CHILDREN OF CHERNOBYL
On April 26 1986 the world’s worst nuclear accident happened at the Chernobyl reactor near the Ukraine and Belarus border. From that day the lives of millions of people living near the disaster area changed forever.
The Children of Chernobyl charity say seventy per cent of the radioactive fallout fell on Belarus, contaminating one quarter of the countries agricultural land and forests for an estimated 24,000 years.
Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes and many villages were demolished or left to become ghost towns. Chair of the Children of Chernobyl Fund, Rosie Price said: “Living with the fear of the effects of radiation has caused immense psychological damage to families who do not know if they will become another statistic to cancer, heart disease or blood disorders.”
The World Health Organisation recognises the larger than average increase in thyroid cancer. The Remember Chernobyl organisation said that in the twenty years following the disaster there have been 4000 cases of childhood thyroid cancer in Belarus alone, compare this to 23 cases in 23 years in the UK.
Doctors in Belarus estimate that just 10% of children are born healthy, but agree more research is needed to identify which illnesses can be directly linked to the disaster at Chernobyl. What is apparent is that children are more susceptible because their bodies absorb higher levels of contamination than adults.
Twenty years on there are now many UK based charities who bring approximately 6,000 children to Britain each year for recuperative holidays.
The Children of Chernobyl Fund based in Somerset have had more than 300 children stay with families in and around Wells since the charity was established in 1991. In addition they have helped to set up play schemes in three Belarusian villages and a dental project. They also send targeted medical aid to doctors in children’s hospitals in Belarus because they often lack basic supplies such as painkillers, antibiotics, insulin, bandages and syringes.
Watch the video to see what Rosie Price, chair of the Children of Chernobyl Fund had to say: