Book #15: Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster - Svetlana Alexievich
"On April 26, 1986, the worst nuclear reactor accident in history occurred in Chernobyl and contaminated as much as three quarters of Europe. Voices from Chernobyl is the first book to present personal accounts of the tragedy. Journalist Svetlana Alexievich interviewed hundreds of people affected by the meltdown - from innocent citizens to firefighters to those called in to clean up the disaster - and their stories reveal the fear, anger, and uncertainty with which they still live."
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Chernobyl is located near the now-abandoned town of Pripyat, Ukraine. So why did I select this book to represent Belarus? Because today, 1 out of every 5 Belarussians lives on contaminated land. 70% of the radionuclides released into the atmosphere landed in Belarus. Fully 23% of its territory is contaminated (compared to 4.8% of Ukraine).
I also selected this book because Chernobyl is this thing that happened far away in the Soviet Union when I was old enough to vaguely recall that it occurred, but far too young to grasp its scope and severity. I wanted to learn more. And wow, I did. This book is terrifying, horrible, maddening, sad...and desperately important. The Soviet government acted in ways that, sadly, were unsurprising in their utter disregard for human life. From removing books about Hiroshima from the libraries to forcing hundreds of thousands of troops to literally stand on top of the leaking reactor. The people tried, are still trying, to make a life.
As we continue to consider nuclear power as an alternative fuel source, this book is a must-read.
