of the continuing need for international medical relief and the involvement of Western nations in the decommissioning of the RBMK Soviet-built reactors including the need for extensive financial assistance for Ukraine," explained Alexander Kuzma, the national coordinator for the Chornobyl Challenge '96 effort.

He said another aspect of the endeavor is to focus on the "continuing need for Western assistance in the area of nuclear decontamination, disaster clean-up and large-scale public health studies to determine the long-term impact of radiation exposure on heavily populated areas."

Fund-raiser with Jack Palance

Launching the commemorative season will be a fund raising banquet on February 4 at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Center in South Bound Brook, N.J., with Academy Award winner Jack Palance as a special guest. Mr. Palance is the national spokesperson for the Children of Chornobyl Foundation, a central component of Chornobyl Challenge '96. Honored will be individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Chornobyl relief effort.

Archbishop Antony of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been the driving force behind the banquet, which is dedicated specifically to raising funds for medical relief for Chornobyl's victims. Also attending will be Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S. Yuri Shcherbak, who convened the first organizational meeting from which the coalition developed, and a host of other public figures.

Yale-Columbia joint conference

Just over two weeks before the historic date, on April 7-8, Yale University's Center for Eastern European Studies and Columbia University's Harriman Institute will hold a conference examining issues surrounding Chornobyl. The two-day gathering (one day at Yale, one day at Columbia) will deal with problems of environmental health, energy policy and nuclear safety.

Among the expert panelists scheduled to attend are Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Vasyl Durdynets and People's Deputy Volodymyr Yavorivsky. On hand, also, will be Ukraine's first lady. Liudmyla Kuchma. Following the conference a reception will take place in Columbia's Low Library.

On April 25, Georgetown University will host its own Chornobyl conference. Prof. Murray Feshback Jr., noted author of a book on Chornobyl, "Ecocide in the USSR," along with a broad array of experts and scholars will participate in panels on the medical consequences of Chornobyl, the engineering aspects of the accident and the contamination of the Dnipro River.

That evening an ecumenical service will take place at a Washington area cathedral. Like many details regarding the commemorations the particulars of the ecumenical service are still being worked out. However, organizers have stated that it will include "prominent political and religious leaders, including members of Congress and the administration, and representatives of the Ukrainian American community." They encourage the entire community to participate Also planned are readings and musical performances appropriate to the event.

Ecumenical service at St. Patrick's

On April 26, the fateful day on which reactor No. 4 erupted, many events are scheduled throughout the U.S. and the world. In the U.S. an ecumenical service will take place at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York at the initiative of Ukrainian Catholic Bishop Basil Losten of the Stamford Eparchy.

Communities with significant numbers of Ukrainian Americans, such as Chicago, Detroit, San Diego and New Haven, Conn., are planning bell-tolling ceremonies and candle-light vigils, as well as regional and local press conferences.

At the United Nations an environmental conference on Chornobyl will occur, sponsored by World Information Transfer, a non-governmental organization associated with the U.N. Ambassador Shcherbak, a noted expert on Chornobyl, will head a distinguished panel of experts discussing the tragedy and its aftermath. Representatives of several of the U.N. missions also are scheduled to take part. "This truly will be a global conference," said Mr. Kuzma, the Challenge coordinator.

Mass rally in Washington

The next day attention shifts to Washington, where a mass national rally is planned. Mr. Kuzma said national political leaders will be invited to attend along with representatives of those nations affected by the radiation fallout from the explosion of the reactor, members of the American environmental movement, members of the medical community, veterans' groups, laity and clergy, as well as Ukrainian Americans.

Negotiations are under way with several pop music performers to participate in the rally as well.

The series of observances culminates on the evening of April 28, when the acclaimed Odessa Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Hobart Earle presents a Chornobyl commemoration concert at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, which is being coordinated by The Washington Group Cultural Fund and the Chornobyl Committee of Washington, with support from Chornobyl Challenge '96.

Separately, Ukraine is staging a whole slew of events in Kyiv and in the Chornobyl region unrelated to the U.S. commemorations, the details of which will be forthcoming, said Mr. Kuzma.

Commenting on the organizing effort to ensure that observances of the Chornobyl tragedy are successful, Mr. Kuzma said that he has only superlatives for the planning done thus far. "There has been a strong cooperative spirit in the planning process, and we are encouraged by the solidarity and mutual support of the organizations involved," he said.

Chornobyl's 10th: a call to action

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 21, 1996, No. 3, Vol. LXIV

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