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his morning Victor and I were collected at about 10.0 am and taken to the Centre for the Medical-Social Rehabilitation of Disabled Children. Today there was no tour of dignitaries and press, the Centre was getting on with its work with children. In Dr. Pasechnik's office we meet Vadim Petrovich, the medical equipment engineer, who wanted to discuss the problems of the donated electro-encephalogram, EEG, needed to investigate the brain damage caused by radiation, especially epilepsy. An expensive and complex machine can be made useless if a cheap and simple part is missing. Details were written down.
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It is high Summer in Ukraine and all is green and lush, nothing is trimmed or cut--anything green is overgrown and wild in our eyes so unlike the disciplined lawns and hedges of home. There is not one mower in sight anywhere but then the idea of mowing does not occur to them. If one person mowed their grass it would ruin the landscape.
In a country where the police are so strict it is strange to see zebra crossings which are only just visible, completely ignored. Cars have right of way.
Victor and I then visited the therapy rooms to talk to the children and their mothers. Ira was born
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on 20th February 1987, her mother being pregnant two months after the accident in Chernobyl about 40 miles from Chernihiv where radionucleides were still coming down. The government does not recognize children as victims of Chernobyl if they were radiated while unborn. Ira had two episodes of pneumonia during her first year of life. Pulmonary and ear infections are early signs of immunity disruption. Her psychological development has been slow and she has depression and phobias. She first walked at four years and has spastic paralysis of the lower limbs.
Dr. Natalya Zenchenko was asked if it was possible to differentiate between the spastic paralysis of birth trauma and of radiation. It not possible to differentiate, but the incidence is three times greater than before 1986 while the population has fallen.
The child was having a range of physiotherapy consisting of massage, hyppotherapy or riding a wooden horse, vibromassage, electrotherapy and some gymnastics. Medicines were prescribed to improve brain development such as cerebrolysin, cogutin, piracetam and nootropil. The child is showing improvement and her mother is delighted with the Centre.
Sitting at a table were twins born on 15th June 1994, Sergei and Ira.
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Their mother was five years old and their father was 11 years old in 1986, living in Chernihiv. They were healthy parents. The twins were premature at 32 weeks gestation. They have had recurrent infections and show retarded development with cerebral paralysis. Their therapy is a similar range of physiotherapy, cerebral stimulating drugs with speech therapy and the use of developmental toys.
The twins attend the Centre for one monthly sessions three times a year and showed steady improvement. Dr. Zenchenko said that investigations for genetic damage were poor in Chernihiv and there was an urgent need for the help of a specialist in genetics.
Another Ira was born 12th January 1990 with cystic brain anomaly resulting in quadriplegia, intellectual deficiency and poor
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speech development. Her father was a Chernobyl liquidator aged 22 years in 1986. He now has advanced arterial disease. Her mother was born in Chernihiv in 1962.
The child is having the full range of therapies, drugs and psychological support and is no longer hyperkinetic.
Alyosha was born prematurely at 31 weeks gestation on 12th September 1994 in Chernihiv. The father 30 years and mother 28 years are healthy. The child shows retarded development, quadriplegia, and has convulsions. She is unable to speak and cannot be alone.
Therapy has only just stated on 7th June with massage, dry ball swimming, hydrotherapy, electrotherapy, cerebral stimulating drugs, anticonvulsants and vitamins.
Dr. Zenchenko said that the earlier therapy commenced greater the improvement.
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It is not known whether the incidence of radiation disease is at its peak at present, but two 17 year old girls presented with cancer of the thyroid in 1996, indicating persistence into an older age group. Cancer of the thyroid due to radiation from Chernobyl is said to be clinically characteristic by a greater roughness or nodularity.
Dr. Pasechnik drove with Victor and me to the Policombank, a building with grilled windows, just inside the entrance sat two security guards with revolvers in hip holsters, handcuffs hanging from their belts and wearing flak jackets--not a smile. We went upstairs meet a dark serious square-jawed man resembling a bank official, Mikola Ivanovich Bobor. We gathered in a small paneled room, the sun shining through lace curtains and sat on comfortable tapestry-covered seats.
Depositing money is a slow process. First, the courtesies, then a leisurely discussion and exchange of visiting cards followed by presentation of our passports and customs documents, a few telephone calls by the official, then out and back through one of several doors, one woman came in to look at us and out and another came in with forms, huddled together they filled in the forms and we signed.
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All of us went downstairs to the counting room where $10,000 disappeared through a small hole in a partition, receipts were signed, then photocopied, then farewells and one and half hours later we crept past the all-seeing guards.
By early afternoon we returned to the Centre. In the entrance was a 20 ton articulated truck from Greater Manchester. We met Patrick the Manchunain driver, an alert humourous man and exchanged greetings. With Kieran his co-driver he had traveled up to 650 km on a good day from Manchester to Chernhiv over five days.
The aid was being unloaded by four young men who were dressed in khaki like soldiers watched by a customs officer in blue surrounded by inquisitive boys and girls giggling and larking about. Seven and a half tons of aid was unloaded. Sacks of porridge from Woodbridge, two anaesthetic machines from William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, dozens of knitted tank tops from Headcorn and boxes of paper, crayons and personal items from churches, schools, and individuals. Every item was identified by the customs officer.
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A light lunch was served in the Centre for all involved and toasts all around. The first two toasts have to be in quick succession by tradition. Dr. Pasechnik's toast was to forget the past and live for the future.
The 26th April 1986 was a Saturday and during the following days parades were held for May Day, Labour Day and Day of Conquest--an 11 day period when Government shuts down. Dr. Pasechnik had asked the City officials not to involve children in the
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parades because of the intense radioactivity. All the children were sent to the parades anyway. The attitude was to keep your mouth shut and all will be fine. There has been no retribution on the officials and politicians to this day. The minister of health at the time is now director of the antiradiation institute!
The third toast is always to the ladies.
All the doctors present said that they would warmly welcome British and American doctors to Chernihiv to study the effects of radiation on children.
Because of the widespread irresponsible use of ferilisers and chemicals there are fewer insects, singing birds and rabbits. This correlates with a decrease in human births. But now, fertilisers and pesticides cannot be afforded and the first obvious sign of recovery is the return of singing birds.
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Next comes the masculine toast while the ladies are out--just drink quickly. Then came the jokes which reveal the national psychology.
1. Jew: I have a Mercedes, let's get one for Solly. Ukrainian: Your has burned down. let's go and burn Boris's house down.
2. Depressed Ukrainian: Maybe I'll be happier when my neighbour's cow dies.
Sunset, we returned exhausted to the flat.