Stardate: 11/25/2007 Chernobylitsi Realities

I’ve met someone who was negatively effected by Chernobyl (the people are called Chernobylitsi). There are loads of people here who were, because the Soviets didn’t tell people about the melt down until many days after the disaster. They didn’t lift a finger to evacuate the surrounding areas or notify citizens. They didn’t announce anything until other European countries started picking up the radiation on detectors and demanding answers. The Communists had people go about their business here. They required people out in the streets at pro-communist rallies while all the time they were subject to the radiation being emitted by the Chernobyl reactor, that was the case of A’s sister Tanya. She now has gland problems. She’s had multiple surgeries and needs another one soon. I cannot tell exactly what her condition is, but when I met her she looked very sickly. She’d had so many issues, doctor’s visits, etc. It is a huge drain on her and her family. I wonder how they do it and who is paying for it all.

One of my colleagues in the Dept, Svetlana (the blonde one), told me the other day that she was going to visit her father who was ill and in a sanatorium-type hospital. I asked her what was the matter, and she said that he was in the USSR military. During the Chernobyl disaster, he was ordered to serve in the area, which was basically a death sentence. These soldiers had no protective gear or other safeguards for their health protection. Their lives were just written off. He is now dying of cancer. He has no pension from the USSR and his family completely supports him out of their pockets. What an awful thing. I cannot imagine.

I have been offered the opportunity to visit the Chernobyl area. I have wavered on this issue for some time. Do you go to it, because it is of historical interest or because it needs to be witnessed and recorded? Do you go even though you could leave with radiation levels higher than when you entered? (They check, of course). Do you not go to be safe and not sorry? Well, I wavered on the issue so long that the procrastination was an answer in itself. This year’s Fulbright group is to go in one week and without me. I have photos from a colleague who went and I’m sure that the group will have insights for me as well. Interestingly, I don’t feel that I am losing out on anything important to me.