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1. What do you remember of the day the Chernobyl accident occurred?
The Chernobyl accident happened on April 26th, 1986 late at night on a Saturday. We didn't know
about it at the time. I just remember an unusual, strong storm with heavy gray clouds and a strange wind that left people with itchy dry skin for weeks. At the time we didn't understand the cause of the storm, but we assumed later this storm was caused from the heavy radioactive blast. The radioactive elements that flew from the reactor fell all around Chernobyl and will be there for thousands of years. We found out about the explosion a little bit later because at first our government tried to keep this accident a secret. Since then our normal lives have changed forever. We couldn't work, sleep, or live normally because we were living in permanent fear for the fates of our children. We were prepared to be evacuated because the radiation in our town of Chernihiv was 200 times higher than normal. But it was horrifying to leave our home with a small child on our hands. It was strange to come back to our building which had 150 apartments with a lot of kids and not see any of these kids around, because the parents were trying to keep them inside.
2.Why might you have to go back to the Ukraine?
We might have to go back to the Ukraine because it's hard to get permanent residency in the U.S.A. We have been living in America for 6 years, and all this time we have worked very hard to continue
our legal status. We are trying to get a permanent residence so we can leave all these problems with the Immigration Service forever. The administration of my husband's company agreed to be a sponsor for his permanent work because this is the only way to get permanent residence in the USA. Our lawyer filed papers to the labor department for a sponsorship, and we hoped this would work, but our request was denied. Now we have prepared a rebuttal to appeal for sponsorship again. If we get a negative answer again, we will not have another chance of staying in America.
3. What medical facilities are available for children like Vova in the Ukraine?
We have a lot of hospitals in Ukraine but they do not have the proper medication to treat people. Even simple antibiotics are not available for the treatment, not to speak of expensive chemotherapy, which was never
available in needed amounts for kids. Besides that, our doctors don't have needed experience in the treatment of leukemia because of the lack of money for research.
4. What can people do to help you stay here?
Our family appreciates what you have already done for us, and we think more publicity would be helpful in our case. Thank you very much for your understanding and support.
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