It’s been nearly 30-years since the tragic nuclear meltdown at the former Soviet Union Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine near the Belarus border. The massive amounts of radioactivity spewed during this catastrophe immediately destroyed thousands of lives, and the Soviet government’s inaction and cover-up of the amount of radiation has left thousands more with severe birth defects, cancers, and other life-long disabilities.

The land surrounding Chernobyl was once rich farmland, full of towns and people. Now, the forest has taken over and eerie ghost towns are all that’s left in the evacuation zone, and the massive radioactivity release remains in the water, soil, and flora of the area.

The victims of Chernobyl continue to be born. Young children, born victims to this nuclear tragedy with physical ailments and malformations, leave their homes and travel to Cuba to seek medical treatment. Today, forest fires can rage in tinder dry malformed forests in the evacuated zone spreading radioactive debris worldwide. Chernobyl’s accident has not ended.

We live in a time when the worldwide risk of nuclear power has been proven. The people throughout the world cannot afford the tragic meltdowns at TMI, Chernobyl, and Fukushima Daiichi to be repeated.

The catastrophic meltdown at Chernobyl began 29 years ago today. Please join us in commemorating the lives of those lost and living with the contaminated legacy and ongoing tragedy that is Chernobyl today and will be for decades to come.

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