Untold Story – Chernobyl-Ukraine

She finished her final lap in the swimming pool, and was overlooking the Ferris wheel from the big glass window when she heard Andrey on the other side, talking to an unknown girl. Her feelings of insecurity started tormenting her mind, making here uneasy in herself. She thought for a while, how can one trust a man completely. Little did she know that in just one day her whole concept of security and fears were about to change altogether for years to come.All these petty emotions to be overshadowed by a much bigger and real suffering.She tried looking back at the glass window again with an uneasy mind…

It was the first week for Olya to be in this nuclear city of Pripyat. She was hesitant to leave the big city life of Kiev and had her doubts living in a newly built city away from her parents and friends, but Andrey, her longtime friend and now her husband convinced her to move. He was recently appointed as a junior engineer after graduating from Kyiv poletechnik university, and was offered this job which the whole soviet union dreamed off…..

The city was touted as the utopian creation of the soviet empire. The Chernobyl nuclear plant was initially conceived to be built near the capital Kiev (as the nuclear technology was deemed the safest and the one that will bring humanity to a new level). But later on the plans changed and the 9th nuclear city of Pripyat was constructed to house the staff of new nuclear plant. Olya was amazed to see the level of perfection the architects put in to build this city from scratch. It had its own palace of culture housing a big pool, its own Ferris wheel for the children, a big stadium and two supermarkets full of everything that one can imagine.

“I was just checking if you still get jealous or not” Andrey said and before Olya could complain any further, gave her the flowers he was hiding on his back. She laughed and was about to show her anger when the loudspeaker called for Andrey to reach the plant at his earliest. She never thought this would be the last time she would be seeing him……………….

Back to present 2016: It was some days back when I managed to visit Chernobyl disaster site with some polish friends, where most of my Ukrainian friends are still afraid to go. The disaster happened in April 1886 but has affected generations, the fear is still in the hearts and minds of these people who suffered the wrath of a power unleashed by humans, bringing so much suffering upon themselves. The survivors are still suffering mentally and physically. Who was to blame? The eternal human imperfection or the act of the gods having their own reasons to create destiny. I heard Zeus complaining to Prometheus, ” I told you not to give the humans this gift of fire, They will not be able to handle it.. Ah! I told you, what have you done”.(Ironically the only cinema and theater in Pripyat was named after the greek god Prometheus)

……. Somewhere in the summers of 1986: Alexey was just 23 when he volunteered as a Liquidator to help with the Chernobyl disaster. He was one of the early responders who came out of pure idealist convictions to save the world through small acts of kindnesses. Her girlfriend almost fainted when he told her he is going for a humanistic duty and that she should be proud of him………

Liquidators as they were called were the real heroes of Chernobyl. They were hired to liquidate the nuclear reactor before it radiates the river bed down-under and contain the damage to spread. They were the first to help out, and the last to leave the town. All in all around 600,000 of them were hired in subsequent years after the disaster happened in 1886. Thousands of them died, many are still surviving with medical complications.

Alexey is 55 now. He lives in a small apartment near Podal district in Kiev and lives off the state pension granted to all liquidators for their honorary service to mankind. When I met him in Kiev, he could barely walk on his own. He told me he never regretted his decision for a single day on what he did back than . He did commented jokingly, ” The only regret I have in life perhaps is my than girlfriend leaving me for a better man, but i am happy for her too”. I asked him was there anything you liked in that ghost town on Pripyat while you were there and he smilingly said ‘Perhaps swimming in that swimming pool overlooking the big Ferris wheel from the big glass window”………