It is quite clear that their attitudes toward the event are expressed in their words and photos, and that their hearts linger with the children of Chernobyl, the children with brain tumors, hydrocephalus, birth defects, cancer, and numerous other ailments that have been tied to the radiation that permeates the area. These children are the unsung victims of the disaster, and people no longer think of them, or their plight. These authors attempt to change that by bringing their condition to the public and forcing them to look at what still goes on inside Russia. They show how the government largely ignores the area, the children, and the problem. Hopefully, work like theirs will change society's attitude both toward the aftereffects of this horrible disaster and toward nuclear power in general. Safeguards were not in place in Russia, in fact, the safeguards were turned off the night of the disaster because the technicians were conducting an experiment on orders from Moscow (De Jong and Knoth). Safety should be key in nuclear power plants, but safety was largely ignored, and the people of Russia are still paying the price. This is a hugely emotional issue, and these writers all illustrate that by focusing on the children, who have no choice in their fate. They are the saddest victims of this disaster, and the ones who should evoke the greatest response from the public.
None of these authors uses subtle irony to illustrate the problem and bring it to the public's attention. They use bold, straightforward images and words to show what is happening...
It is difficult enough to see the poverty and hopelessness that fills these people's lives, but it is worse to see in pictures and words that these people still live and work just like they did before the accident, and the government allows it. The photos of the duck hunt, picnic, and hunted ducks, along with the photos of the child jumping into the contaminated river indicate that the people do not understand the long-term affects of radiation, and how it still exists in the water, the soil, and in their homes. They live as they have for hundreds of years because they have no choice, and this is another aspect of the disaster that the writers have tried to bring out. The entire area should be evacuated and sealed off, but instead, the government does nothing, and the people continue to suffer. Writers like these are attempting to bring this to the people's attention, and if they actually succeed, perhaps things will change in Chernobyl. They are attempting to bring a public outcry against the government, but so far, in that attempt, their words have failed.
References
Croce, Marie. "Children of the Damned; the After-Effects of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster Have Turned the Village of Lapachy into a Hell on Earth." Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland) 10 Feb. 2001: 34.
De Jong, Antoinette, and Robert Knoth. "Nuclear Nightmares: Twenty Years Since Chernobyl." Pixie Press.org. 2006. 6 Dec. 2007.
Baverstock, Keith, and Dillwyn Williams. "The Chernobyl Accident 20 Years on: An Assessment of the…
