INSIDE CHERNOBYL'S ZONE OF ALIENATION, SILENCE LOOMS JUST AS IT DOES AT AUSCHWITZ OR TREBLINKA. WITHIN A 30 KILOMETER RADIUS...

IT IS COMPLETE DESERTION EXCEPT FOR A NUMBER OF ELDERS WHO WERE NOT ABLE TO ADAPT TO LIFE OUTSIDE OF CHERNOBYL.

THEY HAVE COME BACK TO DIE IN A CONDEMNED LAND WHERE THERE ARE NO CHILDREN TO BE SEEN.

children of chernobyl

pripyat, ukraine

PRIPYAT IS THE CLOSEST CITY TO CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR POWER PLANT.

TODAY, IT IS A GHOST TOWN WHERE TIME HAS STOOD STILL.

A BARRIER GATE SEPARATES PRIPYAT FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD.

FROM THIS POINT ON, THERE IS ONLY WASTE AND SILENCE.

THE CITY WAS FOUNDED IN THE 1970S TO HOUSE POWER PLANT WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES, BUT IT ONLY LASTED A DECADE AND A HALF.

NOT ENOUGH TIME TO SEE ITS AMUSEMENT PARK OPEN TO PUBLIC.

TRAGEDY HIT SOONER AND LEFT THIS DESOLATING IMAGE.

A GIANT FERRIS WHEEL HANGING FROM NOTHING, REMAINS OF CHAIRS THAT WERE ONCE AIRBORNE, BUMPER CARS FROZEN IN TIME.

PRIPYAT'S CENTRAL SQUARE WAS LARGE AND SPACIOUS, HOUSING A GRAND THEATER, A HOTEL AND A RESTAURANT, THAT WERE ALL A TESTAMENT TO THE SOVIET ERA.

TODAY, BUILDINGS ARE HOLLOW SHELLS OF EMPTINESS.

THE WINTER SNOW AND SUMMER GRASSES HAVE TAKEN OVER THE WALK PATHS AND AVENUES.

MORE THAN 50,000 PEOPLE LIVED HERE PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT.

WHEN ENTERING ABANDONED HOMES, ONE GETS A CLEAR SENSE OF THE URGENCY PEOPLE MUST HAVE FELT AS THEY EVACUATED.

THE MOMENTS OF PANIC WHEN WORD BROKE OUT.

WHEN FEAR TOOK OVER PRIPYAT, THERE WAS NO TIME TO SHUT A WINDOW.

SONGS WERE INTERRUPTED, BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS WERE LEFT UNREAD, AND MOMENTS IN LIFE WERE PUT ON HOLD.

THERE WAS BARELY ENOUGH TIME TO GET AWAY.

AND NOW, PRIPYAT'S BALCONIES FACE THE SURROUNDING SILENCE.

TWENTY YEARS AFTER THE WORST NUCLEAR ACCIDENT IN HISTORY

<SIC ARCHIVE FOOTAGE>

AND YET, TO THIS DAY, THE EFFECTS OF THE DISASTER ARE INCALCULABLE, AND SUBJECT OF A GREAT SCIENTIFIC CONTROVERSY.

THERE IS ONLY ONE THING PEOPLE AGREE ON.

CHILDREN WERE AND CONTINUE TO BE THE PRIMARY VICTIMS.

THE LATEST UN REPORT ONLY ATTRIBUTED 56 DEATHS AS DIRECT RESULT OF THE ACCIDENT, INCLUDING NINE CHILDREN, AND AN ESTIMATED 4000 INDIRECT DEATHS.

THESE NUMBERS HAVE BEEN REFUTED BY A NUMBER OF SCIENTIFIC, ENVIRONMENTALIST, AND INDEPENDENT STUDIES.

THE EXPLOSION ON APRIL 26, 1986, RELEASED RADIOACTIVE FALLOUT 100 TIMES THE LEVEL OF AN ATOM BOMB.

IT TOOK TEN DAYS TO PUT OUT THE FIRE.

FIRE ENGINES, HELICOPTERS AND AIRCRAFTS WHICH WERE USED TO CLEAR OUT THE AREA, LAY ABANDONED IN WHAT ARE KNOWN AS BURIAL GROUNDS.

DUE TO THE HIGH LEVELS OF RADIATION THEY WERE EXPOSED TO, THEY WERE DEEMED INOPERABLE,
AND LAY ABANDONED.

FAR FROM THE POPULATED AREAS THEY CAN NOW COOL DOWN.

vivos em inglês (salta)

TWENTY YEARS ON, AND THE DANGER STILL PERSISTS.

ONLY 3% OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL

<Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant>

WAS RELEASED INTO THE ATMOSPHERE IN 1986.

AT THE SITE OF THE ACCIDENT WITHIN REACTOR 4, THERE ARE INACCESSIBLE AREAS WHICH ARE ALSO
THE MOST RADIOACTIVE.

THE REACTOR HAS BEEN COVERED BY A LARGE SARCOPHAGUS THAT WAS HASTILY BUILT AND NOT SEALED RIGHT, AND IT NOW RUNS THE RISK OF COLLAPSING.

THE WEST WALL HAS SWOLLEN AND CRACKS ARE NOW VISIBLE, THROUGH WHICH RAIN AND MELTED SNOW SEEP IN.

THE RISK OF A REOCCURRENCE IS SUBSTANTIAL AND THE CONSEQUENCES ARE UNPREDICTABLE.

TO CONTAIN THE PROBLEM THERE ARE 3600 WORKERS INSIDE THE REACTOR, WHO ARE EXPOSED TO
SUCH HIGH LEVELS OF RADIATION, THAT THEY CAN ONLY WORK IN 15 MINUTE SHIFTS.

THEY MONITOR THE AREAS THAT ARE OFF LIMITS, AND KEEP CLOSE EYE ON STRUCTURAL DAMAGE IN THE AFFECTED AREAS.

THE POWER PLANT IS LOCATED IN THE HEART OF THE 30KM EXCLUSION ZONE IN THE FAR NORTH OF UKRAINE.

IT IS A HIGHLY CONTAMINATED TERRITORY THAT SPILLS INTO BELARUS, TO THE NORTH.

TEN KILOMETERS SOUTH OF THE NUCLEAR PLANT IS CHERNOBYL.

<CHERNOBYL, UKRAINE>

A CITY WHOSE HISTORY SEEMS TO HAVE STARTED AND ENDED IN 1986.

EVERYTHING HERE IS A TESTAMENT TO THAT FATEFUL NUCLEAR MELTDOWN.

THE MONUMENTS IN MEMORY OF FIREFIGHTERS WHO DISAPPEARED WHILE FIGHTING THE BLAZES.

ABANDONED HOMES HAVE BEEN TAKEN OVER BY SNOW AND VEGETATION.
350,000 PEOPLE ENDED UP DISPLACED.

LESS THAN 400 ELDERS DID RETURN, INCLUDING OLGA GAVRILENKO.

SHE RETURNED ONE YEAR AFTER THE INCIDENT, TO REOCCUPY THE VERY SAME HOME BUILT BY HER GRANDPARENTS.

THE OLDEST ONE IN CHERNOBYL.

AT 76, SHE IS A WIDOW WHO SUFFERS FROM RHEUMATISM AND SOLITUDE.

Of course i feel lonely.
During the day, i am entertained,
<olga gavrilenko>
<chernobyl survivor>
But at night, that's when i feel most alone.

OLGA DOES NOT KNOW WHERE HER NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS ARE, LOST FOREVER IN AN EVACUATION THAT WAS DONE HASTILY AND DISORDERLY.

IT WAS NOT THE FIRST TIME SHE HAD BEEN DISLODGED.

SHE HAD ALSO BEEN FORCED TO MOVE OUT DURING WORLD WAR II.

SHE NOW, REFUSES TO LEAVE THE ONLY PLACE SHE'S BEEN HAPPY.

SHE LOST ALL HER BELONGINGS WITH THE COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION.

THE ONLY THING SHE HAS LEFT, IS A PLOT OF LAND WHERE SHE GROWS HER FOOD, IGNORING THE FACT THAT THE SOIL IS CONTAMINATED.

I have a yard were i plant potatoes and everything else i need.
We eat what the earth provides us.
Scared? I am not scared anymore.
I was, in 1986, when they evacuated us.
Now, i am not afraid of anything.

OLGA IS READING A BOOK CALLED "CHERNOBYL: CITY WITHOUT FUTURE" WHILE LISTENING TO FRANK SINATRA.

THE RADIO HAS REPLACED THE CHIRPING OF BIRDS.

THE COOPS IN CHERNOBYL ARE EMPTY.

IMAGES SUCH AS THESE, HELP US ASSOCIATE FEAR WITH THE WORD "CHERNOBYL".

BUT IN THE WINTER, WHEN SNOW COVERS THE RADIOACTIVE DUST, CHERNOBYL IS A HARMLESS TOWN WITH LEVELS OF RADIOACTIVITY COMPARABLE TO THOSE OF ANY EUROPEAN CAPITAL CITY.

vivo em inglês (salta)
Rimma kiselitsa
Ukraine governmental expert

UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT WORKERS BASED IN CHERNOBYL WORK HARD TO PUT THE DANGERS OF IRRADIATION INTO PERSPECTIVE.

THEY HAVE COMPILED A MANUAL FOR SURVIVING IRRADIATION.

vivo em inglês (salta)

IT IS UNDERSTANDABLE WHY THERE ARE NO CHILDREN IN CHERNOBYL AND WHY RADIATION LEVELS ARE HIGHEST AMONG THE YOUNGEST.

RADIOACTIVE DUST IS COLORLESS, TASTELESS AND ODORLESS.

THEY ENTER THE SOIL, ATTACH THEMSELVES TO OBJECTS AND PENETRATE INTO THE FOOD CHAIN.

SPECIALLY THE MORE STABLE ISOTOPES: CESIUM AND PLUTONIUM.

vivo em inglês (salta)

OPACHICHI, UKRAINE

THE ELDERS ARE NOT AFRAID OF RADIOACTIVITY.

AT 82, ANASTASIYA TCHIKALOVETS DOESN'T WANT TO LEAVE OPACHICHI.

A VILLAGE WITH A POPULATION OF 19, ONCE 3000, DURING WINTERTIME, IT IS ISOLATED FROM THE WORLD DUE TO SNOWFALL AND DENSE FORESTS THAT SURROUND IT.

ANASTASIYA HAS BEEN FORCED OUT A NUMBER OF TIMES, BY NAZI TROOPS IN 1942, AND ONCE AGAIN IN 1986 WITH THE ACCIDENT AT CHERNOBYL.

SHE WAS UNABLE TO ADAPTO LIFE IN KIEV AND THE 5TH FLOOR FLAT ALLOCATED TO HER.

SHE RETURNED A YEAR LATER IN TIME TO WITNESS THE SOVIET DISMEMBERMENT AND THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND.

WIDOWED SIX MONTHS AGO, SHE SWEARS SHE WILL ONLY LEAVE FOR OPACHICHI CEMETERY, TO BE BURIED ASIDE HER HUSBAND.

SOLITUDE HAS WON HER OVER.

SORROW HAS REPLACED THE SONGS SHE ONCE SANG.

HOSTING FOR PEOPLE AT HER HOME IS ONE OF THE LAST FEW THINGS SHE ENJOYS DOING.

ANASTASIYA DOES NOT HOLD BACK.

SHE SERVES HOME-MADE VODKA AND FILLS THE TABLE WITH HER BEST SELECTION OF PEPPERS, FRUIT, COOKIES...

...AND THE DREADED CHERNOBYL MUSHROOMS.

<Anastasiya tchikalovets>
<chernobyl survivor>
I like the local mushrooms. They are the best.
They are not radioactive.
If they were radioactive, i would have long been dead.
I came back to die here, unlike so many who died of heart ache far from here.
People often say i look young, and i say it's because i am at home.

ANASTASIYA HAS THREE CHILDREN, FIVE GRANDCHILDREN, AND A TWIN SISTER WHO LIVE IN BRAZIL.

I was in brazil for three months.
They wanted me to stay there. But i wanted to come back and be close to my husband.
You must understand, everyone is king of their own hill. And i am the same.

I am used to this land. I can't think of any place better.
<Kiev, Ukraine>

CHERNOBYL HAS ALSO CLAIMED LIVES OUTSIDE THE EXCLUSION ZONE, MORE NOTABLY IN RUSSIA, BELARUS AND ACROSS UKRAINE.

THIS KIEV HOSPITAL HANDLES THE MOST SERIOUS CASES OF CHILD VICTIMS OF CHERNOBYL.

DIMA OSTAPCHUK, 9, SUFFERS FROM A LYMPHOMA OF THE LUNG AND HAS BEEN HERE FOR THE PAST SIX MONTHS.

SHE LIVED IN A VILLAGE HUNDREDS OF KILOMETERS AWAY FROM WHERE THE EXPLOSION TOOK PLACE.

THE UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT HAS ISSUED HER AN ID CARD FOR VICTIMS OF CHERNOBYL AND HAS COVERED HER CARE COSTS, BUT BOTH SCIENCE AND MEDICINE CANNOT LINK THIS ILLNESS WITH THE NUCLEAR ACCIDENT.

THE SAME CANNOT BE SAID WITH REGARDS TO THYROID DYSFUNCTIONS.

THYROID CANCER IS THE MAIN ILLNESS CAUSED BY CHERNOBYL.

<Alexis ruíz>
<psychologist>

Thyroid cancer has been directly associated with chernobyl.
Other illnesses and other types of cancers, leukemia, at the moment, cannot be linked directly, except on 24 fire and rescue workers who were at the scene.
<sic archive footage>
Among the rest of the population, we cannot find a clear association.

IT IS TRUE THAT THE RATE OF LEUKEMIA AMONG THE FIREFIGHTERS AND RESCUE WORKERS WHO WERE AT THE SCENE, IS HIGH, BUT IN GENERAL, THERE WAS NOT A RISE IN LEUKEMIA CASES OTHER THAN AMONG
SPECIFIC AGE GROUPS.

OTHER THAN THAT, THE MAIN FOCAL POINTS OF ILLNESS DO NOT COINCIDE WITH AREAS MOST CONTAMINATED.

The problems are on the rise.
We are seeing an increase in illnesses, not just because of chernobyl, but also due to environmental effects.

SORE THROAT, FATIGUE AND A GAIN IN WEIGHT HAVE BROUGHT THIS 11-YEAR-OLD GIRL TO THE PEDIATRIC HOSPITAL AT KIEV.

NATALIA VLADIMIROVA IS QUITE FAMILIAR WITH THESE SYMPTOMS.

SHE IS HEAD OF THE DEPT. OF ENDOCRINOLOGY.

SHE HAS DEALT WITH MANY CASES OF THYROID CANCER.

- Does it hurt?
- a little.
It hurts a little, doesn't it?
Yes it does.

THIS ROUND-FACED CHILD HAS A SWOLLEN THYROID GLAND, BUT A MORE CONCLUSIVE DIAGNOSIS CAN ONLY BE CARRIED OUT THROUGH BLOOD ANALYSIS, AN ELECTROCARDIOGRAM, AND THYROXINE THERAPY.

The most serious cases we are faced with
<natalia vladimirova>
<endocrinologist>
Are thyroid related and child growth.
Ukraine and other neighboring countries are considered endemic goiter areas.
In other words, it is environmentally related, air and food related, caused by iodine deficiency.

THIS IS KIEV'S OFFICE OF THE INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR CHERNOBYL.

IT IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT SELECTS CHILDREN TO BE SENT TO CUBA FOR TREATMENT, UNDER A HUMANITARIAN PROGRAM SET UP IN 1991.

The children spend time by the sea.
<alexander bozhko>
<pres. Int. Fund for chernobyl>
The salt water is rich in iodine and they are taking it in naturally.
Children spend 3 months in cuba, taking in non-radioactive iodine.
It cleans their thyroid gland and helps with their recovery.
<xenia laurenti>
<chernobyl children care program>
When the old soviet union asked the international scientific community for help regarding the victims of chernobyl, our government was quick to act.
They sent a team of doctors to the scene.

Dermatologists, endocrinologists and pediatricians, all visited the affected region
In ukraine, and selected the first group to be sent to cuba for treatment.

THE PROGRAM DID NOT END WITH THE BREAKUP OF THE SOVIET UNION.

RUSSIA AND BELARUS STEPPED BACK BUT UKRAINE HAS CONTINUED TO BENEFIT FROM CUBAN MEDICAL ASSISTANCE.

FOR THE PAST 15 YEARS, 18,000 CHILDREN HAVE BEEN SENT TO CUBA.

SERGEY YUSHCHENKO WAS ONE OF THEM.

HE IS A HEMOPHILIAC.

HE HAS A RARE GENETIC DISORDER THAT IS NEURODEGENERATIVE AND HEREDITARY.

AT 25, HE LIVES WITH HIS PARENTS IN A CRAMPED 7TH FLOOR FLAT IN THE OUTSKIRTS OF KIEV.

HE LOST HIS ABILITY TO WALK AT 16 AND HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO FOUR SURGERIES WITHOUT SUCCESS.

SCIENCE HAS BEEN UNABLE TO FIND A DIRECT LINK BETWEEN MALFORMATIONS, GENETIC MUTATIONS AND THE NUCLEAR DISASTER.

THE MOST RECENT REPORTS FROM THE UN AND WHO HAVE ALSO REFUTED THE POSSIBILITY.

BUT FOR SERGEY, THE REASON FOR HIS CURRENT HEALTH CONDITION IS CHERNOBYL.

A LOCATION WHERE HIS FAMILY HAD A COUNTRY HOUSE, REASON WHY HE IS CONSIDERED A VICTIM OF THE DISASTER.

IT WAS UNDER THIS STATUS, THAT HE WAS ABLE TO GO TO CUBA ON TWO OCCASIONS, ALONG WITH HIS MOTHER.

We don't have the same conditions for rehabilitation here.
We don't have anywhere to go swimming, we don't have those beaches, we don't have the same level of physiotherapy.
<nina khmelnitska>
<serguey yushchenko's mother>
We can't even go out to the street freely.
In fact, we are captives in this house.
We dream about the rehabilitation in cuba, but first, he needs to be operated.

NINA BROUGHT BACK HER MEMORIES OF CUBA IN WATERCOLOR PAINTINGS.

LANDSCAPES OF PLACES WHERE THEY LIVED, NOW, DISPLAYED AROUND THE HOUSE.

THERE IS ONE PAINTING, IN PARTICULAR.

A PORTRAIT OF FIDEL CASTRO SIGNED BY HIMSELF AND LEONID KUCHMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE.

THE DRAWING WAS DOCUMENTED ON VIDEO, AS WELL AS SERGEY'S MEDICAL ORDEAL, THE WAITING PERIOD FOR MEDICATION NOT AVAILABLE IN CUBA, YET, ESSENTIAL FOR THE OPERATION HE UNDERWENT.

IT WAS A FAILED ATTEMPT, SINCE SERGEY UNABLE TO WALK AGAIN.

AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT STORY FOR HIS CHESS PARTNER.

WHEN HE FIRST ARRIVED IN CUBA, VLADIMIR ZASLASKI COULD NOT WALK, HE COULD NOT LAY DOWN, HE COULD NOT EVEN CHEW HIS FOOD.

HIS MOTHER HAD TO CARRY HIM EVERYWHERE.

I had to carry him everywhere, to the beach, so he could work on building muscle mass,
<svetlana zaslasky>
<vladimir's mother>
And so that he could swim.
I used to carry him upstairs, bathe him.
That was my life.

TWELVE YEARS AGO, MOTHER AND SON FIRST ARRIVED TO CUBA, WITH A MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS OF AN
INCURABLE DISEASE IN ONE HAND, AND COMPLETE DESPERATION IN THE OTHER.

<TARARA, CUBA>
Last diagnosis made in moscow was confirmed by cuban doctors.
But there are about 200 types of dystonia.
The one diagnosed in moscow was incurable.
From that point on, people refused him treatment.

The first step was to come up with a diagnosis of our own, he had neurological and neuro-muscular dystonia.
It was a difficult period because vladimir was in such a state that he could not sit up, lay down or eat on his own.
His head would drop to his ankles and i had to hold him up so that he could eat.
It was hell.

VLADIMIR WAS OPERATED FIVE TIMES.

HE UNDERWENT TWO CEREBRAL AND THREE ORTHOPEDIC SURGERIES.

HE WAS ABLE TO REDUCE HIS DAILY DOSE OF MEDICATION FROM 78 PILLS TO 6.

BUT THE MOST ASTOUNDING MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENT WAS WHEN HE STARTED WALKING AGAIN.

Here in terara, the doctors have given me a second chance in life.
I suffered from acute muscular dystonia and thanks to cuban doctors, they have treated my dysfunction.
<vladimir zaslasky>
<chernobyl victim>
They carried out several orthopedic procedures on me in order to give me back my ability to walk.
<maria victoria>
<pediatrician>
We rerouted functions in the brain.
We removed a small number of brain cells in the affected area.
The part that was in constant convulsions, because his muscles were constantly contacted.
They contracted spontaneously and it was very difficult to release the muscle.
The procedure is called bilateral posteroventral pallidotomy.
I went through the worst part in 1996, before the first operation when he was really in bad shape.
He used to take 78 pills and he honestly didn't want to go on living.

SVETLANA IS TAKEN BACK TO THAT DARK PERIOD IN THEIR LIVES, AS SHE LOOKS AT THE IMAGES OF THE PREOPERATIVE PREPARATIONS FOR WHAT WAS VLADIMIR'S SECOND NEUROLOGICAL OPERATION.

THE PROCEDURE THAT PROVED TO BE DECISIVE.

SHE FALLS SILENT.

IT HAD MEANT 12 YEARS AWAY FROM HOME, FROM THE FAMILY AND THEIR HOMELAND.

TWELVE YEARS OF STRUGGLE AGAINST AN UNKNOWN DISORDER THAT HAD TAKEN OVER HER SON'S BODY SINCE HE WAS 7 YEARS OLD.

I am not a heroine.
Every mother sacrifices what's hers for her children.
They are her treasure.

BOTH MOTHER AND SON WANT TO RETURN TO UKRAINE NOW THAT THE TREATMENT HAS REACHED IT'S FINAL STAGE AND VLADIMIR, AT 22, SEEMS TO HAVE RECOVERED HIS HOPE OF A FUTURE.

SHE IS GOING TO RESUME HER PROFESSION AS A NURSE.

HE WANTS TO BE A SPANISH TRANSLATOR.

THEY ARE GOING TO WALK AWAY FROM A LIFE THEY HAVE COME TO KNOW FAR TOO WELL, THAT HAS UNITED THEM EVEN MORE SINCE THE NIGHTMARE OF CHERNOBYL.

SOMETHING THAT 20 YEARS ON, CONTINUES TO BE EMOTIONAL.

Pain...
Do you believe chernobyl had anything to do with your illness?
I believe so and so do the doctors.

VLADIMIR ZASLASKI'S CASE IS ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY AMONG THE 18,000 CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE SOLIDARITY PROGRAM AT THE BEACH RESORT OF TARARA.

AN AREA THAT IS RICH IN IODINE, IDEAL FOR THE RECOVERY OF CHILDREN AFFECTED BY CHERNOBYL.

TARARA IS AN OLD COMMERCIAL PORT WHO'S NAME WAS INSPIRED BY THE BOOMING OF SHIP HORNS.

HOUSES ONCE BELONGING TO THE CUBAN UPPER CLASS DURING THE ERA OF FULGENCIO BATISTA, WERE TURNED INTO A YOUNG PIONEER CAMP, AFTER THE REVOLUTION.

TODAY, THEY ARE PART OF AN 11 KM2 HOSPITAL COMPLEX.

AN EXAMPLE OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL SOLIDARITY BY CASTRO'S REGIME.

There is no point in saying that it is politically motivated since we have kept the program
Running for the past 15 years, at a time when the soviet union was being dismembered.

For example, at the un, ukraine voted against us on our human rights record.
Had this been a political project, we would have broken off our relations.
We would have ended the assistance without a problem.
You can't blame the people for their country's politics...
That is why this is not political.
It's humanitarian.

UP TO 2,000 CHILDREN HAVE BEEN TREATED AT TARARA, SIMULTANEOUSLY.

BUT NOWADAYS, THERE ARE BARELY 140 CHILDREN FROM CHERNOBYL, AT MOST.

THEY SHARE THE SPACE WITH PATIENTS FROM "MIRACLE MISSION".

ANOTHER MEDICAL HUMANITARIAN EFFORT FORGED BETWEEN CUBA AND ITS ALLIES, MAINLY LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES SUCH AS H. CHAVEZ'S VENEZUELA.

TREATMENT SESSIONS START BRIGHT AND EARLY IN TARARA.

BEFORE SUNRISE, THE FIRST GROUP OF CHILDREN ARRIVE AT PLACENTAL HISTOTHERAPY CENTER.

Good morning.
Good morning, how are you?

THIS IS WHERE DERMATOLOGICAL DISEASES ARE TREATED THROUGH THE USE OF MEDICINES
DERIVED FROM HUMAN PLACENTA.

IT IS CUTTING EDGE TREATMENT, ONLY PRACTICED IN CUBA.

Our products contain a substance extracted from human placenta which are innocuous and don't cause any adverse effects.
Neither we nor the international medical community know of any instances when our
Medication caused adverse reaction.
This method was discovered by prof. Miyares cao, a pharmacologist who tested extracts from human placenta on mice.
He found out that placental extracts helped mice regain skin pigmentation and even grew back fur.
We are at the placental histotherapy center where we research products derived from the human placenta.
Who do we treat here, for example?
Children who suffer from vitiligo, alopecia and psoriasis.
We have had very positive results in our treatments.
An 80% effectiveness with alopecia, 85% of patients with vitiligo experienced skin repigmentation as well as hair regeneration without any limitation or related side effects.

PSORIASIS, VITILIGO AND ALOPECIA ARE ALL CONDITIONS THAT MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH MORE SERIOUS DISEASES.

SPECIALISTS CLAIM THAT THESE ARE PSYCHOSOMATIC DISORDERS PROVOKED BY THE NERVOUS SYSTEM,
THROUGH STRESS AND ANXIETY.

CHERNOBYL, THEREFORE, IS ALSO A PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEM.

ARTUR IS ONLY 4 YEARS OLD. HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH ALOPECIA.

The problem started as a small spot the size of a coin.
Even though he took vitamins and other medicine, the spot baldness spread.
Within a year, he had alopecia totalis.

AT 2 AND A HALF, HE HAD COMPLETELY LOST HIS HAIR AND NO ONE KNEW WHY.

HIS FAMILY LIVES FAR FROM CHERNOBYL AND NEVER IMAGINED THE ACCIDENT TO BE ROOT CAUSE OF THE DISEASE.

When the disease began, he was thoroughly examined
<elena topka>
<artur's mother>
And they found high levels of cadmium in his hair.
It is a heavy metal.
And we live in an industrial area which can affect the children.

AFTER SEVERAL UNSUCCESSFUL TREATMENTS IN UKRAINE, ELENA - WHO IS AN EYE DOCTOR -TOOK HER SON TO CUBA, AND THE RESULTS SOON FOLLOWED.

I use pilotrofina on alopecia. We apply it once a day followed by 15 minutes of infrared lamps.
We also apply melagenina on vitiligo.

BAGDAM'S PROBLEM IS SIMILAR TO THAT OF A PAPER AIRPLANE.

AS MUCH AS HE THROWS IT, IT WILL NOT FLY.

HE HAS BEEN IN TARARA FOR OVER A YEAR AND HIS HAIR REFUSES TO GROW.

HIS MOTHER BROUGHT HIM TO CUBA BUT SOON HAD TO RETURN TO HER YOUNGER DAUGHTER.

BAGDAM WAS LEFT TO HIMSELF AND HIS IMAGINATION.

Bagdam has been in cuba for over a year now.
We would have hoped to see some hair growth, but as with all of these diseases,
The psychological factor is key. specially skin related diseases.
In dermatological disorders such as alopecia and vitiligo, the psychological factor
Is very important and bagdam is a hyperactive child.
Bagdam can't sit still.
<graciela leon>
<nurse>
He alters his mood a lot.
I am not sure if it's because his mother is not around.

GRACIELA LEON IS 39 YEARS OLD AND HAS BEEN A NURSE FOR 16.

SHE HAS BEEN AT TARARA FOR THE PAST 7 YEARS.

IN ORDER TO WORK AND COMPLETE HER EDUCATION, SHE LEFT HER SON WHO IS NOW AN ADULT,
IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA.

BUT SHE HAS NOT LOST HER MATERNAL INSTINCT.

To me, they are like my own children.
Since i don't have mine near me, with all the care you give, you end up having
A maternal love for them and you want to give them everything.

LACK OF PARENTAL PRESENCE CAN BE TRAUMATIC FOR THE CHILDREN OF CHERNOBYL.

VASSILY GOMELAK IS 11 YEARS OLD AND HAS DEVELOPED PSORIASIS AND HIS SKIN IS FLAKY.

HE HAS BEEN ALONE IN CUBA FOR THE LAST 3 MONTHS.

HE STOPS SMILING WHEN ASKED IF HE MISSES HIS FAMILY.

EVEN THOUGH, AT FIRST GLANCE, ONE MAY NOT NOTICE, EACH ONE OF THE CHILDREN CARRIES A MAP OF PAIN ON THEIR BODY.

STEFANIA'S IS VISIBLE.

She has a cavernous hemangioma.
A facial tumor that has deviated her labial posture and damaged her facial nerve.
It is a congenital disease with clogged facial vessels as a result of excessive neoplastic growth.
Before coming to cuba she had a number of surgeries done on her which affected her nerve...her facial nerve.
That is why there is a deviation.
Not only because of the tumor but also how it was handled.
She was born with a small spot on her face, near her ear.
<tatiana maliovana>
<stefania's mother>
She was operated on when she was one month old.
And the spot still managed to grow.

STEFANIA HAS BEEN IN TARARA FOR 2 YEARS.

SHE HAS HAD FOUR OPERATIONS AND IS AWAITING A FIFTH ONE.

A FACIAL NERVE TRANSPLANT.

They are very delicate procedures because they involve the facial nerve.
Up to now, we have been unable to remove the tumor completely.
But we have come a long way.

THESE ARE TOO MANY OPERATIONS FOR A 7 YEAR OLD.

WHILE SHE WAITS, STEFANIA HIDES HER SUFFERING BY PLAYING.

SHE IS LOOKED AT BY THE SAME DOCTOR IN HAVANA WHO OPERATED ON HER.

HE GIVES HER WEEKLY SHOTS OF INTERFERON ALPHA.

IT IS AN ANIMAL PROTEIN THAT STIMULATES THE BODY'S OWN IMMUNE SYSTEM.

IN ORDER TO ACCOMPANY HER, STEFANIA'S MOTHER HAD TO LEAVE BEHIND A YOUNGER DAUGHTER, 15, TO FEND FOR HERSELF IN UKRAINE.

SHE IS SPLIT BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES AND TWO DAUGHTERS.

WITH EVERY LETTER SHE RECEIVES FROM HER DAUGHTER, THE LONGING FEELS LIKE A ROCK
PIERCING THROUGH HER HEART.

STEFANIA SAYS SHE WANTS TO BE A DOCTOR WHEN SHE GROWS UP.

SHE PRACTICES ON HER FRIENDS IN WHITE LAB COATS.

IN TARARA, THERE ARE 31 DOCTORS, 3 DENTISTS, 82 NURSES AND 17 TRANSLATORS.

THIS IS HOW EVERY WEEK STARTS IN TARARA.

THE VICE DIRECTOR OF THE PROJECT, ARSENIA LAURENTI TOGETHER WITH A TEAM OF DOCTORS, INCLUDING A PSYCHOLOGIST, A PHYSICIAN, A NURSE AND A TRANSLATOR VISIT EACH HOUSE.

THEY WEIGH THE CHILDREN, TAKE NOTE OF ANY CHANGES TAKEN PLACE DURING THE WEEKEND, CARRY OUT INFORMAL MEDICAL CONSULTATIONS, AND GIVE THE CHILDREN AFFECTION.

I think that this has been the most beautiful job in my whole career.

ALEXIS LORENZO RUÍZ, 41, IS A VETERAN IN TARARA STANDARDS.

HE HAS BEEN HERE FOR 15 YEARS, EVER SINCE THE PROGRAM STARTED.

HE IS THE HEAD OF THE PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT AND VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT SLAVIC CULTURE AND THEIR TENDENCY TO KEEP SILENT.

We have been working with them here.
Throughout the past 15 years, we have also been to ukraine,
Belarus and russia on a number of occasions.
We have been to a number of hospitals, and they even speak less over there.
But when they get to spend some time with us, they start behaving like we do here in cuba. So it seems to us that the silence is a cultural thing.

THE PSYCHOLOGIST KEEPS A CLOSE EYE ON A CHILD FROM DAY ONE.

HE HELPS EASE THE CULTURE SHOCK, EVEN AT EXTREME SITUATIONS... SUCH AS DEATH.

The most difficult thing for a doctor anywhere in the world, is when a child or a pregnant woman dies.
I remember a teenager who died in 1993.
She had been here for a number of years.
She would go in an out of coma at any given moment.
As she was dying, she didn't express any sadness towards death.
Everything she said had to do with cuba, and how happy she was with all the effort
Doctors had put on helping her.
That is a very important thing for a doctor and their family.
That a child dies without suffering.

CHILDREN DYING HAS BECOME A RARE THING IN TARARA MAINLY BECAUSE THE MOST SERIOUS CASES SUCH AS LEUKEMIA ARE NO LONGER ADMITTED.

We still do treat some patients with leukemia but it is a very costly treatment and the staff are aware of that.
Because it is so costly, we can't treat that many cases.
But there is another limiting factor.
In ukraine, there are certain taboos regarding leukemia.
They advise against bathing in the sea or sun exposure for those types of disease
And that limits our options.
Good afternoon.
- how are you doing?
- fine.

THERE ARE ALSO A NUMBER OF UKRAINIAN STATE WORKERS AMONG THE STAFF AT TARARA.

ELENA ONISCHENKO ARRIVED LAST YEAR AS A TEACHER.

THIS YEAR, SHE HEADS THE UKRAINIAN SECTION.

HANGING ON A WALL OF THE HOUSE SHE HAS BEEN ASSIGNED ARE PORTRAITS OF BOTH FIDEL CASTRO
AND VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO, COMMUNISM AND CAPITALISM.

THE RED REVOLUTION AND THE ORANGE REVOLUTION.

AND YET, ONISCHENKO DOESN'T STATE HER PREFERENCE.

Each nation has its own symbols.
<elena onischenko>
<head of children care program>
Our symbol is our flag, our coat of arms and our president.
In cuba, it's the same...
The first secretary of the communist party, the cuban flag...
When we arrived here, we ate cuban bread.
We are thankful for how cubans have been assisting us.
For having fed us and helped us out.

PRAISES FOR CUBA AND FIDEL CASTRO, IN PARTICULAR, ARE SHARED BY ONISCHENKO'S ASSISTANT.

When i was young, fidel...
Cuba was an island of hope.
It was a nation that had succeeded in it's revolution.
It was able to gain its independence.
In ukraine, every woman was in love with fidel.

RADEZDA PRIADKO HAS SPENT A YEAR IN TARARA.

SHE HEADS A SCHOOL THAT ACTS LIKE A SANATORIUM AND HAS FOUR ROOMS.

THE STUDENTS ARE DIVIDED INTO FOUR CLASSES ACCORDING TO AGE GROUP.

CLASSES ARE IN RUSSIAN AND LAST FOR ONLY TWO HOURS.

FROM 2 TO 4 PM.

Here, the main goal is to provide treatment.
Education is secondary.

IN TARARA, EVERYTHING WORKS AROUND THE TREATMENT.

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO'S JOB IS TO DISTRACT THE CHILDREN AND HELP THEM STAY BUSY.

THESE ARE ENTERTAINERS SUCH AS YUNNIERT MARTINEZ, 23.

I am a refrigeration technician and i also studied languages.
<yunniert martinez>
<entertainer>
This has been my life-long dream, to work with foreigners.

YUNNIERT IS SORT OF A BIG BROTHER AND CLOSEST PERSON TO THE CHILDREN.

HE TEACHES THEM HOW TO PLAY BASEBALL, THE MAIN SPORT IN CUBA.

LIKE EVERY OTHER ENTERTAINER, HE IS FLUENT IN RUSSIAN.

Because of their condition, most of them are shy.
They rarely open up to others.
Here, we share our cuban love with them.
And every cuban has a way of making them feel more at home.

BESIDES SPORTS, THEY ALSO ORGANIZE OUTINGS.

TODAY, THEY ARE VISITING THE HAVANA ZOO.

AFTER DINNER, TARARA DOES NOT REST.

THERE ARE EVENING EVENTS FOR THE CHILDREN.

TONIGHT IS GOING TO BE AN EXCITING NIGHT.

THEY ARE ORGANIZING A HAIR STYLE CONTEST.

HAIR STYLES WILL BE JUDGED BASED ON ORIGINALITY AND IN BETWEEN, CONTENDERS HAVE A CHANCE TO PERFORM.

THEY SING, DANCE, AND FORGET CHERNOBYL.

THE DAY ENDS WITH AN OUTDOOR DANCE PARTY.

DANCE NIGHTS ARE ANASTASIA TOROP'S FAVORITE.

THAT WAS WHEN SHE FOUND OUT SHE WAS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.

When i first arrived, i was extremely shy.
<anastasia torop>
<chernobyl victim>
That's when i decided i had come to cure myself.
There are children here in the same situation as i am.
So i stopped feeling shy and i freed my complexes.

ANASTASIA HAS SPENT THE LAST 2 YEARS IN CUBA WITH HER MOTHER.

SHE ARRIVED WITH A CASE OF ALOPECIA TOTALIS, GASTRITIS, COUPLED WITH SCOLIOSIS.
SHE WAS 11 YEARS OLD.

When she arrived, she didn't have any head hair.
A year and a half later, you can see for yourselves.
It grew back.
Once it grows back, you have to strengthen it.
My hair grew back.
I am so happy that i want to complete the treatment.

ANASTASIA IS ALMOST CURED AND PLANS ON RETURNING TO UKRAINE NEXT SUMMER. WAITING FOR HER IS HER FATHER.

IN HER ABSENCE, HE HAS LIVED IN AGONY FOR NOT HAVING BEEN ABLE TO SEE HIS DAUGHTER GROW UP.

I don't just miss her.
I can't imagine how she looks like anymore.
If you have any children, you know what i am talking about.
She left as an 11 year old child, a little girl.
When she returns, she will be a young woman.
A teenager.
On one hand, i regret not having seen her grow up.
On the other, i am happy that everything has worked out.
<sergey torop>
<anastasia's father>
I sense the change in her voice.
She left here when she was 11 years old, with a child's voice.
Now, when i talk to her, i hear a certain intonation.
A different timbre.

SERGEY TOROP IS 38 YEARS OLD.

HE LIVES ALONE IN A 9TH FLOOR FLAT IN THE SUBURBS OF KIEV.

THEY ARE TWO ROOMS FILLED WITH LONGING AND SADNESS.

ANASTASIA USED TO SLEEP IN THE LIVING ROOM.

HER TOYS AND CHILDHOOD PHOTOGRAPHS ARE STILL KEPT IN THE ROOM.

ON HER DESK, SERGEY KEEPS A WINTER GARDEN ALIVE FOR HER.

THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE, IT IS PERMANENT WINTER.

THE PIANO IS SHUT, SILENT FOR OVER 3 YEARS.

THE MELODIES ANASTASIA USED TO PLAY CAN ONLY BE HEARD IN HER FATHER'S MEMORY.

Most of all, i would like to hear her play sonatas and other soft melodies.
But she didn't take piano lessons for that long. Only 2 years.
She also had singing lessons.
So she used to play and sing. In fact, she sang very well.

SERGEY TOROP IS A DRIVER FOR A LAW FIRM.

ON HIS DASHBOARD HE HAS A CUBAN FLAG, AND ON THE RADIO, HE PLAYS CARIBBEAN MUSIC.

IN HIS EYES, CUBA CURED HIS DAUGHTER.

AND YET, THERE ARE MANY CHILDREN WHO DID NOT GO TO TARARA AND CONTINUE TO BEAR THE MARKS
OF CHERNOBYL ON THEIR LIVES.

CHILDREN SUCH AS THESE, WHO MEET EVERY WEEK AT A SUPPORT GROUP FOR VICTIMS OF CHERNOBYL, IN KIEV.

FOR THEM, THE FUTURE IS UNCERTAIN.

THE RADIATION CAN LAST ANOTHER 50 YEARS.

THE EFFECTS OF THE CATASTROPHE CAN CARRY ON TO FUTURE GENERATIONS.

IN CHERNOBYL, REACTOR 4 IS FINALLY GOING TO BE SEALED.

THE NEW SAFE CONFINEMENT, AN ARCHED STEEL STRUCTURE WITH A HEIGHT OF OVER 100 METERS
AND SPANNING OVER 250 METERS, WILL BE THE LARGEST MOVABLE STRUCTURE EVER BUILT.

THE OLD NUCLEAR POWER PLANT COULD BE TRANSFORMED INTO A RESIDUAL WASTE
TREATMENT FACILITY.

THE IRONY IS THAT THE EXCLUSION ZONE CAN SOON BE TURNED INTO A NATURE RESERVE.

Vivo em inglês (salta)

NATURE HAS MADE A COMEBACK.

THE FORESTS HAVE GROWN BACK, WILDLIFE HAS RETURNED, RARE SPECIES ARE NOW PLENTIFUL.

IN CHERNOBYL, LIFE CONTINUES AS LONG AS HUMANS ALLOW IT TO.

<<<FIM>>>>