"ENFANTS DE TCHERNOBYL BELARUS"
20
rue Principale, 68480 Biederthal (France)
e‑mail :
s.m.fernex@wanadoo.fr
Professor Youri Bandazhevsky
Relegation
and scientific research
Visit to Belarus
30 June – 7 July 2004-07-25
Dear Friends,We will be leaving again, this evening for a week. Knowing how much you are all looking forward to news about Youri and Galina, before we go, we are sending you our first impressions of our visit to Belarus.The letter to association members will be put in the post as soon as we return with the photos that we took while we are in Belarus.With all our best wishes,Michel and Solange.
Biederthal July 9 2004-07-20
First impressions of our visit
to Belarus from June 30 – July 7 2004
1)
Professor Vassili NESTERENKO is waiting to greet us at Minsk airport. We go to
see the Swiss attaché, M. Mathias Weingart, who is leaving the next day for
Berne (DEZA[1]).
On behalf of PSR / IPPNW Switzerland we raise the issues concerning Professor
Bandajevsky, who, to all appearances, is not yet, in the eyes of the foreign
affairs department, a political prisoner; the DEZA is waiting for further
information.
We discuss
the aid that the DEZA is providing for Nesterenko within the framework of the
CORE programme.
(French)
. This consists of accumulating measurements of Cs137 levels in
children over a 3 year period. I (Michel Fernex) transmit to Mr Weingart my
brief explaining why pectin must be distributed to contaminated children (see
annexe) bearing in mind the code of medical ethics forbids carrying out a
diagnosis of children unattended by the provision of treatment should one
exist: in cases of high Cs 137 contamination levels pectin is indicated. I
remind M. Weingart that all aid to Belarus coming from DEZA is totally dependent
on his appraisal of the situation.
2) The visit
to the French Ambassador together with Vassili Nesterenko is cordial. We show
him the Bandazhevsky file prepared by the Bandazhevsky committee – the
Ambassador was already familiar with most of the documents and had even gone so
far as to make copies of them for Youri. The Ambassador talks of his firm and
steadfast support for the total rehabilitation - both scientific and civil - of
Professor Bandazhevsky on each occasion that he is in contact with the Belarus
authorities. He also mentions that in a public gesture of concrete support to
the penal authorities that he visited Bandazhevsky, with his EU colleagues
immediately after his relegation.
When we
arrive in Minsk there are two pilots of the Normandy-Niemen Brigade, on an
official visit to the Embassy in full dress, parade dress with their French and
Russian medals. It was on the request of General De Gaulle that they fought
along side Soviet troops from 1942 – 1945. In the evening they are interviewed
on the television for the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of
the liberation of Belarus.
The
Ambassador questions me on my objections to the CORE
programmes. I remind
him of
the origin of the programme (EDF, CEA, AREVA[2]).
The aim of the ETHOS programme was to find some solution to Chernobyl problems,
but the health situation at the end of the programme, as presented in Stoline in
2001 is disastrous. CORE refuses to take into account the failure of ETHOS and
its causes. I talk in length to him about pectin and give him a copy of my
written brief on the question. "Médecins sans Frontiers" are setting up a small
scale project focussing on pregnant women within the frame work of the CORE
programme. The possibility of using pectin was mentioned but this would entail
following a protocol. In order to establish the beneficial effect of pectin for
pregnant women it would be necessary to determine before the start of the
treatment the level of radioactive contamination of the mother, of the placenta
and of the child at birth.
 |
the
foreman. The walls of the ground floor – excellent thermal isolation, width
57 cm, are going up fast. Five days later the window lintels for this floor
are in place. The whole of the wing accommodating the pectin production is
finished. It seems reasonable to say that the whole of the building will be
roofed and fitted with doors and windows by October 2004.
|
For the
first and last days of our visit our accommodation is in Nesterenko's wood-built
secondary residence at 10 minutes' from the building site.
4)
At
Belrad we meet the organisers of the projects "Villages disparus"
including
Alexei Nesterenko,
M. Babenko and others. Nesterenko hands over to Michel (Fernex) the official
authorisation issued by the Ukrainian Ministry of Health concerning pectin and
with the statutory procedure for treatment of contaminated children. This
official document is of the utmost importance for determining the course of
future negotiations in Belarus and in the West (TACIS
etc.)
Unfortunately, 24 hours later we learn that that during the night, Alexei, who
had been fit and well the day before, is suffering from an Ileus and must be
operated on urgently. (After a temporary improvement, a second operation was
required on June 7, the day of our departure.) Hopefully, in the coming weeks
everything will return to normal.
5)
Visit to Youri Bandajevsky condemned to "relegation" to the village of Peskovtsy
on the banks of the Nemen River.
Galina
Bandajevsky accompanies us to Minsk. When we arrive we find Youri looking well,
physically as fit as he was in 1998 (during our visit to Gomel) waiting for us
outside his pretty little wooden house. After greetings, Galina goes off at
once to see the Kolkhoz director Victor Genrikhovitch to make sure that there is
no future danger of Youri being transferred to another detention centre in
Belarus as a result of an unauthorised visit by a journalist of a provincial
newspaper 10 days ago.
A transfer of
this sort would be all the worse as Youri has just smartened up and made fit to
live in the old abandoned log hut put at this disposal. That is where is going
to receive his family tomorrow. He has patched up and repainted three rooms in
white. A wood-fuelled heater is in working order. He has put up some new
partitions. It was Nesterenko who supplied the furniture, the crockery, the
fridge, the gas cooker and everything else with the help of the donors of
"Enfants de Tchernobyl Bélarus"
The well with
drinking water is only 120 meters away. The public lavatory is a bit further.
There is a garden with a cherry tree laden with magnificent fruit. Youri has
cooked us delicious "borscht". We say to him, "If Galina is spending so much
time talking to the director it is a sign that things are going well". Two
hours' later a smiling Galina appears. Youri breathes a sigh of relief. The
discussion has in fact gone so well that the district president, Valentina
Tadeuchevna, invites us all to a meal to celebrate in three days' time with all
Youri's family: his wife, two daughters, her grand child, her brother in law
Sacha Slesar and his wife Nina as well as Vladimir Nesterenko, our guide and
driver.
Next to
Youri's house there is an old disused concrete building. Youri talks of setting
up a laboratory and raising laboratory animals. At first the idea seems a bit
far-fetched. But the photos that Youri shows us later of his improvised
laboratory which he installed in 2000 in his tiny Gomel flat, with the kitchen
serving as examination room for the Cs137 irradiated animals, leads one to think
that it might be feasible and a way of making scientifically productive the six
months that Youri has to spend in this, despite everything, oppressive
isolation. This would mean that he would have to refurbish the neglected
premises.
In so far as
Youri's health is concerned, any activity of this sort could be a means of
physical and intellectual well-being. Youri has, since his childhood, always
been involved in experimental research. His thesis is based on research
concerning reproduction. Problems of genomic instability which have since come
to light show the importance of ensuring a follow up over several generations of
animals.
The time is
not yet ripe to discuss Youri's long term, and by no means certain, future when
he will be able to live in other parts of the country. The judicial position
at the moment is that Youri is debarred from working either in a state
institution or abroad. However, corresponding and cooperation with foreign
institutes is not excluded. Youri is extremely grateful to the CRIIRAD for
having sent a "Notebook computer". His brother, Sacha Slesar is a computer
specialist in Minsk and will be able to help him with his correspondents as, for
the moment, Youri is not allowed access to internet.
To live with
concrete feasible projects, such as the study that he carried out in Gomel while
he was waiting for his trial, is an absolute necessity for Youri. It is not
good for someone to be without such projects as one can loose one's grip on
reality. Youri makes no mention of going aboard as he knows that, legally, it
is out of the question, and besides, he does not want to leave his country for
any length of time.
Without
anything concrete to do, without a project Youri would have good grounds for
becoming discouraged. What we have got to do is, despite all the obstacles, try
and hold out a helping hand. Unfortunately, we haven’t the time to discuss the
projects in detail, as any protocol needs to be thought through meticulously and
drawn up with care. Youri is going to try and note down his ideas and send them
to us.
Understandably, talking about the long term future worries Youri, as no one has
any answers to the questions that are posed today. There has been already been,
and there will in the future, moments of difficulty and "conflicts" that will
have to be straightened out. Youri who has a strong personality and his wife
will be able to cope with these. At the moment, Galina is working at Belrad
in her own field : paediatrics and clinical cardiology. She is studying the
beneficial effect of Pectin and vitamins on children in the highly contaminated
"forgotten villages", within the framework of the Belrad projects. She is now
able to see her husband regularly and speak to him on the phone each day
6)
Life in a relegation centre.
The arrival
of Youri's family who will find place enough to sleep in Youri's house, was
postponed by a couple of days because Olga's daughter fell ill, but in fact, it
was not a bad thing that the couple should be alone for a bit.
The district
President, Valentina Tadeuchevna, provided us and Vladimir Nesterenko, our guide
and driver, with lodgings in the village "Communist Party House" built on a
cliff overlooking the Neman River. The building was still decorated to the
glory of Lenin, Marx and Engels and the Tsar Romanov dynasty from Peter the
Great to Nicolas 2 (poster dated 1991). There was a hammer and sickle carved
into the wood of the door. In the garden memorial stones commemorated the tombs
of martyrs who died during the occupation;
At nine
o'clock each morning we have breakfast at the Bandazhevsky's with something hot
cooked by Galina. This is followed by group discussions. From time to time,
we watch the television which for 3 days non-stop sings praise to national
glory, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the liberation :
parades, sports clubs, armoured tanks, majorettes, low flying planes, fireworks
and above all ovations and speeches. Neither Putin nor Kouchma have accepted
the invitation. It all brings to mind the 14th July parade in Paris, minus the
Eiffel tower and the "Patrouille de France air formation".
We have one
to one talks with Youri until lunch is served at 2 p.m.: delicious local
cooking prepared by Galina. The language used is French which means resorting
to the dictionary from time to time. Youri still tires quickly.
Towards half
past four we leave the family to themselves and go for walks along the river.
Vladimir goes back to the village where he shares the meal that Galina has
prepared but we prefer to picnic in the glorious countryside beside the Neman.
On the last
day Sacha, Galina's brother, a computer expert whom Youri likes a lot, his wife,
Nina the eldest daughter Olga and baby Katia arrive. Youri and Galina's
youngest daughter, Natasha wanted to return with us the following day, but in
the end, after spending the evening with her parents decides to stay for a week
with the family.
President
Valentina Tadeuchevna invites us all to the gardens of the Party House, where we
are lodging, to a meal – a festive dinner. It is the President who brings and
has prepared (fish soup and grilled fish) two magnificent bream caught in the
Neman. With the help of Vladimir was set the tables and benches beneath the
enormous porch roof as it looks as if there could be a storm. Exceptionally,
and for the only occasion, there was a bottle of Ukraine champagne and a small
bottle of Vodka (0.5 l) ( bought by Michel that morning at the central store and
which remains two thirds full) to accompany the meal and allow us all with
Russian toasts to express our mutual gratitude.
Lots of
washing up to be done for Olga and Solange. That evening, Vladimir Nesterenko
didn't go back to the village for supper because there was more than enough
left-overs : fish, vegetables, potatoes bread and cheese... We went off for
our usual picnic.
The next day
we tidy up the house, take leave of the authorities , visit Valentina
Tadeuchevna in her office as well as Viktor Genrikhovitch, the Kolkhoz director
(4500 hectares of land and cereals, 200 farm hands, 1500 stock ) and exchange
heart-felt good byes with the Bandazhevsky family...
Résumé
It appears to
us that at the moment Youri is in the best possible natural environment,
contamination free, lodged in a pretty little traditional wood house which he
has done up and in which he can receive his family. In our opinion the
administrative authorities (Valentina Tadeuchevna) and the women working on the
kolkhoz are as kind, compassionate, generous and open as is possible given the
judicial and administrative situation over which they have no control. Just as
we in our town halls are greeted with a full size portrait of Jacques Chirac, in
Valentina's bureau it is quite obviously the Belarusian president who beams down
on the visitors.
There is an
extremely well stocked shop for such a small village just opposite Youri's house
(doubtless because of the large Kolkhoz and a relatively large school, at the
moment on vacation) in which one can find local sausage, milk and dairy products
(kefir, yoghurts etc.) all the usual stock found in a grocer's (rice, pasta,
lentils, oil, cucumbers, gherkins, coffee, tea, etc;) tinned food, beverages,
crockery, stationery etc.
We get to
know the manageress of the store, Macha, a kindly, smiling businesslike young
woman with whom we drink some Belarus champagne offered by the district
president, Valentina Tadeuchevna in the back office of the shop. Youri jokes
with Macha in Russian, saying that once Galina has left for Minsk and Valentina
for her holidays in the Crimea she will be the only woman left in the village ….
During our
stay, Youri and Galina keep on reminding us to thank all the friends who write,
send contributions, propose honorary citizenship, awards, university
distinctions, for the magnificent file of the Bandajevsky committee, the CRIIRAD
notebook, the financial support (600 $ monthly) which has been provided by our
association since 2001 and so on. All these gestures help Youri and Galina
feel a strong and warm solidarity. Youri is also delighted with the
subscriptions to the scientific reviews, "Nature" and others.
Although his
French is good, Youri still gets tired quickly during discussions He has jotted
down a in a school exercise book a list of common French expressions and
vocabulary to prepare for our visit. We do our best to be as unobtrusive as
possible, as our visit happens to coincide with the first "semi-free" contacts
with his wife, his two daughters and his grand-daughter who he had not yet
seen. This discretion on our part is all the easier as we live outside the
village and that we decided to take our evening meals on our own with our own
provisions: bread, butter, cheese and milk.
Last days at Minsk.
A long early
morning walk thought the forest from Nesterenko's house to the large nearby
lake. A last visit and photos of the progress at the Belrad building site. A
meeting with Rose Goncharova, to talk about her research in the genetics of the
field mouse population in the Chernobyl region and of future publications.
The next day,
Solange signs the "Belrad – Enfants de Tchernobyl" contracts. Vassili is busy
for
three days with the "SAGE"[3]
meeting for which he has assumed responsibility for the writing of the chapter
on "Radioprotection". Unfortunately, Alexei who was to represent Belrad is in
hospital. A meal with Ilsa and a few minutes with Vassili – everyone is
worried. It is in this climate of deep concern, just when Alexei is being
operated that Vladimir Nesterenko drives us to the airport and we board the
flight for Vienna. We have heard since that Alexei's temperature has gone down
and the second operation has been successful. He is still in the intensive care
ward.
(Unfortunately on July 10 a third operation had to be carried out because of a
perforation of the intestine and peritonitis. We were all fearing the worst –
the surgeon couldn't guarantee a successful outcome. At the present time
things have stabilised with the help of heavy medication: antibiotics and
immunoglobin perfusions. Despite the 3 operations in less than 10 days and the
septic shock Alexei's young organism is standing up to the shock. The
situation is serious and will take time to be overcome – Wladimir Tchertkoff)
9 July at 12 a.m. Michel and Solange Fernex.
[1]
DEZA -
Direcktion für Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit / Swiss agency for
development an cooperation
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