Turning the pages back...

April 22, 2001

Last year marked the 15th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear accident, and in our editorial on that occasion we remarked that it seemed the anniversary was being commemorated rather quietly in Ukraine and in the diaspora. Most of the commemorations, we noted, were low-key: memorial services, conferences, "but that should not affect how we respond to the needs of the victims of the world's worst nuclear accident, a 'disaster of global proportions,' as it has been called."

As Dr. David Marples pointed out in a speech prepared for the 15th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster, "there is no consensus on the impact of Chornobyl on health, ... there is no widely accepted study on the health consequences of the accident. There is no agreement on the number of victims. ... " Nonetheless, no one questions that the effects of Chornobyl continue to be felt.

That is why, we argued in our editorial, we must "support institutions and organizations that strive to help the people of Ukraine deal with the medical and social crises they face on a daily basis, to help ease their very real pain, to help give new generations a better tomorrow. Indeed, that would be the best way for all of us to continue to remember Chornobyl."

Source: "Remember Chornobyl," editorial, special section on the 15th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear accident, The Ukrainian Weekly, April 22, 2001, Vol. LXIX, No. 16.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, April 21, 2002, No. 16, Vol. LXX

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