A sobering look at the Chernobyl disaster, with exclusive home video footage.
From Chechnya to Chernobyl
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
In recent years, hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled wars and political turmoil in Chechnya, Tajikistan, Georgia and Azerbaijan in order to find peace in the radioactive pastures surrounding Chernobyl, scene of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986.
'I prefer living with radiation over living in a war zone,' says one former resident of Chechnya.
The tiny, little-known country of Belarus has suffered more than any other in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster. Winds scattered the heaviest radioactive deposits across the country, where after a decade 25% of the land is still judged uninhabitable. Thousands of villages and towns were abandoned or evacuated, and their populations resettled to safer areas.
When Russian-speaking filmmaker Slawomir Grunberg heard that local governments were encouraging people to resettle the irradiated villages, he decided to go there with his camera. His film documents the latest twist in the Chernobyl disaster and the evolution of the former Soviet republics.
In the village of Raduga he met the Tsiplaevs, an ethnic Russian family from Grozny, the capital of Chechnya. Like many, they've chosen to risk their health, and the health of their children's children, in exchange for a life without the constant fears of living in a war zone.
'A unique film that covers a topic of which most of us are unaware. This intriguing documentary is recommended for an undergraduate college curriculum that would cover modern European history or current events.' Kathleen Loomis, Electronic Resources Librarian, SUNY-Fredonia MC Journal
'This is a beautiful piece that deeply moved several of us. Your entry is a touching portrayal of the plight of people torn by war and a grim reminder that the specter of Chernobyl is still with us - captivating, artistic, and well-written.' Katherine Knight, EarthVision Coordinator
'Grunberg does a skillful job of portraying the bleak choices that the people of the former Soviet Union face. This video is a good supplement for classes on environmental politics, post-Soviet studies, and international relations.' Amit Gupta, Asst. Prof., Political Science, Stonehill College
'Provides a unique perspective on both the post-Soviet conflicts and the problems of refugees.' Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution
Citation
Main credits
Grünberg, Slawomir (filmmaker)
Grünberg, Slawomir (film producer)
Grünberg, Slawomir (photographer)
Grünberg, Slawomir (editor of moving image work)
Other credits
Photographed & edited by Slawomir Grünberg, Jason Longo; translation from Russian, Elena Dubrovsky; English voice, Jane Greenberg; music, Brian Aumueller.
Distributor subjects
Conflict Resolution; Developing World; Environment; European Studies; Geography; Health; Human Rights; Humanities; International Studies; Migration and Refugees; Nuclear Energy; Political Science; Radiation; Russian/Slavic Studies; Social Justice; Social Psychology; Sociology; Toxic Chemicals; War and PeaceKeywords
WEBVTT
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[sil.]
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[music]
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The tiny, little-known country of Belarus
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suffered more than any other
in the aftermath of the 1986
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Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
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Even after decades, one-fourth of the country\'s
fertile soil is judged contaminated.
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Thousands of villages and
towns were abandoned
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or evacuated, and their populations
resettled to safer areas.
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When they learned that
the local governments
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where encouraging people to relocate to
this irradiated villages, I decided to go
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there with a camera. On
my way, I met a family
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whose child travels to this city
for a chemo therapy treatment.
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Chernobyl\'s most numerous
victims are the young
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whose tired glands are particularly
vulnerable to the effects of radiation.
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[music]
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While driving on the road
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leading to the village of this
yet, I\'m crossing the border
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between habitable and uninhabitable, an
artificial line on the Belarusian map
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which humanity rarely crosses.
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Located 70 miles downwind from Chernobyl,
this village was completely evacuated
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in the years following
the nuclear accidents.
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Three hundred people used
to live in this area.
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Today, there are none.
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At one time, there was a
checkpoint on the road
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in order to prevent people
from crossing into this area.
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But it is gone now because the guards were
afraid to stay, I was told by the driver.
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[music]
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The zone surround Chernobyl,
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many of the houses were burnt down, while those
which still stood were abandoned or looted.
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[music]
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Radiation has no look, no taste or smell.
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The land between life and
death is indiscernible here.
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Without humanity, nature still
seems to quietly continue.
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[music]
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Visiting these house, many of which
were built hundreds of years ago,
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I feel like an archeologist
uncovering the secrets of the past.
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But here history ended
abruptly and without warning.
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[music]
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Who are the people who lived here?
Where are they now?
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Or they moved to (inaudible) called
apartments on the edge of the city?
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Did they resist the moving? Are they alive?
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Are they safe? Where is the looted
material from these houses?
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Was it used to build radioactive
structures elsewhere?
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I never learned the answers.
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Seven miles down the river, I
found a village of Raduga,
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or rainbow in English, located in the area
heavily showered with the radioactivity
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in the hours following the
1986 Chernobyl accident.
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Raduga is part of the zone that was not for civil, they
populated in the months and years following the tragedy.
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The 700 inhabitants of this village
were told they could leave
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only if they wanted to. Some
did, and their homes and jobs
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were filled with war refugees
seeking work and shelter.
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Lena Tsiplaev is one of those
refugees, an ethnic Russian,
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she moved here along with her husband
and daughters from Chechnya.
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I have to wake up (inaudible).
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(inaudible), wash the
dishes when you get up.
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Don\'t oversleep.
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We knew that there was radiation here,
but it made no difference to us.
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We would\'ve gone anywhere
to escape the war.
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We couldn\'t sleep at night there
because of the endless shooting.
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(inaudible), (inaudible)you\'ll
be late for work.
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Everyone\'s up, and you\'re still sleeping.
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We knew that they needed workers
here, and we\'re often free housing.
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We came here because of the children,
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to save their lives so that they
could live, eat, and sleep in peace.
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[sil.]
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Many love this village and
moved allover Belarus.
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They\'ve all come back now.
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[sil.]
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The collective farms are
being reestablished.
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[sil.]
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Last year, we were examined for radiation.
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They checked our bodies with this device.
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[sil.]
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When people from the zone are examined,
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they still find a lot of
radioactivity in our bodies.
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I was in the hospital in January, there
was a man whose radioactivity levels
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were 70 times above normal.
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He was put in the
sanitariums for treatment.
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[sil.]
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When we came here, we were
assigned to this collective farm.
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We stopped here because we liked the
natural surroundings and the nearby river.
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[sil.]
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We came here in 1993, I was
told by the medical committee
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that I had to be registered to work here
because this is a radioactive zone.
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But how much radiation, no one knows.
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[sil.]
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The radiation changed absolutely nothing.
We didn\'t dwell on it.
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[sil.]
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where we came from, we were surrounded by chemical
plants. Grozny is situated amidst the hills
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and the factories surround the outskirts.
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If you drive to the top of the
highest hill to look down at Grozny,
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you can see everything as
if it was in your palm.
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The five chemical plants there, it
made clouds of different colors.
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Green, red, blue,
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black, and yellow, and
they\'re all above Grozny.
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[sil.]
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But we lived there anyway.
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[sil.]
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where does takes place the war now?
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The war takes place
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in Chechnya. (inaudible), why have you come
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uh…to Raduga? Why did you
leave your native places?
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We have come here…
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We have come here
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because of war. Of the war.
Because of what war?
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[sil.]
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Of war in Chechnya
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in Grozny, my town. Did your family know
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about Chernobyl disaster
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and about our dirty territory
when you uh…came here?
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It is better to live radiation atmosphere
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but among
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very kind, good people
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than to be killed in Grozny.
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[music]
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It wasn\'t easy to adjust. The food is
different, the climate is different.
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[sil.]
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We didn\'t want to leave, to abandon our house,
but the war was starting and momma convinced us.
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In the morning, she went
to get the tickets.
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We didn\'t pack a lot. We just gathered
whatever things were in the house.
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[non-English narration]
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There were tears when we parted with our
friends. Such things one doesn\'t forget.
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[music]
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There were lot of people on the train, also
from Grozny. There was a woman with two kids
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also crying when they left.
We got here in three days.
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We had to transfer twice,
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we had a long way and lot of stuff
(inaudible) district, (inaudible),
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then finally got to the
city of (inaudible).
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Our journey was ordinary, but people
questioned us. Of course, they asked
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from where to where, why are
you abandoning the city,
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so we explained, there is
only one reason, the war.
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How can you live in such circumstances when you can\'t
go outside. As we traveled, we looked at the territory
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surrounding Grozny. It
was frightening to see.
00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:09.999
Tanks were already advancing.
This you don\'t forget.
00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:18.000
[sil.]
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We like it here because
of the natural setting,
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and because there\'s some
place to go out for a walk.
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How does it compare it to Chechnya?
There\'s a big difference.
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In Chechnya, we couldn\'t go outside. Chechnya
was under martial law. And after 6 o\'clock,
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we couldn\'t go outside because they
had the right to shoot a person.
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But here, we can stroll at
night with absolutely no fear.
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Danger, radiation, before
this zone was considered
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to be contaminated, cows were not
allowed to graze here. But now,
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I don\'t know why it\'s still here.
When we first moved here,
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we were not permitted to come here or to swim.
But now, everyone else goes, so we also go.
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Read what it says.
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[non-English narration]
00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.999
Toxic waste, harvesting
of agricultural crops
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and grazing of animals prohibited.
Dangerous radiation.
00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:38.000
[sil.]
00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:54.999
Do you think this grass is healthy? I don\'t
know, but if the crows are grazed here,
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and they\'re eating without problems.
00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:04.999
Maybe it\'s not okay, but
what are people to do.
00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:09.999
People don\'t think that this is a radiation zone contaminated with
leftover seas and fallout, and that the cows may be unhealthy.
00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:14.999
But everyone drinks the milk and it\'s okay.
00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:19.999
There are no illnesses. People
here do what they want.
00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:28.000
[sil.]
00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:34.999
What did you hear about the radiation?
Nothing good.
00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:39.999
Is there radiation here? There is.
You can\'t drink that milk.
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Why do you come here with your cows?
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There is nowhere else to graze them.
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But you should know that there is radiation
here. But there is no where else to graze.
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There\'s no other place. No,
from there to here. That\'s it.
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There\'s nothing else.
Couldn\'t drink this milk.
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Everyone drinks it. Also your pike,
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where\'s our pike?
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Where did you catch it? Over there.
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That\'s where we\'re going to swim.
00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:29.999
Aren\'t you afraid that they might
be contaminated. With what?
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Radiation. We eat them and nothing happens.
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What did they say?
00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.999
When they drink the milk, they say that
nothing will happen to us. We\'ll be healthy,
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same with the fish. No one pays attention.
00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:54.999
[sil.]
00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:59.999
It\'s very nice here in the summer,
especially after exams. We would change
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and come here to the river, right after our final
exams. It\'s wonderful. We\'d spend the whole day here
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until our mother\'s would
come and chase us away.
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We don\'t have a river like this in Grozny. If
we had, we would only walk along the shore.
00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:23.000
[sil.]
00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:34.999
Look at this map showing
radiation levels in Belarus.
00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:39.999
[sil.]
00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:44.999
This is the capital of Belarus, Minsk.
This is the river.
00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:49.999
[sil.]
00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:54.999
It eve says (inaudible).
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The radiation level is
from 15 to 40 curies.
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We didn\'t even think that the rivers contaminated. We
were happy that there was a river in which to swim.
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There was no river like this in Grozny.
We think it\'s clean.
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We get pleasure from the river. It\'s fun to swim
and relax with our friends there. I don\'t know.
00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.999
[sil.]
00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.999
This is our color. It says that the level
of radioactive contamination in the zone
00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:29.999
is 15 to 40 curies per square kilometer.
What do you know about Cesium?
00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:34.999
Cesium, well, it\'s the element heavily
released after the Chernobyl explosion.
00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:39.999
It\'s the most radioactive element.
It\'s thought that cesium causes
00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:44.999
big disturbances in a person\'s body and causes
serious dysfunctioning in a person\'s thyroid.
00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:49.999
[sil.]
00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:54.999
Of course, Chernobyl had a huge effect.
00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:59.999
Many, many people left this zone.
00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.999
Many are now coming back to the villages.
00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:09.999
They left after the initial
explosion, but are now returning.
00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.999
Why? Either because life is hard,
00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.999
or they just don\'t pay very much
attention to the radiation.
00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.999
Perhaps life is easier in the
country than in the city.
00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:29.999
So they\'re coming back to the villages.
Although at first, they were very frightened
00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:34.999
and left because of the radiation.
00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:43.000
[sil.]
00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.999
When we came here, we realized how good
it is to live where there is no war,
00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.999
no shooting, and people sleep in peace.
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.999
Of course, we\'re very happy that we left.
00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:09.999
Very happy.
00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:18.000
[sil.]
00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:29.999
We live calmer now. At least I
don\'t worry about the children.
00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:34.999
They can go for a walk in the evening.
There, you couldn\'t leave the house,
00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:39.999
and we stayed at home in fear.
00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:48.000
[sil.]
00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:59.999
We have many of these old photographs.
00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.999
All have survived.
00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:09.999
When you look at these photographs,
do you think of Grozny? Of course,
00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:14.999
we look at them often. During Easter, we gather
the photographs and sat down with the children
00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:19.999
to look at our friends. Everyone
celebrated Easter together here.
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.999
But we have no relatives
here and no where to go.
00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:29.999
We remembered all of our friends,
the dead and the living.
00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.999
[non-English narration]
00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:39.999
We remember Grozny often. Not a day has
passed that we haven\'t thought of Grozny.
00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.999
That\'s our native country. It\'s where
we were born, and where we lived.
00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:49.999
It\'s possible that we may still return
there if everything resolves itself.
00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:54.999
Apparently, in agreement we
signed yesterday with Chechnyans,
00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:59.999
Yeltsin invited them to Moscow.
00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.999
These are our Chechnyan neighbors. They are
mother and daughter. This is my older sister.
00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:09.999
This is a street where we lived.
00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.999
What is the difference between
you and the Chechnyans?
00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.999
There is no difference. At one time,
we would have lived out our lives
00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.999
without noticing any difference. As
neighbors, they are very good people.
00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:29.999
We went to school together, we
eat together, we slept together,
00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.999
we celebrated holidays together,
we never felt any difference.
00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:39.999
I just can\'t understand how
all of this could happen.
00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.999
[non-English narration]
00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:49.999
This is the class photograph.
00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.999
[sil.]
00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.999
This is me and my Chechnyan friend.
00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.999
She was my neighbor, and my best friend.
We shared a desk in school.
00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:09.999
We were born different,
but how is she different.
00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.999
In absolutely, no way.
00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.999
Here\'s another Chechnyan, we helped bring up this child.
She brought the child to us when she went to the store.
00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.999
[non-English narration]
00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.999
This is her daughter. We lived side by side
with them. We raised our children together.
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.999
And now, we don\'t even know what\'s
happening to them over there.
00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.999
These are (inaudible) parents.
00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:44.999
This is the father who was killed.
This is the grandmother.
00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.999
We know nothing about how
she\'s doing in Grozny.
00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:54.999
Of course, we are very worried. We
hoped so much that she would come.
00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:59.999
[sil.]
00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.999
The memory of war is still vivid or many.
00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.999
(inaudible) is from Armenia.
00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.999
She came here several years ago with her
husband, (inaudible), and their baby girl.
00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:19.999
Their son was born a year later.
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.999
[sil.]
00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:29.999
The (inaudible) and the Tsiplaevs
share a unique bond as neighbors.
00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.999
Both families having fled civil wars.
00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.999
Anyone home? We\'re home. We\'re home.
00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.999
May we visit you?
00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
[sil.]
00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
Is this in your house?
00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
Yes, this picture was taken
in our home in Armenia.
00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.999
They\'re shooting at every step. They
fired with tanks and airplanes.
00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.999
The young, aged 16, 17
00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:14.999
are brought back dead.
About a 150 people a day.
00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:19.999
They draft you, we don\'t know how to shoot.
00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.999
They bring them back dead.
00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.999
It\'s better to die from
radiation than from a bomb.
00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:38.000
[sil.]
00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:49.999
No one pays much attention
to the radiation.
00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:54.999
Everyone works, studies, and (inaudible),
and pokes around in their gardens.
00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.999
[sil.]
00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.999
Everything depends on the earth. To have food, we
must plant, and that\'s the most important thing.
00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:09.999
[sil.]
00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:14.999
The letters we\'ve received from Grozny
00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:19.999
are only from my mother-in-law. They
were brought over by the Russian troops.
00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.999
This is a letter where
our father was killed.
00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.999
She writes, \"Hello, my dear
granddaughters and children,
00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:34.999
I want to tell you that
the city does not exist.
00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:39.999
The old school was burnt. The
new one has been shattered.
00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.999
For a whole month, we have been under fire by both
the Russian troops and by the Chechnyan troops.
00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.999
We lived in the cellar under the
house without gas or water.
00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:54.999
Now, I will write about horrible things.
On February 6th,
00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.999
the Russian troops were advancing,
tanks were shelling our houses.
00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.999
Father went into the house for something
and was seriously wounded in the back.
00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:09.999
He was hit in the lungs and died
on February 6th, after two hours.
00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:14.999
We buried him on the second day at
the school. He was buried there
00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:19.999
because there is no other place. All
the cemeteries have been mined.\"
00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.999
I don\'t know how she lives there.
I can\'t imagine it.
00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.999
Of course, I want to return
home, but it\'s not possible.
00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.999
There\'s nothing alive there.
Everything is destroyed and shattered.
00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:39.999
I don\'t know.
00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:48.000
[music]
00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.999
In Chechnya, in Grozny, I worked with computers
in a programming division in a research center.
00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:59.999
[non-English narration]
00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:04.999
I wore a white robe and
everything was very clean.
00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:09.999
But here, of course, a farm is a farm.
00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.999
The difference is huge between working
in a white robe and handling animals.
00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:19.999
Before, I had no idea about
how to care for them.
00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.999
[non-English narration]
00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:29.999
But I\'ve learned.
00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:38.000
[sil.]
00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:49.999
It\'s nothing terrible.
00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:54.999
It\'s just work. And one
has to live somehow.
00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:59.999
[sil.]
00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.999
It\'s interesting working with the cows.
00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:09.999
And the children come to
work to watch and to help.
00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:14.999
[sil.]
00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:19.999
After coming from school and doing homework, I come here
to see momma. I\'ll help clean her, feed the animals.
00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:24.999
[sil.]
00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:29.999
I like the little calves
running around the barn.
00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.999
At first, I worked with the pigs (inaudible),
then I moved over to the calves.
00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:39.999
[sil.]
00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.999
In Grozny, we have gas,
00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:49.999
running water, bathrooms,
but there are none here.
00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.999
We have to get water outside,
00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:59.999
but it\'s all right. We\'ve gotten used to it. Probably,
everyone can get used to anything. Life is life.
00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:08.000
[sil.]
00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.999
I think that we live, and we just notice
the radiation. We\'re just used to it.
00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.999
Everything seems to be okay.
00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.999
It\'s the same everywhere. Do you think
that the city of Gomel doesn\'t have it?
00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:29.999
Gomel has it too. Who drinks
the milk from these cows?
00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:34.999
This milk is taken to the
city and people drink it.
00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.999
If it\'s contaminated here,
it\'s contaminated there.
00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:48.000
[sil.]
00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:54.999
Of course, we worry,
00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:59.999
and we certainly fear for our health. But
so far, we can\'t complain about anything.
00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.999
We try to take vitamins and
meat produce in the summer.
00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:09.999
The doctors conduct endless
medical examinations here.
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.999
The doctors came to the kindergarten and the
medical boy checks everything thoroughly.
00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.999
They take blood tests,
they check for radiation.
00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:24.999
Especially after Chernobyl, the infection
was thought to occur in the thyroid.
00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:29.999
There are kids who have enlarged thyroids
00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:34.999
but almost no one pays
attention to the radiation.
00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:39.999
The younger girl, Natasha was examined by the medical commission.
They said that she should be admitted to the hospital
00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.999
for medical treatment. Since she will
be on summer vacation from school
00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:49.999
and must be treated. What does she have?
00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:54.999
It\'s something with the internal
organs, the stomach and the pancreas.
00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:59.999
[non-English narration]
00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.999
It\'s hard for us here because we are alone.
00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:09.999
People are different here,
they are strangers.
00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:14.999
But, of course, it\'s better here.
There\'s nothing left alive there.
00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:19.999
[sil.]
00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.999
Did you catch anything?
00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:29.999
Not much. Were you at the creek?
00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:34.999
When they first announced the Chernobyl incident on the
television, they said that there was a meltdown at the reactor.
00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:39.999
[sil.]
00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.999
They showed pictures of destruction shot
from the helicopter, and that\'s all.
00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.999
[sil.]
00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:54.999
But nobody said what really happened.
00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:59.999
[sil.]
00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:04.999
There were two guys at my plant
00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:09.999
who went to do clean up at Chernobyl.
They worked next door to me.
00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:14.999
Both suffered from radiation poisoning.
00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:19.999
The first lost all his hair,
and the second one died.
00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.999
He got some kind of cancer.
00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:33.000
[music]
00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:49.999
(inaudible) abandoned the
village of (inaudible).
00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:54.999
Walking towards the cemetery, I discovered
that the level of radiation here
00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:59.999
is roughly 20 times that of
normal background radiation.
00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.999
[music]
00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:09.999
Nature seems to thrive here.
I remember hearing a myth
00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:14.999
that the radiation causes the grass to grow
longer, the flowers to bloom more colorfully,
00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:19.999
and the birds to sing more loudly.
Here, the myth
00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.999
seems wholesome truth.
Ironically, in the graveyard,
00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:29.999
I found only signs applied in this village.
Freshly cut flowers
00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:34.999
adorn the tombstones of
the recently buried.
00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:39.999
Life and activity are eerily
confined to the cemetery
00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.999
where even today, people return to bury
their dead alongside their relatives.
00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:53.000
[music]
00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:19.999
Back in the village of Raduga, I\'m invited
by my Armenian friends for a picnic.
00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:24.999
[music]
00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:29.999
We knew that there was radiation
here, but we were not afraid.
00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:34.999
Death comes slowly here. It\'s invisible.
There, it comes right away.
00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:39.999
[non-English narration]
00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.999
They shoot at every step.
00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:53.000
[sil.]
00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:59.999
My sister was killed. She
died at the age of 24.
00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.999
A bomb exploded, and she died.
00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:09.999
And the sister\'s husband\'s
sister, she was 29,
00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:14.999
they died together.
00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.999
His cousin\'s husband was also killed.
00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.999
He was 23. It happened when
they went to negotiate
00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:29.999
a prisoner exchange with the Azerbaijanians,
instead they shot them in the forest.
00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:34.999
They went with the representatives
to the burial and got shot
00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.999
by the Azerbaijanians right away.
This is how they negotiate.
00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.999
This is how contemptuously they behave.
00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.999
They don\'t understand here. Until a person sees it
directly, one cannot understand this kind of grief.
00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:54.999
Do you think that you will leave?
00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:59.999
Possibly. But I won\'t have enough money for
the ticket. And how are we going to live.
00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.999
The children are little. And at
times, there isn\'t enough money
00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:09.999
to buy shoes for them. In
Armenia, we lived well.
00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:14.999
We still have a car and everything there. But
here, we don\'t have the money to even buy bread.
00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:19.999
We live anyway.
00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.999
It\'s difficult. The locals here
have grandmothers, grandfathers,
00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.999
a brother, a sister,
everyone helps one another.
00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:34.999
Likewise, as neighbors, we try to share.
00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:39.999
If you have bread, you share.
If you don\'t, I will share.
00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.999
Recently, this year, a law was passed which
says that even though we are Russian, Armenian,
00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:49.999
or whatever that we must become citizens of
Belarus, since we reside in Belarusian territory.
00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:54.999
But to become a citizen, one must
have lived here for seven years.
00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:59.999
So far, we have only lived
in Belarus for three years.
00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:04.999
[non-English narration]
00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:09.999
While we wait, we don\'t receive
the extra radiation money.
00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:14.999
My husband got 300,000 which
will be deducted next month
00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:19.999
because he is not a citizen of Belarus.
They took it back,
00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.999
the same with the medicine.
They took it back too.
00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:29.999
There\'s nothing we can do about it.
00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:38.000
[music]
00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:34.999
It is my last evening with the Tsiplaevs.
And it\'s time to say goodbye
00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.999
to the friends I\'ve made in Raduga.
00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.999
I\'m invited for a
traditional farewell party
00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:50.000
in the Russian style.
00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:29.999
Its Beautiful. A young man was killed.
00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:34.999
He was 24. His name was Elvig.
This song is about him.
00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.999
It happened in 1995.
00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.999
You left everyone crying…
00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:49.999
You left us too early…
00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:55.000
Oh Brother, oh Lord…
00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:14.999
You left everyone crying…
00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:19.999
You closed your eyes too early…
00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:25.000
Where has our loved one gone?
00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:49.999
Oh Lord don\'t take the best ones…
00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:55.000
Oh Lord don\'t torture the orphans…
Distributor: Bullfrog Films
Length: 45 minutes
Date: 1998
Genre: Expository
Language: English
Grade: 9-12, College, Adult
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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