THE CHILDREN OF CHERNOBYL
By Joan King
For The Gainsville Times

The children of Chernobyl! Their faces are etched in my mind and on my heart. I have a file full of those faces, a file full of facts about Chernobyl and other nuclear accidents. Chernobylıs mothers and mothers-to-be haunt me as well.

I have friends who have been there. One of them described the trip from Moscow to Kiev. The plane was radioactive, not high enough to be put out of service, but enough to register on my friendıs Geiger counter. The stewardess had just learned she was pregnant and didnıt want to make the flight.

Her supervisors insisted. The U.S. delegation interviewed on her behalf, and the stewardess was excused; but of course, no one knows what happened once the visitors were gone.

I was touched by a recent story (THE TIMES - Feb. 11) about missionaries who carry medical supplies to the Drizhba Orphanage in Belarus. I immediately bought the requested aspirin and vitamin C, and will collect more of these simple essentials from my own church, but this is little more than a band aid.

When scientists split the atom, they created entirely new elements. Humanity invaded Godıs domain. Some believe we have sinned. Others believe nuclear technology will bring prosperity and peace to the world. I leave that argument to the theologians.

What we cannot evade, however, is our individual responsibility for humanityıs actions. It is no longer possible to say that what happened at a power plant half way round the globe - that what is happening now in labs and universities and government offices around the world - is not our responsibility. We have become a corporate world. We must learn to bear corporate responsibility.

Plutonium was only the first of the new elements, but it lies at the heart of the dilemma. It is toxic. It is radioactive, and it will be around virtually forever. It is the essential ingredient in todayıs thermonuclear bombs, and it is the byproduct of every nuclear power plant everywhere in the world. The amount of Plutonium in the world grows daily, and we have no way to get rid of it because it is an element and irreducible.

When churches call attention to the suffering humanity has caused by mishandling creation, when they reach out to the afflicted, they are taking the first step toward responsibility; but it is only a baby step. They are headed in the right direction but have yet to fully understand the extent of their responsibility.

A nuclear accident is different from any other. Time does not ease the problem. It has been over 14 years, and the situation around Chernobyl is getting worse. The earth is poisoned. Contamination is spreading, and babies continue to be born sick and deformed.

Weıre wrong to assume it canıt happen again. It probably wonıt happen in the U.S., but it will happen somewhere. The nuclear industry may be in decline in this country, but it is actively (and successfully) promoting nuclear power in under developed countries where safety standards are less carefully regulated.

Our nuclear weapons are still on high alert status. Our nation continues to develop new and more devastating bombs. The nuclear industry is still subsidized by the U.S. government.

This is where the churches need to put their missionaries. Many already do to some extent, but again they take small tentative steps at best. The nationıs nuclear policy is a moral issue. The environment is a moral issue.

Humanity threatens Godıs Creation in a number of very real ways. We are changing the atmosphere. We are destroying the forests. We are polluting the seas. We are wiping out whole species. And we are creating conditions that jeopardize our children and their childrenıs children.

In a report last April, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said more than 7 million people have been effected by Chernobyl. Three million children require treatment and ³many will die prematurely.² We need more than band aids.

- Joan King

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