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His replacement, 39-year-old Yurii Spizhenko, has un leashed a new inquiry. More than 12,000 Ukrainians were subjected to po tentially lethal doses of radiation in 1986. About one- fifth of Belorussia territory and one-seventh of Ukraine has been contaminated from radioactive fallout. The conservative estimate of the number of Ukrainians affected today, through illness, discomforts such as a lack of clean food, and evacuation, is one million. Dr. Ilyin has been accused of criminal negligence by speak ers at Ukraine’s spring 1990 meeting of its parliament in Kiev. In both the West and the USSR, a campaign has been launched to obtain medical aid for the thousands of sick children in affected regions. Thus I found my answers, and they were disturbing. Moreover, it seemed that everyone in Kiev had his own Chernobyl story to tell and, rather like in the time of Stalin’s purges, all of them either had a family member or a friend who is sick today. Chernobyl, of course, may not be to blame for all these illnesses, and it is highly unlikely that it could be. Yet in my view, the significant factor is that people always believed that Chernobyl was the source. The very name has become the symbol of despair and suffering. Sitting in the lobby of my hotel at the end of my visit, awaiting a car to the airport, I was surprised to see Yuri Risovanny hurrying toward me. He had paid an unofficial farewell visit to say goodbye. ’’Where do you go from Kiev?” he asked in the mild manner to which I had grown accustomed. ’’Paris,” I replied. He shook his head, slowly. “It must be nice," he said, wistfully, ’’simply to get on a plane and go to Paris,” Yes, I reflected, with that sense of almost inexplicable relief that any for eigner feels when leaving Soviet territory, he is right. But it isn’t the delays, the customs, the lack of good food and even hot water in hotels, or even the drudgery of day to day life that is so bothersome. It is the unseen horror of radiation, control over which has always been left to the “experts,” as Dr. Los indicated should be the case. When one has a familiy of four previously healthy children, however, like one mother in Narodichi, and all are sick today with swollen thyroids; when leukemias are already in evidence, then whether or not one solicits the views of “experts” is simply immaterial. The sheer psychological damage of a tragedy like Chernobyl can only be imagined. Since Chernobyl, the Soviet health experts have suffered a dramatic drop in their credibil ity. But it is the future generation that will suffer most from Chernobyl, a tragedy which, as became manifest to me, is only just beginning. IN MEMORY.... Olha Sonevycky, a long time member of UNWLA’s branch 82 died on November 6, 1989. A community activists, a writer and devoted friend of the arts, Mrs. Sonevycky spent much of her boundless energy making the lives of her fellow Ukrainians a little bit brighter and finer. To New Yorkers, Mrs. Sonevycky was known for her participation in the founding of the Ukrainian Literary and Arts Club in 1963, as well as for the art gallery which she maintained for a good number of years. She will also be remembered for the many articles she con tributed to Ukrainian newspapers and magazines, touch ing on various themes — educational, the arts, personal memoirs. Mrs. Sonevytsky was an ardent member of UNWLA and very active in her branch. For many years she held the post of press and arts and culture chairman. She was a member of the New York Regional Council Board and a member of the Arts and Culture Committee of the WFUWO. In a memorial tribute to Mrs. Sonevytsky, I.H. Ivan- chyshyn, wrote: ’’Olha Sonevytsky’s multifaceted activi ties, her tireless working habits, her kindness, her fair ness and tolerance toward others, warrants our admi ration and respect. She set an example that is worthy of following. This tribute was published in the February issue of OUR LIFE, in Ukrainian. ’’НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, КВІТЕНЬ 1990 25
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