Scars of Chernobyl remain

Impact of nuclear disaster also felt in agriculture and tourism

For Valeriy Slootsky, the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 changed everything. "In those times, I was assured of the future. It was not just a hope. I was sure of it, that everybody has jobs, and everybody was employed. But after the Chernobyl disaster, it all changed."

Slootsky, who was born in the city of Chernobyl, has always considered it to be his home, which is why he never wanted to leave and never did.

After the explosion happened, Slootsky worked as a driver transporting fire fighters into the site of the Chernobyl power plant to help with the rescue efforts, and also transporting residents out of Chernobyl in the evacuation process.

Slootsky has become one of the 165 residents who live in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, a 30 kilometer area surrounding the nuclear plant considered to be unhealthy to live in due to the power plant's radiation. These residents are known as squatters as it was initially illegal for them to reside inside the zone.

Olha Sventsitska, who heads the government group working with squatters, says she understands the emotional needs of people who wish to live in Chernobyl and does not want to force them to leave.

"Those are people not satisfied by the conditions of other places outside the exclusion zone. People didn't want to leave their houses. The houses are almost like their motherland. They were all living here before the disaster, so we look after them," she says, adding that she has been doing this job for seven years.

As a part of the services provided for the squatters, basic facilities like television, energy and transport to outside locations are provided. "And the most unpleasant thing is burying them if they die," she says.

Because older generation residents, like Slootsky, prefer to live in a neighborhood they have always been familiar with, the Ukraine government started registering residents in this area in 1992, allowing them to live there and provide them with basic living facilities.

Slootsky participated in the construction of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the 1970s. Now he is retired, living in Chernobyl with his wife. His son and daughter also live in nearby towns, and his son works as a driver in Chernobyl.

Slootsky says he has always felt safe, even when the disaster happened.

Although Slootsky is healthy, he recalls a close friend who is also a driver in the exclusion zone who was later diagnosed with cancer.

During the time that most residents were evacuated, Slootsky also went to a nearby town to live for one year, but came back as he preferred Chernobyl. He passed medical examinations and became an employed driver of the exclusion zone.

"During those times, Chernobyl was in the process of legalizing the squatter zone, the government gave us a pension and other support," he says, adding that he and his family also enjoy a great social life and he would like to stay in the city forever.

But looking back at the disaster, he still feels very sad to see such an event destroying local society.

"It is painful emotionally. Before it happened, the nature and landscapes were very beautiful. It is very sad for local society," he says.

Vitaliy Malyuk, deputy director of the center of information and technical department of the exclusion zone, says squatters in the exclusion zone face many challenges, one of which is the primitive agricultural activities that can be supported by the zone's natural environment.

"The agriculture is very primitive here. People have animals like pigs and cows, people use material for plants, but they don't have the materials to enrich the soil, so it is not productive," Malyuk says.

As the small settlement in Chernobyl is too far away from neighboring settlements, the local authority provides a bus to travel to a neighboring town to purchase everything they need once a month.

"The needs of the people are very minimal. These people are simple but not primitive," Malyuk says.

When the Chernobyl nuclear disaster took place on April 26, 1986, many local residents did not know or understand its level of seriousness and implications.

Some 200,000 people, including all of those living in the nearby town of Pripyat, were evacuated from regions neighboring the destroyed reactor. Many left their homes in a hurry, with the mistaken expectation that they would be able to return there.

Lenar Sagidulin, a technical expert at the European Commission Joint Support Office in Ukraine, says after his family was evacuated, they were given one opportunity to return and pack up their valuables.

"I came back to our old apartment in November 1986, the same year. I was allowed just like other residents just to pick up something. They provided a bus and 10 plastic bags and two hours," Sagidulin says.

"You could take whatever you want, but before you put your stuff to the car, they checked for contamination. What can I take in two hours? Not a lot, but I took something," he says.

After that, Sagidulin never went back to his old apartment. He went to Kiev with his family and found a job and started a new life.

Recounting memories of the incident, Sagidulin says that he was extremely lucky not to be affected, because he was working in Chernobyl and a workmate who was unlucky died in the accident.

"The next morning, I was supposed to continue the experiment we were doing. My boss said something happened, but he did not say what. At the time, Chernobyl was governed by Moscow," he says.

But over the years, Chernobyl has been transformed. As effective mitigation work helped to significantly reduce the site's radiation, the site was able to safely provide for workers on site.

Since around 2000, tourists have started visiting the site and hotels in Chernobyl have been built for those wishing to stay the night.

Tatarchuk Yuriy, deputy head of visitors,delegation reception and event management in the exclusion zone, says that in recent years average visitor numbers have increased to around 10,000 a year.

Before that, Yuriy's team hosted many scientists, who wanted to visit the site for their research work.

Yuriy, who has been in his job for 18 years, says at the time of the disaster he was only a 13-year-old boy knowing nothing about Chernobyl, but over the years he has grown to feel the significance of the accident and learn about the history associated with it.

"When I first started the job, I was once scared about the radiation, but I soon discovered that as long as I understood and adhered to the rules, everything will be fine," he says.

cecily.liu@chinadaily.com.cn