An Evening Party Dedicated to the Chernobyl Migrants (17 November,1997)

A night of memories became a meeting at school #210 for Chernobyl zone migrants who live at Shabany area in Minsk. Approximately half of the teachers have also arrived from the places that had suffered from the catastrophe. Their families  have reciently been visited by Muhammed Abu el Ata, a Belgium businessman, who has been working in Belarus for 4 years. The misfortune of these people has greatly shocked the young businessman. At the school meeting he promised to  do his best to attract attention of his colleges from Belgium and Arab countries to the area problems. 

The public organisation " A Step  Away From Chernobyl" and the Union of  Belarusian Businessmen have also decided to provide constant sponsorship to  the Shabany  residents . A project of creating the free economic zone in the  city is beeing developed with their help. According to the authors' idea it  will also include this remote from the centre area. Ecologically safe enterprises  are planned to be launched here, new jobs are supposed to be created, and the  territory is to be better provided with public services and amenities. As   Vladimir Koryagin,the President of the Union of Belarusian Businessmen, told it will allow the area to attract additional invesments. 

The migrants have seen nation's tragedy differently. Exhibits from the funds of the National Chernobyl museum created due to the initiative of the social and  ecological society "Chernobyl" and the voluntiery union "Union Chernobyl" were displayed at the school's assembly hall. There  were the photos and the  the paintings of children who died of radiation and personal things of the liquidators. 

A sort of the last will to protect nature and save our planet seemed the green pinguins and fairy-tale princesses in beatiful dresses drawn on pieces of paper. Many guests had their eyes filled with tears. 

The young artists of "Dudarinky", the musical and dancing group of school #111 dedicated their perfomance to those of their age who died. Every summer they go on tours and the money gathered they transmit to the people who had suffered from the Chernobyl catastrophy. Their money was used to set a memorial plaque of the helicopter pilot Vasiliy Vodolazhskiy who made 120 flies to the atomic reactor mouth. Now the comemorating sign on the house where the hero had lived his last years of life tells about his feat. 

The appearance of Svetlana Kusmina, an actress of the Russian Theatre, was  rather sad. She read out a few passages from the book "The Step Of The Black  Wind" which was released 2 years ago and was composed of school students' compositions the winners of the contest "Chernobyl In My Fate". 

Alla Kasakova. 

Translated by Oksana Gorshkova. 
I'll be very gratefull if you could send your remarks on the quality of the translation to oksana_g@usa.net