Le istituzioni locali e il mondo associativo per la costruzione di una rete in materia di cooperazione, cultura di pace, integrazione multietnica, promozione dei diritti umani e della solidarietà fra i popoli.
Chernobyl: life after catastrophe
“We Are the Air, not the Earth” (“Noi siamo l’aria non la terra”) is the first film of the trilogy about the Eastern Europe (Trilogia dell’Est”) directed by Antonio Martino. The film is the author’s reflection on the life of the people living in the regions heavily contaminated as a result of the Chernobyl catastrophe.
Life after catastrophe- Since the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in April 1986, the situation in the contaminated zone has been aggravated. The initial plans on population resettlement succeeded only partly because of the large scale contamination heavily affecting more then two million inhabitants of the Gomel and Mogilev regions, lack of financial resources (the economic situation in the country remains to be difficult) and the choice of a number of persons, especially elderly and those living in villages, in favour of staying at their places or coming back after the resettlement.
The system of social protection of population living in the so-called Chernobyl zone is gradually dismantled. The territory officially recognised as contaminated zone decreases, so fewer people are eligible for social benefits. Moreover, the government refused from providing social allowance on the ground that it was too modest to be really helpful, so that it would be better to invest in the construction of a specialised hospital. Nobody doubts the necessity of hospital construction, but the social allowance was of great importance for low income citizens.
It is difficult to overestimate the damage to people’s health. Belarus is the world leader on thyroid carcinoma, there has been a 40% increase in the cases of cancer since the Chernobyl catastrophe. People continue to live in the highly contaminated areas, but instead of concentrating its efforts on people’s resettlement, the national government sends university graduates to work there and justify this policy by stressing the necessity of providing local population with qualitative services (health care, education, etc.).
The film- The film about the Gomel region of Belarus was not a long-planned goal of Antonio Martino. At the beginning his trip to Belarus was just an adventure, which then resulted in the documentary showing us the tragic reality. The filmmaker faced a lot of difficulties not only because of the absence of financial and technical assistance, but also because of unwillingness of local citizens to talk. Belarusians suffer both from the consequences of the worst ecological catastrophe of the last century and the dictatorial regime suppressing freedom of speech. Concealing the real state of things, the authorities try to prevent others from showing unpleasant truth. Nevertheless, the documentary was finished and even selected for participation in various national and international festivals.
The film gets us acquainted with sad images of the life of ordinary people experiencing daily radiation effects who are aware of the existing danger, but still hope for the best. Likewise, we can see despair in the eyes of others, often seeking escape by drinking alcohol. A striking example is the interview held in a orphanage, as the answer given by many children when asked about their biggest wish was… “vodka”.
Despite many obstacles, Antonio Martino succeeded in his risky journey to give us his point of view on the post-Chernobyl reality. It was difficult to make this film, it is difficult to watch it, and we should not forget how difficult the consequences of an environmental catastrophe may be.
