Chernobyl disaster cannot just be consigned to history: Adi Roche and Russian Ambassador

By Olivia Kelleher

The CEO of Chernobyl Children International (CCI) Adi Roche has warned that we cannot use the 32nd anniversary of the nuclear accident today to confine an ongoing and serious issue to the history books.

The newly launched "I will not Forget You" campaign by CCI is raising awareness for the generations of victims who have been affected by and will continue to be impacted by the power plant disaster of 1986.

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RELATED VIDEO: Mr. Yury Filatov, the Russian ambassador to Ireland, speaking at the Greater Chernobyl Cause commemoration at Bishop Lucey Park, Cork, to mark the 32nd anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. Video by Dan Linehan

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Ms Roche said there is a feeling in some quarters that Chernobyl is now a historical event.

“There is an impression that Chernobyl is something that happened a very long time ago and no longer poses a threat to the world but the reality is very different.

We are harnessing the power of social media to spread a message of hope because Chernobyl ‘was forever’, Chernobyl ‘is forever’ and the impact of that single shocking nuclear accident can never be undone.”

CCI provides sustainable medical and humanitarian aid to the Chernobyl affected regions of Belarus and Ukraine, equating to over €105 million since 1986.

Though the accident at the nuclear power plant took place over three decades ago, the charity continues to witness and experience a great need for assistance from second and third generations of victims, who have inherited a deadly legacy known as Chernobyl Lineage.

Adi Roche and CCI are calling on people all over the world to join them in sharing this message of hope and remembrance today.

An interactive graphic produced on the 30th anniversary of Chernobyl in 2006

- Additional reporting by Digital Desk