Adolescence

PERSPECTIVEChernobyl 25 years later:Remembering adolescents in disasterby Maria Sharapova,professional tennisplayer and GoodwillAmbassador forthe United NationsDevelopment Programme“ We believe inyour ability andyour right torealize yourfull potential,and we pledgeour support asyou move intoadulthood.”In 2011, the world marks the 25th anniversary ofthe disaster at Chernobyl, the worst nuclear powerplant accident in history. The region, however, hasyet to fully recover from this catastrophe. Whileadolescents currently living in Belarus, Ukraine andthe Russian Federation – the three countries mostaffected by the fallout – were not yet born whenparts of the nuclear power station exploded, theybear the scars of the tragedy.Although we may never know the full extent of theharm done, approximately 5,000 cases of thyroidcancer have since been diagnosed among thosewho were under 18 years old at the time of theblast, and around 350,000 people – including myfamily – were uprooted from their towns and villages.Emergency workers risked their lives in respondingto the accident, and millions were left traumatizedby lingering fears about their health and livelihood.Young people, in particular, now face limitedopportunities and suffer from mental health problemsthat threaten their social and economic welfare.Even 25 years later, the psychological impactmanifests itself in the residents’ belief in ashortened life expectancy, in radiophobia (fearof radiation as a psychological consequence of atraumatic experience) and in a lack of initiativeresulting from their designation as ‘victims’ ratherthan ‘survivors’. In turn, young people leadunhealthy lifestyles, resort to drugs and alcoholand suffer from a lack of confidence in theirability to succeed and excel.I have always wanted to contribute to the recoveryof this region – a place to which I have a deep andpersonal connection. As a global community, wemust provide the region’s young people with thetools they need to reach their full potential, and wemust help its communities get back on their feetand overcome the stigma that hangs over the area.Providing adolescents with educational and socialopportunities and positive reinforcement is oneway to move forward.Organizations such as the International AtomicEnergy Agency, the World Health Organization,UNICEF and the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) have teamed up with theInternational Chernobyl Research and InformationNetwork to provide the affected population withinformation on how to pursue healthy and productivelives. Psychosocial support has been particularlyimportant for young people. In my capacity as UNDPGoodwill Ambassador, I have focused on sevenUNDP initiatives in the three Chernobyl-affectedcountries, aiming to improve young people’s selfconfidence,to restore a sense of hope and toencourage them to take control of their lives.We opened music schools in rural areas ofBelarus. Children from the city of Chechersk tookup community activities such as cleaning springs,making bird feeders and planting bushes. A newlyestablished ‘Fairytale Room’ at the ChecherskCentral Rayon Hospital now provides therapy inthe form of healing and inspirational activities likeinteractive games and mini-circuses. In the RussianFederation, a modern sports facility was built atthe Novocamp summer camp to boost the physicaland mental well-being of adolescents. A networkof rural youth centres was established in Ukraineto bring computer skills to rural teens. We alsolaunched a Scholarship Programme in Belarus thatenables students to pursue higher education at theBelarusian State Academy of Arts and the BelarusianState University.I have great faith in the young people of this area.My goal is to impart a message of optimism toadolescents who suffer from the consequences ofthe Chernobyl fallout and to help restore a healthyand productive environment. I would also like to tellyoung people in this and other regions affected bydisasters, whether natural or human-made – suchas Hurricane Katrina, the Indian Ocean tsunami,the earthquake in Haiti and, most recently, the oilspill in the Gulf of Mexico – that the world has notforgotten you or your struggle. We believe in yourability and your right to realize your full potential,and we pledge our support as you move intoadulthood.Maria Sharapova is a professional Russian tennisplayer who has won 3 Grand Slam titles. She wasnamed Goodwill Ambassador for UNDP in 2007 andhas focused specifically on the Chernobyl Recoveryand Development Programme.38THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2011