Page - April 20, 2006
While for many people the Chernobyl disaster might be just a distant memory, for others it is something they must live with every day. These are their stories.
"Real hell didn't start until Moscow. My friends were dying
around me. I had worked for years with many of them."
Yuri Korneev - a "liquidator"
Read his story.
"My shift ended at 8:00 a.m. and I went home. Then I saw that
the reactor block had exploded. Except for those who were informed
by friends or relatives on duty at the plant, nobody in the
workers' town of Pripiyat had been warned."
Anatoly Ivanchenko - a fireman
Read his story.
"My aunt died and we wanted to bury her in native soil." At the
checkpoint they were stopped and sent away. "We had to bury her in
another village."
Mr. and Mrs. Smeyan - farmers
Read their story.
"Before that, we hardly had any oncology problems concerning
children. Now there are many cases of brain tumours, cancer of the
eyes, kidneys and other organs."
Valentina Smolnikova - a doctor
Read her story.
"Last autumn Annya's hair fell out. I think boys understand her
better. Girlfriends have stopped visiting, deliberately or out of
cruel forgetfulness."
Valentina Pesenko - a mother
Read their story.