Mr. Ban paid tribute to the hundreds
of emergency workers who risked their lives to respond to the accident,
the thousands who worked to build a shelter around the damaged reactor,
the over 330,000 who were displaced from their homes, the 5,000 children
stricken with cancer and the millions left traumatized and deeply worried
about their health and livelihoods.
In 1986, explosions destroyed
Chernobyl’s Unit 4 reactor core, sending a cloud of radionuclides over
parts of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
“While paying respect to the past, we
need to take stock of the present and look ahead to the future,” he said
in a statement issued by his spokesperson.
Given that science points to the
possibility of a return to normal life for people living in regions
affected by the disaster, Mr. Ban called for sustainable social and
economic development, the creation of new jobs, an influx of investment
and the reinstatement of a sense of self-sufficiency.
“The communities affected by
Chernobyl have shown great resilience in coping with a disaster of
tremendous magnitude,” he noted, urging the “international community to do
its part in helping them to bring a region so rich in history and
potential fully back to life.”
Mr. Ban also said that he was glad
that Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova has agreed to take on the role
of Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Development Programme (UNDP) so that she
can give a global voice to the recovery efforts underway at Chernobyl.
