MINSK, 17 January (BelTA) – BelTA’s photo exhibition Parallel Worlds shows in detail Belarus’ difficult journey to overcome the terrible consequences of the Chernobyl accident, People’s Writer of Belarus, Honorary Chairman of the Belarusian Writers’ Union Nikolai Cherginets told a BelTA correspondent.
“The Chernobyl disaster occurred in another republic, but Belarus bore the brunt of the nuclear accident. The repercussions were horrible. Thousands of people had to be evacuated from contaminated areas. New settlements, schools, shops, gas and electricity supply networks, roads had to be built for the resettlers,” said Nikolai Cherginets.
He drew attention to the fact that the government had to spend up to a third of the annual budget on eliminating the consequences of the Chernobyl accident. “We have passed this way and now we are spending less. We have turned the page on this. This required a tough position and determination from Aleksandr Grigorievich Lukashenko and the entire government,” Nikolai Cherginets emphasized.
At the same time, the writer noted, while hundreds of thousands of Belarusians worked hard to reclaim contaminated lands and to return to normal life in their native land, others profiteered on that: “When you think of the Chernobyl Path campaign by the opposition, it calls to mind the hum of empty slogans, an atmosphere of aggression and double standards.
You can see all this at the photo exhibition that shows what difficulties the country encountered while eliminating the aftermath of the accident. “It also shows devaluation of the ideas of those who, back in the 1980s, tried to draw attention to the problem of contaminated lands,” concluded Nikolai Cherginets.
The photo exhibition Parallel Worlds on the 22nd floor (observation deck) of the National Library of Belarus will be running from 17 to 21 January. Admission is free.
