REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE CHERNOBYL CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL 25TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE CHERNOBYL CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL 25TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT THURSDAY, 21 APRIL 2011
Is breá liom bheith anseo i bhúr measc ar an ócáid speisialta seo, agus ba mhaith liom mo bhúiochas a chur in iul díbh as an chuireadh agus as an fáilte fíorchaoin.
I am deeply honoured to be here with you today and I would like to thank Chernobyl Children International for organising this event which allows us time to reflect on the 25th anniversary of one of the worst disasters to strike Europe since the Second World War.
“Has day died?
Or is this the end of the world?”
These are the words of the Ukrainian poet Liubov Sirota, starkly summing up the bewildered aftermath of that terrible disaster a quarter of a century ago.
There are some world events which are so shocking and so cataclysmic that an entire generation can remember that exact moment in time when they heard the terrible news. The 26th April 1986 was one such date and across the globe people can still recall how they felt when they heard of a nuclear accident in the Ukraine and of the large quantities of radioactive contamination that had been released into the atmosphere, spreading over much of Western Russia and Europe. I was in the middle of packing a suitcase for my first visit to Kiev - a visit that never took place.
We all knew it was a catastrophe and most of us knew that the repercussions would be serious. But how many of us realised that, a quarter of a century later, the fallout would still be affecting the lives of so many people - so many of them not even born on that fatal spring day twenty five years ago.
This anniversary reminds us of the vulnerability of all countries, all humanity to profound, sudden and fundamental change, some of nature’s making, some of human nature’s making. Recent tragic events in Japan have given us pause for thought again as we saw life change so emphatically and dramatically in just a few moments.
For most people living in the Ukraine and Belarus, that mild late April day was probably much like any other, their preoccupations the same as on any normal Saturday. Yet by that evening their lives were changed, their hopes dashed, the health of their unborn children and grandchildren and generations to come endangered, their economy crippled. Twenty five years later their food and air remains contaminated and they and their children suffer from acute thyroid, respiratory and immune-system problems and other diseases that very probably emanate from that terrible day. For them that day was not an event but the beginning of a process - one they do not have the luxury of forgetting for it is ever-present. And since they cannot forget neither should we.
This Ceremony of Hope is an expression of solidarity, a solidarity that became evident from the very outset as Irish people responded with humanitarian care for the suffering peoples of Belarus and the other affected regions.
There is a saying in Ireland that “ two shortens the road” and as people in Belarus, Ukraine and the Russian Federation try to rebuild their futures after the disaster, Irish men and women have tried to accompany them on that journey and to make it easier. I have been privileged, as President to meet with the many wonderful selfless volunteers and fundraisers both individual and corporate who befriended the people hurt by Chernobyl and who have stayed the course with them these past twenty five years.
People in Ireland still fundraise year in and year out for food and equipment and essential medical care. Every year many children from the affected region enjoy a recuperation break in this country - breathing clean air, eating uncontaminated food, visiting dentists, doctors and opticians. They return home stronger, more active and with many happy memories of our country and our people. The host families also benefit from meeting these children and witnessing their courage, their determination and their delight in something as simple as a trip to the beach, an afternoon in the park or the purchase of a new t-shirt. To see how a child’s joy can be generated by such modest treats reminds us of how very privileged and blessed we are in this country despite our current economic difficulties.
I thank the thousands of Irish people who together or individually, have worked to help the victims of the Chernobyl disaster since 1986. I thank in particular that great champion of the Chernobyl children Adi Roche and Ali Hewson, Liz O’Donnell and their colleagues for making sure the situation of the children of Chernobyl is not forgotten, that the world understands how much work remains to be done. The work of Chernobyl Children’s International has been inspirational. It has brought hope, care and friendship into lives traumatised by a man-made tragedy. It has been redemptive - a witness to the good, the decency the compassion and empathy that springs in the human heart when confronted by unbearable sorrow in a stranger’s life.
Bail ó Dhia ar an obair!
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.