Fourteen years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, radiation poisoning continues to devastate communities in Belarus. On a recent visit to contaminated areas, the Bible Society of the Republic of Belarus (BSRB) discovered a desperate need for God’s Word.
by Anatoly Greben and Igor Mikhailov
MINSK, Belarus — “When the Number Four Reactor in the Chernobyl nuclear plant exploded in April 1986, more than 70 per cent of the fallout landed on Belarus, covering 23 per cent of its land and affecting more than 3.5 million Belarussians. Today, two million people, including half a million children, still live in contaminated areas, and, with much of their food supply grown in radioactive soil, the sickness rate is increasing.
As
a result, these communities are heavily burdened by depression, anxiety, despair
and a sense of helplessness. On behalf of the BSRB, we visited some of these
towns in September to bring them Scriptures and determine how the Bible Society
can play a role in helping people rebuild their lives and find hope for the
future.
We started our journey through the radioactive zone in Gomel region – one of the worst-affected areas. Many of the villages here were evacuated after the explosion and still stand empty. Barriers and warning signs saying “Danger: Radioactive. No entry” close off the towns from the outside world, leaving the previous inhabitants no hope of ever being able to return to their homes.
The town of Karma is still inhabited even though radiation levels are dangerously high. Vassily, a pastor in a rural church just outside the town, has witnessed first hand the effects of radiation poisoning on the town’s inhabitants and believes that people need the healing power of God’s Word.
He was grateful for the Scriptures that we gave him for his church, but his dream is for every family in the town to own a Bible. He asked the Bible Society to help him achieve this. Members of St Nicholas Orthodox Church were also delighted to receive colourful Bible Society Scriptures, which they said would help them and their children feel closer to God.
We visited Gomel Regional Hospital, which has recorded a sharp increase in illness among children. The number of those suffering from thyroid cancer has increased by 13 times, while more than 600 children with cancer of the blood are registered at the hospital. We met some of the seriously ill children and their mothers, whose tired eyes tell of the many months they have spent at their children’s hospital bedsides.
One
small boy, who has been treated at the hospital for seven months, told us that
he felt lonely because his parents lived far away and could only visit him occasionally.
Most of the children, no matter how ill, are determined to go home one day.
A group of Christians from a nearby church have been visiting children for three years, telling them Bible stories and sharing God’s love for them. Many of the parents come to listen and often have questions. They have asked for Scriptures to take home so that they can continue teaching their children about Jesus when they are discharged from the hospital.
Unfortunately, we were only able to provide Scripture materials for use in the hospital. However, we pray that God will help us to find a way to give patients, their parents and the medical staff their own Scriptures. Hospital staff are particularly in need of God’s Word because they are in constant contact with suffering people. Our hope is that, as they care for ill and injured patients, they will pass on the Bible’s message of hope.
Travelling into the south of Belarus, we encountered even more terrifying
evidence of the after-effects of the Chernobyl disaster – this area has
the country’s highest death and sickness rates, especially among children.
In the town of Hoyniki, we gathered at a small church, where members of the
congregation told us of their difficult lives and how they longed for more Christian
literature.
Chernobyl ClosedThe Chernobyl nuclear power station was officially closed in December by Ukraine’s President Leonid Kuchma. Acknowledging that the closure was for the “sake of global safety,” President Kuchma also reminded people that Ukraine was forsaking “a part of [its] national interests.” About 6,000 people who worked at the plant will lose their jobs, and scientists say that the clean-up process could take as long as 100 years. Ukraine will receive hundreds of millions of US dollars to build two new reactors to replace the electricity produced at Chernobyl and create alternative employment. |
Grigory, who lives on his own in the deserted village of Vysokoe, also benefits from having his own Bible. The village was evacuated years ago, but Grigory, a veteran of the Second World War, did not want to leave his home. He misses simple human fellowship, and communicating with God through reading His Word is of great comfort to him.
On the last day of our visit, we went to the town of Bragin and surrounding villages. Although a few of the town’s inhabitants have returned to their homes, there is an eerie silence, and the scene reminded us of Isaiah 6:12: “I will send the people far away and make the whole land desolate.” In the town square there are memorial boards showing the names of all the evacuated villages.
In the village of Khrakovichy, which is not far from Chernobyl, we walked with heavy hearts along streets lined with empty houses. Only 60 of the village’s 300 homes are occupied. This area was once blessed with fertile soil and a mild climate, and people grew all types of melons. Nothing good grows here now. Baptist Pastor Stepan Novik, the village’s oldest inhabitant, told us that “people here badly need the Word of God.”
Outside one of the abandoned houses we found a verse from a poem scratched on a fence. It was by Yanka Kupala – a well-known Belarussian poet – and described the anguish of leaving one’s native home. Victor, one of the village’s few inhabitants, told us that he had left home when the town was first evacuated but had come back because he could not find anywhere else to live.
When he returned he found that most of the people living in the village were alcoholics, drug addicts, former prisoners or homeless people who had taken over the empty houses. His sad face brightened when we gave him a Bible and read Job 8:21 out loud to him: “He will let you laugh and shout again…” Victor thanked us and asked us to bring Bibles for all the villagers.
We also met a young boy who told us that he had long dreamed of having his own Bible. When we presented him with a Children’s Bible, he immediately sat down and started to read. There are many more children like him, who are also longing to learn more about Jesus.
As our journey came to an end, our hearts were aching as we reflected on all we had seen and heard. Although the Bible Society has sent thousands of Scriptures to victims of the Chernobyl explosion, this visit really brought home to us the extent of the tragedy and the devastating effects it is still having on millions of people.
Many more Scriptures are needed, and, while the Bible Society is determined to provide them, resources are limited. Prayer and material support is needed to bring the hope and comfort of God’s Word to people who have lost all hope.” (WR 357/16 - 1/2.01) [PHOTOS]