On April 26, 1986, the world suffered its worst nuclear disaster ever, when one of the four reactors at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. The Soviet government, under leader Mikhail Gorbachev, hushed the news for 36 hours, leading to the catastrophic radiation of large nearby populations. Thirty years on today, the area is still sealed inside an exclusion zone, the towns and villages devoid of humans apart from the engineers busy with the continued clean-up effort. The displaced residents live scattered in towns and villages across Ukraine, with many second or third generation children displaying unusually high cases of diseases including cancer.
Chernobyl marks 30 years after the nuclear catastrophe that scarred our conscience. The Soviet government hushed the news for 36 hours, leading to the irradiation of large nearby populations. Today, the area is still sealed inside an exclusion zone, the towns and villages ghostly.
For this story, I met displaced residents scattered across Ukraine, with many second or third generation children displaying unusually high cases of genetic diseases.