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20 year tragedy…
April 26 marked the 20th anniversary of the worst nuclear catastrophe of the XX century - an accident at Chornobyl's
Nuclear Reactor Unit Number 4. The explosion at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant took thousands of lives. Tens of
thousands continue to suffer from its effects, even after 20 years.
Calgary Sumivtsi got to work preparing for this sad anniversary. On the request of UCC Calgary branch, the youth poured
over mountains of information about Chornobyl from books, newspapers and the internet, in order to prepare a display.
The older youth, groups Maky and Yalytsi, wrote a "concrete poem" in both English and Ukrainian, which expressed their
thoughts and feelings of the Chornobyl tragedy. The younger youth prepared posters of photos of Reactor #4, the town of
Prypyat and children affected by this disaster.
On Wednesday, April 26, Sumivtsi took part in the commemoration service at Calgary's City Hall. Despite being a work day,
a sizeable crowd gathered at 7:00 pm to hear Korinnya Folk Ensemble sing Lepkyy's "Zhuravli".
Ukrainian Canadian Congress president, Mike Ilnycky, spoke of the Soviet cover-up to hide the extent of the massive accident.
As a result, this caused thousands of deaths, and hundreds of thousands of lives to be affected unnecessarily. This tragedy
will forever remain in the memories of Ukrainians.
Rev. Father Mykhailo lead us all in prayer to remember the victims of Chornobyl during the moleben'.
Representatives from both the civic and provincial governments took part in the commemoration service.
FFollowing the service, the program continued at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Parish. Vasyl' Proshak,
a guest from Lviv, spoke of the effects of radiation experienced by his own family. He explained that 7% of Ukraine's
fertile soil was contaminated by radiation fall-out. To date, he is astonished at the lack of acknowledgement given to
the "liquidators" who gave their lives fighting the fires at Reactor #4, to those who have since died of the effects of
radiation exposure, and to those who continue to be victims of this disaster.
Vasyl' concluded with an expression of gratitude for the support given to Ukraine.
The film "Children of Chernobyl" was shown to the public. We watched the horrible effects of the explosion at Chornobyl's
Nuclear Reactor #4 on April 26, 1986. We heard about the genetic mutations in countless children, and of the uprooted and
despondent lives of those who were relocated. The plight of those living next to the "Zone of Exclusion", but technically
considered safe areas from the effects of radiation, was particularly moving.
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