Statement by UCC President on the 25th Anniversary of the Chornobyl Nuclear Disaster

Winnipeg, Manitoba-April 26, 2011- Having two days ago celebrated Easter, the high point in our religious calendar, I welcome you with the inspiring greeting: “Christ is Risen!”

On this, the 25^th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster and in the wake of the recent catastrophe in Japan the jubilation of our greeting may not seem appropriate.  The Chornobyl nuclear disaster transformed parts of Ukraine and Belarus into wastelands and will continue to have tragic environmental and health implications for generations to come.  We pray for those that suffered and continue to suffer the aftermath of  these disasters.  However, like the suffering and resurrection of Christ, Chornobyl brought a new beginning for the people of Ukraine.

On April 26, 1986, arguably the world’s worst nuclear accident took place under a veil of secrecy, behind the Iron Curtain in Chornobyl, Ukraine.  The radioactive fallout was detected in Sweden but Soviet authorities refused to admit anything out of the ordinary had occurred.  It was only two weeks after the explosion that the first Soviet official gave a full and frank account.  No-one was left more in the dark than the Soviet citizens most directly affected.  The town of Pripyat just two kilometres from the Chornobyl plant was only evacuated 36 hours after the accident, while the evacuation of nearby villages took several more days.  Meanwhile in Kyiv, citizens went ahead with the May Day parade, five days after the accident, completely unaware of the radiation that had been released.

Despite this calamity, many have argued, including former President of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev in an article published on April 14 2006 titled Turning Point at Chernobyl that the “nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl 20 years ago this month, even more than my launch of perestroika, was perhaps the real cause of the collapse of the Soviet Union five years later. Indeed, the Chernobyl catastrophe was a historic turning point: there was the era before the disaster, and there is the very different era that has followed.”  Mr. Gorbachev continued by saying “The Chernobyl disaster, more than anything else, opened the possibility of much greater freedom of expression, to the point that the system as we knew it could no longer continue. It made absolutely clear how important it was to continue the policy of glasnost, and I must say that I started to think about time in terms of pre-Chernobyl and post-Chernobyl.”

As Canadians we are proud of the international support both our government and our fellow citizens have provided to Ukraine.  I would like to recognize the Government of Canada for its continuing commitment. The Government of Canada has, in the years since the Chornobyl disaster, provided funding of over $66 million to Chornobyl-related projects including towards the completion of a new concrete shelter covering the damaged reactor and to encourage nuclear safety and non-proliferation.

In addition, congratulations and thanks to the hundreds of volunteers and supporters of the Children of Chornobyl Canadian Fund (CCCF), a charity founded in 1990 and dedicated to the medical needs of those affected by the Chornobyl disaster.  For over two decades CCCF has not allowed the world to forget this great catastrophe and the lingering effects it has had on the people of the region.  Their mandate expanded to support other health and social welfare issues in Ukraine such as providing technical aid and medical support to hospitals in Ukraine and support for orphans with their highly successful Help Us Help the Children Project.

Today, we can find some good that has come from the Chornobyl tragedy – that good, is Ukraine’s independence and greater awareness of human rights.  Let us hope that the current government of Ukraine recognizes that freedom of expression and other human rights are critical to the democratic development of a proper functioning of its society.  We pray that the situation at the Fukushima nuclear facility is brought fully under control and our Japanese brethren can one day find that some good has come out of their recent natural disaster and nuclear calamity.

Ukrainian Canadian Congress

Paul M. Grod

National Presiden