I was sitting a few days ago with my partner and her sister, we were talking about some series, when one of them said: "We should watch the Chernobyl series".
I agree, it's a great series, I won't have a problem watching those five episodes again, which I watched for the first time as soon as it was shown in 2019, but even then it reminded me of the fear we felt in that distant year 1986...
And there is still the fear that exists because of the amount of radioactive fuel that is under the concrete and metal of the newly built dome.
The next day I wake up, turn on the TV and hear on the news that a kamikaze drone with a bomb it was carrying fell on the protective "cap" of reactor 4 in Chernobyl, which has been protecting us from radiation for years (the construction of which cost about 3 billion dollars and should last 100 years)...
The first thing I felt was great fear, and then I thought how much witches the two of them were. That only a day before this news mentioned the series, and then this incident happened?
"Oh no, they mentioned that series because that day, when we were talking about that series, we heard the news about the drone and the bomb, but we didn't want to convey that news to you so that you wouldn't be afraid and upset," they told me.
"Oh, how wonderful you are" 😀
Listen, as if ignorance would protect me from possible radiation?
That's probably what the comunist party comrades in the USSR who were responsible for the operation of the nuclear power plant thought, but by covering up that information, they endangered half of Europe, and potentially the whole world.
We played the first episode of the series, and immediately all the events of that April 1986 came back to my memory. If you have the opportunity, watch the series, it is excellent and very realistic (except that the actors speak in English, not in Russian, when the series would be even more authentic).
The whole world, including my countrymen, heard about that disaster, the explosion of the core of reactor 4, only a few days later, after the explosion. Only when an increased dose of radiation was measured in the surrounding countries (the Scandinavian Institute for Nuclear Energy in Sweden or Finland was the first to measure increased radioactivity above its sky, which the whole world was informed about, the USSR could no longer hide it...).
Nuclear energy was widely known and talked about in my environment in those days. The people remembered the situation at the nuclear testing institute in Vinča, near Belgrade, where there was an accident in 1958, when the scientists at the institute were poisoned by radiation.
The radiation that reached the sky of our country a few days after the exposure in Chernobyl caused panic among the population, but the authorities quickly informed the citizens how they should behave. To avoid being outside, if it rains, to find shelter, not to eat vegetables that have already been sown...
That year, the destruction of all mankind was avoided, although an amount of radiation equivalent to the 400 atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima was released into the air. If the protection of the reactor core had not been carried out at that moment, we probably wouldn't be here today and I wouldn't be writing this post.
Whether the radioactive fuel has calmed down or is still lurking ominously under the mountain of concrete to threaten humanity again, I do not know. I don't have access to such information, but even if I did, I probably wouldn't know how to interpret it. And of course I would be even more afraid...
What happened during that explosion cannot be reversed as if it never happened, that's clear and we have to accept that we live with a dangerous killer in our vicinity (Uranium U-235), but how can we accept the fact that anyone in this world has the idea to throw an explosive device on the armor that protects the entire humanity from radiation?
In addition to fearing the re-explosion of uranium and the continuation of the scenario that took place at the end of April 1986, I am now also afraid of those red-hot heads, who risk the destruction of civilization by their lack of thinking...
I'm scared but I'm also angry...
The sign I photographed today in my neighborhood, the one above where an adult and a child are crossed out, did not remind me of what the sign means = the end of the pedestrian zone, but with the lamp that has no light, it reminded me of "There are no more people and no more life. It is total darkness".
I continue watching the series with fear and angry thoughts, in order to understand the sacrifice and suffering of an ordinary man who lived in the nearby town of Pripyat in those days, which was permanently evacuated and forbidden for humans to live.
But this is a strong memory. That day, I was in the army in Vrhnika, and I was measuring the radiation around the barracks with a meter. I remember that it was up, but again, not that much.
I was a little over 10 years old. I wasn't afraid of the situation then, as much as I was frightened by the panic of the people around me.
It wasn't until later in my life when I studied physics and atomic energy that I realized how strong it is.
And since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, I've been thinking about that damaged power plant and that someone doesn't think about the damage to the protective dome.
I don't like everyone playing games with it because the consequences, which will be irreversible, will be felt by all of us.
I didn't watch the series and I can't remember the event in 86... I was 8 years old, and I remember certain things regarding Chornobyl, but I suppose I cared more about playing with toys and learning math... Maybe my parents didn't want to stress me about it...
Btw. when I read the title of your post, I thought it would be a completely different topic and somehow, I immediately thought about this song...
Many times I wished to be more ignorant, uninformed, or just stupid... Life is much easier like that... 😃
Somehow, these months, when the rebellion in the people has awakened, this song "Riblja čorba" is more suitable for me with sympathizers of the ruling structures.
I am more for Balasevic
You must watch the series, you have it on HBO, 5 episodes, it's excellent. You will understand how big the danger was that you didn't hear from your parents.
wow nice, enjoy watching chernobyl series when there are many of you it's exciting to watch such a show especially when you watch it for the first time,thanks for sharing the story in this post