Ukraine contemplates 10 years of life under Chornobyl's cloud (05/05/96)

Ukraine contemplates 10 years of life under Chornobyl's cloud

by Marta Kolomayets
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Memorial services and moments of silence. Telethons and radio shows. Commemorative concerts and museum exhibits. Roundtables and conferences. Protests and press conferences. Medals of honor, coins of tribute and memorial monuments. Airlifts and agreements. These were just some of the ways Ukraine marked the 10th anniversary of the world's worst civil nuclear accident, the April 26, 1986, explosion at the Chornobyl nuclear plant, which rocked the planet.

In Ukraine, as in Belarus and Russia - the three countries that suffered and continue to suffer most from the radioactive particles which spewed from Chornobyl's reactor No. 4, contaminated the region and damaged the health of its inhabitants - April 26 was a day of mourning.

Blue-and-yellow-flags, adorned with black ribbons of mourning, flew on government buildings and private institutions, and the bells of Kyiv's churches tolled solemnly throughout the day, as Ukraine's citizens remembered the tragedy of the Chornobyl accident.

President Leonid Kuchma addressed the citizens of Ukraine on national television in the evening of April 25, declaring that the Chornobyl accident was a "disaster of global proportions" and that "its aftermath can only be eliminated by joint efforts of many nations."

He again explained that Ukraine must rely on financial aid from the West if it is to close the nuclear power plant north of Kyiv by the end of this century.

And, he commended the citizens of Ukraine who dealt with the consequences of the accident for "courage, selflessness and patience."

On April 26, President Kuchma presented government medals and awards to those individuals who helped with the initial clean-up of the accident. Six persons were honored posthumously. Thirteen persons were awarded the Cross for Courage, five persons the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Order (third degree) and 18 were given the presidential badge of honor. Several participants in the clean-up effort were conferred the title of "merited worker."

During the Ukrainian Parliament's morning plenary session on this 10th anniversary of the accident, the legislators bowed their heads in a moment of tribute to the victims of Chornobyl.

Also that day U.S. Ambassador William Green Miller and Yuriy Kostenko, Ukraine's minister of environmental protection and nuclear safety, signed a memorandum on creation of an International Chornobyl Center for Nuclear Safety, Radioactive Wastes and Radio Ecology.

With promises of $3 million of U.S. investment, Mr. Kostenko noted that the objectives of the center will be to "outline absolutely new approaches to the use of nuclear power engineering, phasing out nuclear power units which have run out their service, the future of the sarcophagus and the problems involved in the Chornobyl exclusion zone."

Ukrainian state television aired a two-day telethon to raise money for children suffering from Chornobyl-related illnesses, showing footage from the reactor right after the explosion and interviews with leading political, cultural figures as well as people involved in the disaster clean-up.

The National Bank of Ukraine on April 26 issued two denominations of coins commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster, one with a value of 2 million karbovantsi ($10), the other for 200,000 karbovantsi ($1), respectively. All profit from sales of the 10,000 coins minted will go toward financing the liquidation of the consequences of the accident.

The Chornobyl Museum, located in Kyiv's Podil neighborhood, was awarded the status of a national museum by the Ukrainian government on April 26. Prime Minister Yevhen Marchuk, attending a special meeting at the museum, read a presidential decree upgrading the museum, which contains more than 50,000 items and papers relating to Chornobyl.

"This is a unique, historical-cultural and socio-political institution of Ukraine, reflecting the global character of the Chornobyl disaster and the heroic feat of people who proved to be able to harness the atom, which had gone out of control," said the Ukrainian premier.

He told the audience gathered at the museum that over the last 10 years Chornobyl had claimed 167,653 lives in Ukraine. He also said that 3.2 million people in Ukraine are victims of the accident and suffer from poor health and Chornobyl-related illnesses.

A monument to servicemen who took part in the April 1986 clean-up was unveiled in Kyiv on April 25. Sculpted in the form of a granite obelisk under a metal frame crowned with a cross to symbolize the dome of a church, the monument was consecrated by hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate.

Some 100 relatives of the first people killed by the radiation took a special "Morning Train" from Kyiv to Moscow to visit the graves of their loved ones, buried in lead coffins to protect the earth from the contaminated corpses.

In Slavutych, the town built for Chornobyl workers after the 1986 accident, a memorial service was held to mourn the victims of the accident. Exactly 10 years later, at 1:24 a.m. on April 26, people gathered at the Slavutych monument for a minute of silence, placing burning candles and bouquets of carnations at the base of the monument, which is etched with photographs of the first 30 people killed by Chornobyl's radiation.

Throughout the week of April 22-28, scores of roundtables and conferences were sponsored by international organizations, institutions, environmental groups and private foundations, covering just about every issued relating to Chornobyl: health, environment, energy, social consequences, political aspects, etc.

Various world leaders, including U.S. President Bill Clinton and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, delivered messages of condolences to the people of Ukraine on the 10th anniversary of the Chornobyl tragedy, and both leaders promised that their countries will work to help Ukraine overcome the lingering impact of Chornobyl and to improve the quality of life of Ukraine's population.

In the evening on April 26, President Kuchma and his wife, Lyudmilla, Prime Minister Marchuk, Parliament Chairman Oleksander Moroz, as well as numerous government officials and Parliament members, attended a commemorative concert at the Taras Shevchenko Opera and Ballet Theater.

"Bowing our heads before the memory of those who gave their lives to save us from this atomic disaster, thanking those who risked their health in order to clean up after the accident, we also take this opportunity to express our gratitude and our respect to state and international organizations that have supported Ukraine since the early days of the Chornobyl tragedy and continue to help us to this day. Among those which do such charity work is the American Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund," said President Kuchma in his opening remarks at the concert.

"I believe that with mutual support, mutual aid and cooperation, by uniting forces, our mutual wisdom will serve as a promising guarantee for today's and future generations that our planet Earth will never again experience a similar tragedy," added President Kuchma.

"The program is dedicated to the victims of the Chornobyl disaster, in particular the liquidators who lost their lives and the children of Chornobyl for whom the entire future has been jeopardized," said Nadia Matkiwsky, the executive director of the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund, who produced the program for the commemorative evening. Directed by Valentyn Kozmenko-Delinde, the commemorative evening featured actor Bohdan Stupka, folk vocalist Nina Matvienko and the Virsky Dance Ensemble.

"The commemorative evening is envisioned as a theatrical concert based on a central theme - the three phases through which the life of a child of Chornobyl will pass: birth, tragedy and, ultimately, salvation. Progress through these phases is motivated by faith, love and hope," explained artistic director Mr. Kozmenko-Delinde, talking about the concert.

It also featured rock musician and vocalist Jon Anderson of the group Yes and the Westminster Boys Choir. [British vocalist Sarah Brightman did not come to Ukraine because of the recent brushfires in Chornobyl, and Oscar-winning actor Jack Palance, who is the national spokesman for the CCRF, who was in the audience, also did not perform as originally scheduled.]

"Chornobyl is a global problem, not simply a local misfortune," said the actor during a press conference in Kyiv on April 24. "The CCRF was determined to bring international artists to Ukraine for the commemorative activities in order to broaden international awareness," said the actor, who spent a week in the homeland of his parents.

But, it was not the international talent that captured the heart of the audience at the theater that evening, but a 12-year-old girl from Lviv, Solomiya Urbanovych, (step-daughter of Yaroslav Dutkewych, Peace Corps director in Ukraine).

Concluding the concert with a moving delivery of a prayer to St. Volodymyr, she brought the audience to tears and once again underscored that Ukraine's future is its children.

Solomiya later performed at the outdoor evening concert in Kyiv, attended by thousands of residents of the city on Independence Square, which ended with a powerful musical requiem delivered by Kyiv choirs.

| Home Page |