Chornobyl Challenge campaign kicks off 10th anniversary events (02/11/96)

Chornobyl Challenge campaign kicks off 10th anniversary events

by Roman Woronowycz

SOUTH BOUND BROOK, N.J. - The campaign to refocus on and heighten awareness of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster and its disastrous aftereffects got off to a positive start here on February 6.

Near the eve of the 10th anniversary of the day reactor No. 4 blew up and irradiated large portions of Ukraine and northern Europe, more than 350 people gathered at the Ukrainian Cultural Center and raised thousands of dollars. The money will provide medical relief for the victims of the 1986 nuclear explosion, many of whom are only now feeling the effects of the radiation their bodies absorbed that day and in the time since.

"The fund-raising event was a huge success," said Nadia Matkiwsky, executive director of the Children of Chornobyl Foundation. She said the exact amount raised is still being calculated and that figures will be published at a later date.

CCF is one of more than a dozen organizations that have formed Chornobyl Challenge '96. Their aim is to shed light on the continuing need for international medical relief, radiation clean-up and the decommissioning of RBMK reactors like the one that blew skyward at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant 105 kilometers north of Ukraine's capital.

The dinner was the launch for a series of conferences, rallies and commemorations around the United States, which will culminate in Washington the weekend of April 26, 10 years to the day the disaster occurred.

At the banquet, Academy Award winner Jack Palance, national spokesperson for CCF, succinctly summed up the problem of dealing with the aftereffects of Chornobyl. Speaking slowly in a low resonant baritone he told the crowd, "Chornobyl is not the sort of thing you can capture in a sound bite or a 30-second commercial. The victims are not neatly gathered in one location where you can count the bodies and calculate the damage."

He also challenged the United States to take a more active financial role in cleaning up the mess, both literally and from a medical standpoint. "If this country helped rebuild Germany after the Nazi regime and rebuilt Japan... then why shouldn't we help rebuild Ukraine, which was the victim of one of the most bloody and tyrannical regimes in history?" queried Mr. Palance. "Why shouldn't we work to save the lives of innocent children in Ukraine who are on the front lines of this global environmental crisis that everyone claims to care so much about?"

Other speakers were U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.N. Anatoliy Zlenko.

Ambassador Zlenko explained that the extent of the damage in the Chornobyl region is such that the world community must help Ukraine, which is unable to adequately finance the costs of the clean-up and needed medical treatment. He said the effort must include the closing of the Chornobyl nuclear plant, the development of ecological safety issues, the search for energy alternatives, and social welfare provisions for Chornobyl workers and inhabitants past and present.

Among the notables present were Metropolitan Constantine of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A., Bishop Vsevolod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America, Bishop Basil Losten of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, as well as Consul General Viktor Kryzhanivsky who is based in New York.

During the banquet, which was organized for Chornobyl Challenge '96 largely through the efforts of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. and Archbishop Antony, four individuals were honored for their contributions.

They were: Dr. George Charuk, medical director of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department at the Central Georgia Rehabilitation Hospital in Georgia, who was honored for his financial and professional support; Dr. Mona Mikalsen for her work in obtaining crucial medical equipment for Chornobyl's children, including a magnetic resonance imaging unit, two ultrasounds from Siemens Corp., an anesthesia machine, a leukemia machine from Merck, Sharp and Dohme, and thousands of dollars worth of equipment for an infant surgery wing in a Lviv hospital; Pastor Volodymyr Domashovets, president of the Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Fellowship, who in 1989 gave the first donation to the then new and unknown Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund and has continued to donate money and time ever since; and Roma Hadzewycz, editor-in-chief of The Ukrainian Weekly, for coverage of Chornobyl-related issues and the CCF's relief efforts.

A much surprised Archbishop Antony was also honored with a special presentation for his work in organizing this initial commemoration. Ms. Matkiwsky, who made the presentation, said, "Without your motivation and guidance, this evening of remembrance would never have been realized. This is indeed a special moment, inspiring us to unite as one family in anticipation of the crucial months ahead."

| Home Page |