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OUR LIFE Monthly, published by Ukrainian National Women's League of America VOL. XLII JUNE 1986 Marta Baczynsky NEWS FROM UNWLA HEADQUARTERS — In matters of Chornobyl On Monday, April 28, 1986 the Soviet Council of Min isters issued a terse, almost casual statement via Mos cow television which read: “An accident has taken place at the Chornobyl power station, and one of the reactors was damaged. Measures are being taken to eliminate the consequences of the accident. Those effected by it are being given assistance. A government commission has been set up.” Thus began a frustrating, uncertain and distressing time for the entire world, and particularly for the Ukrain ian community. This dreaded catastrophe, the worst, in the history of peaceful application of nuclear power really happened. Moscow’s destructive policy of separa tism, secretiveness and obstinance led the world on a merry-go-round — guessing the size of the explosion, guessing the extent of lethal radiation on the population and the environment, guessing the number of injured and dead. Ukrainians everywhere had trouble dealing with this tragedy. Eager for any scrap of information about fami lies and friends in Ukraine, eager to help in any way possible with medicines, food and clothing, the Ukrain ian community rallied to aid, only to encounter a wall of silence and denials. Any gesture of help by the Ameri can government was declined by the Soviets, nor could anyone prod them to give details of the disaster. Frus tration, anger and fear were the predominant emotions during this time. The headquarters of the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America became popular with the informa- tion-seeking press. The organization was initially con tacted by WCBS-TV in the evening of April 28th. A newsman called the office and wanted the “Ukrainian angle” on the nuclear tragedy. The station sent a repor ter with a camera crew who spoke with Maria Rado- wych, member-at-large; Rosalie Polche — English lan guage Secretary of the Executive Board and Natalka Duma — Our Life administrator and Our Life editor — Olha Liskiwsky. The reporter, a young woman, was shown a map of Ukraine and supplied geographical, population and historical data. She was also advised about Ukrainian organizations and businesses which operate in the New York downtown area where she might seek additional information. The following day, Tuesday, April 29th was a busy day for UNWLA. There were many phone calls from the nedia — newspapers, radio and TV. They all wanted to enow what the reaction of Ukrainians is to the Chor nobyl accident; they were looking for people who had families in Kiev and were anxious to know if anyone had spoken to them. Several stations and newspapers offered the free use of their telephones to place calls to Ukraine. Unfortunately, no calls were allowed to go through to the stricken area. The American media was quickly learning the feeling of complete frustration, one the Ukrainian community knows well. During the day many people called or came to our offices to exchange worries, to talk, to be together at this time of great sadness and uncertainty. Some told about their unsuccessful attempts to reach Kiev, others vented their anger and damned the Soviet policies. And most were sad., so sad when anyone spoke about the damage to the environment, and to the beautiful, fertile land of Ukraine. To further help the press, Olha prepared a press kit with general information about Ukraine, its history, geography and about Ukrainians in America. A volun teer from UNWLA called the “Bob Grant Program” on WABC radio to further provide information about Ukraine and correct mistakes that were continually repeated, such as people using the terms “Russia” and “Ukraine” interchangeably. She used this opportunity to compare the cover-up of the Great Famine in Ukraine of 1932-33 with the present Soviet blackout on information. That evening an impromtu meeting was held in the downtown area, attended by representatives of several Ukrainian organizations. Present at the meeting from UNWLA were Marta Danyliuk, Second Vice President; Lesia Goy, President of New York Regional Council and editor Olha. The ad hoc group discussed what actions the Ukrainian community should take in light of the tragedy. Wednesday, April 30th. There was continued interest from the media. A reporter from UPI, the Star Ledger and New York Newsday came by the UNWLA office. Their questions were often repetative. Those of us who were there to speak to the newspeople could only reit erate our feeling of anger at Moscow’s secrecy and our
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