NEWS AND VIEWS: A visit to Chornobyl children's camp in Havana (04/21/02)

NEWS AND VIEWS: A visit to Chornobyl children's camp in Havana

by Bohdan Nehaniv

HAVANA - All of us have heard about the children of Chornobyl recuperation camp in Cuba. However, not many of us have been able to visit the camp. This past January I had such an opportunity while in Cuba attending a culture and language seminar through the global exchange program at Havana University.

In spite of a negative response from the hotel and the global exchange, I located the telephone number of the Embassy of Ukraine in Havana. A man's voice answered my call in heavily accented Russian, apologizing that the Ukrainian-speaking secretary was away from her desk, but adding that she would return my call. Indeed the call came and I secured an appointment with the vice-consul for the following Tuesday, January 22, at 1:30 p.m.

I arrived by taxi. The Ukrainian Embassy is located on the prestigious Fifth Avenue in a two-story villa abandoned by a tobacco tycoon. After I identified myself at the wrought-iron gate, a Ukrainian-speaking female voice invited me into a lobby. I had to sign a visitor's book and found myself in a large baroque room with four other persons, who were sipping Cuban coffee from small cups.

I introduced myself as a member of the Ukrainian diaspora from Detroit, and contributor to the Chornobyl children's fund. Those present were Vice-Consul Vladyslav Bohorad and his colleague Igor Markelov, and two representatives from the camp: Natalia Lohvynenko, director, and Mykola Rudenko, assistant.

Through the efforts of the former Soviet and Cuban governments, the camp came into existence in 1991. Located some 30 kilometers east of the city of Havana, however, the camp still lies within its municipal borders. The former location of a young pioneers' camp called Tarara (the sound of the bugle), the camp consists of a number of single-story concrete rowhouses for boys and girls containing bunk beds. There are several two-story concrete bungalows for families with small children.

During the decade of its existence the camp has hosted some 167,000 children. Originally, the campers were children from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, but since 1998 only children from Ukraine have participated in the program. There is a Cuban medical team stationed in Ukraine that screens Ukrainian children seeking to travel to Cuba for treatment. The age of the children is 7 through 15, although younger children are accepted when accompanied by a parent. There are nine orphans.

Despite the fact that many students had been born after the explosion, they still suffer from the results of radiation. At present there are 140 children enrolled in the program, and 45 adults and supporting personnel and parents. The normal stay is three months; however, this varies with each child.

The Cuban government provides lodging, food and medical care; Ukraine is responsible for the rest. Items needed in the camp at present are clothing, towels, toilet paper, combs, soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, as well as cosmetics for girls. There is also a need for school supplies, notebooks, pens, pencils, children's books, toys, etc. There is also a need for more sophisticated medical equipment than Cuba can supply. A 19-year-old handicapped boy needs medical treatment and a wheelchair.

After an exchange of information, a visit to the camp was set for Thursday, January 24.

On the appointed day at 2:30 p.m. a global exchange Volvo bus (made in Brazil), carried a group of six interested participants, loaded with gifts for the children to the camp located in the eastern suburb of Havana. The camp was situated right on a sandy beach on the Atlantic Ocean.

Passing through a checkpoint maintained by the Cuban police, we were greeted by Tatiana Derkach, the camp advisor who spoke Ukrainian and Spanish. I was the spokesperson since nobody on the bus spoke Ukrainian. We were told that we would be visiting school classes, and later the school children would give a concert in our honor. We were guided to an English language class, then Spanish language, and finally the Ukrainian literature class. In each of the classes a student recited a poem or a verse in the respective language.

The show, which was conducted by a talented choreographer, Natalia Morozova, under a canopy, was a surprise to everyone. Ukrainian tape-recorded music served as a background for the dances. The show could have taken place at any Ukrainian festival in the diaspora or in Ukraine. The guests were astounded.

Later, as the spokesman of our group, I thanked performers and school officials for their effort and dedication to the youth. We were told that the Ministry of Education of Ukraine took over the camp recently and regulates the school curriculum, supplies, books and instructors.

At the conclusion of the program the visiting group was treated to a real Ukrainian dinner including "borsch" and "holubtsi." As a gesture of gratitude, we were given a copy of an introduction to the history of Ukraine published by Dr. Yurii Mytsyk in Kyiv in 2001.

This remarkable day is sure to be remembered by our group of visitors, as well as by the children of Chornobyl in Cuba.

Any gifts and inquiries should be directed to the Ukrainian Embassy located in Havana. The address is: Embajada de Ucrania en La Republica de Cuba, 5-ta Ave. No. 4405 e/44 y 46, Miramar, La Habana, Cuba; telephone, (53-7) 204-2374; fax, (53-7) 204-2341.

Bohdan Nehaniv is a Ukrainian community activist from Troy, Mich.

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