500 gather on Ottawa's Parliament Hill for Chornobyl decennial commemoration (05/12/96)

500 gather on Ottawa's Parliament Hill for Chornobyl decennial commemoration

by Christopher Guly

OTTAWA - Close to 500 people gathered in front of Parliament Hill on April 29 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster.

On the eve of the event, Prime Minister Jean Chretien had issued a statement acknowledging "the many Canadians [who] reached out to the victims of the Chornobyl disaster in a spirit of common humanity." He also noted that "Canada is working with the countries of the region to help ensure that such a disaster will never occur again."

Hosted by local radio personality, John Lacharity, the supper-hour commemoration included a moleben-prayer service and a vocal presentation by a choir composed of children from three local Ukrainian schools. Several guest speakers addressed the crowd, including Ukrainian Ambassador Volodymr Furkalo, Ukrainian Canadian Congress President Oleh Romaniw, Independent Sen. Marcel Prud'homme and Joanna Survilla, president of the Canadian Relief Fund for Chornobyl Victims in Belarus.

Referring to what remains the world's worst nuclear accident, Mr. Romaniw said the effects of Chornobyl have likely changed the lives of an entire generation.

"This was a disaster of human technology tinkering irresponsibly with forces it could not fully control," he said. "This was a disaster of communist ideology taking short-cuts and reckless chances. This was a disaster of contempt for the lives and rights of innocent men, women and children. This was a disaster which need not have happened."

The Canadian Friends of Ukraine presented an incubator, valued at $15,000 (about $11,000 U.S.), to Ambassador Furkalo, which will be used in the neonatal ward of the Zhytomyr Regional Children's Hospital.

Under mostly sunny skies, everyone in attendance placed a candle in an outline of a cross in the middle of the quadrangle of Parliament Hill.

The event was sponsored by the Ottawa branch of the UCC, the Embassy of Ukraine and the Canadian Relief Fund for Chornobyl Victims in Belarus. The trio also organized a photo and art exhibit at the Art Gallery of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton.

The exhibit, from the 4th Block Museum in Kharkiv, contained photographs of the clean-up effort in the aftermath of the Chornobyl explosion, sketches of individuals on the disaster crew by a team member and a collection of children's drawings made by art school students in Belarus. The exhibit ran from April 20 to 27.

Ottawa Mayor Jacquelin Holzman also declared April 26 "The Chornobyl Nuclear Reactor Accident Day of Commemoration."

The mayor's proclamation read, in part: "Whereas many Canadians and particularly many citizens of Ottawa are involved in efforts to assist the victims of Chornobyl...I call on all right-thinking citizens to take time from their day to remember that event and, if they are able, to participate in the effort to assist the victims of the subsequent disaster."

Ottawa Deputy Mayor Joan Wing attended the Parliament Hill ceremony on behalf of the city.

In the past decade, the Canadian government has provided bilateral technical, financial and humanitarian assistance worth $38 million (about $28 million U.S.) to deal with the aftermath of the accident and to improve the safety of nuclear power plants in Ukraine. According to Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) officials, that amount represents over 20 percent of Canada's total $178 million (about $132 million U.S.) in assistance to Ukraine.

"We will work to help Ukraine overcome the lingering impact of Chornobyl and to improve the equality of life of its population," said Prime Minister Chretien's statement. "That is the best way to help the victims and to honor thew memory of those who lost their lives."

On April 26, CIDA announced an agreement with SaskPower Commercial to help modernize a thermal power plant in Ukraine. Under the $3.5 million (about $2.6-million U.S.) five-year CIDA contract, SaskPower Commercial, the commercial arm of the Saskatchewan Power Corp., will participate in a $400 million (about $296 million U.S.) World Bank program to rehabilitate the coal-fired plant at Kryvyi Rih. The plan includes increasing the plant's power output, reducing operating costs, improving its load-carrying capacity and reducing nitrous oxide emissions.

The SaskPower project is just one of several Canadian initiatives in post-Chornobyl Ukraine. The Toronto-based Help Us Help the Children fund has shipped 300 metric tons of medical supplies, infant food and clothing to 167 orphanages in Ukraine in the last three years. In May, 5,000 pairs of shoes and artificial limbs are heading for Ukrainian orphanages.

The four-year-old OSVITA project has received almost $3.5 million (about $2.6 million U.S.) in CIDA aid to introduce modern techniques for the care of mothers and children in Ukrainian pediatric hospitals, as well as train lab technicians to upgrade quality controls for the accuracy of such medical tests as blood analysis.

At the April 26 Ottawa commemoration ceremony, Mr. Romaniw called for more assistance. "It is the right thing to do," he said. "It is the sane response to an insane event."

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