NP-UN Western Bureau.
Led by Bishop David Motiuk, Ukrainian Catholic Eparch of Edmonton, 10 clergy from both the Edmonton Eparchy and the Ukrainian Orthodox Eparchy of Western Canada, concelebrated a Memorial Service for the victims of the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster at the Chornobyl Monument in Edmonton’s Hawrelak Park, April 26.
The monument consists of a plaque beside an oak tree which was planted by the late Eugene Harasymiw, then President of the Ukrainian Self-Reliance Association, Edmonton Branch, in commemoration of the victims.
Current USRA Edmonton President Greg Yewchuk noted that 32 years ago, on April 26th, 1986, an explosion destroyed nuclear reactor No. 4 in the Chornobyl Nuclear Plant in the former Soviet Union.
“Soviet authorities covered the area with secrecy, as they told people living there they had nothing to worry about. The Soviet authorities told people it will be only three days to recover – which were one of many lies. Workers and firefighters rushed to fight the blazes without protective equipment not knowing what they were going up against.
“To this day, cancer and death tolls have been estimated from information provided by the World Health Organization of approximately 4500. Continuing observations by this agency are beginning to show many other fatalities which are linked to the world’s worst nuclear power plant disaster. Many residents approximately over 5.5 million, continue to reside within the contaminated areas in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.
“The truth shows that radiation has a lifespan of over hundreds of years, affecting all walks of life not only including human, but also wildlife and vegetation,” he said.
Orysia Boychuk, President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Edmonton Branch, which co-sponsored the commemoration with USRA Edmonton, noted that it took two days before Moscow authorities were prepared to admit something had occurred and then it was only described as an “accident” in which two people had died.
Moscow also failed to properly inform local inhabitants about the disaster and Western Ukrainians only learned about it from Polish radio stations, she added.
“About 30 people died in the immediate aftermath. Thousands more are feared to have died in the years that followed from the effects of the disaster, mainly exposure to radiation,” she said.
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