It is 30 years since children from the Chernobyl region started coming to Ireland for Christmas, but the excitement is yet to grow old for the families who welcome them every year.
Thirty special needs children from a Belarusian orphanage arrived into Dublin Airport on Thursday on an Aer Lingus flight from Minsk via Amsterdam, though the arrivals board said the flight had come from the North Pole.
The impacts of a 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, near the border between Ukraine and Belarus, are still being felt by the current generation of children – the third to be affected by the fallout from the accident.
Many of the children who visit are as much victims of poverty in what is one of Europe’s poorest countries as they are of the after-effects of radiation.
The children arrived through the arrivals gate at Dublin Airport to a forest of outstretched arms and a choir signing Christmas songs.
Growing up
Many of the families waiting had taken the children in for summer holidays and Christmases in the past, which means they have seen them growing up.
“It’s the most wondrous and heart-warming moment of the year for me. The Irish people have reached out to these children and their enthusiasm and kindness never wavers,”said Chernobyl Children’s International charity founder Adi Roche, who was suitably dressed in red for the occasion.
The difference after a few days is unbelievable. Their skin colour improves
“We are a small country with a big heart. These children have become part of our lives. This is really a message of love and it’s a message of hope. No country has done more for the victims of Chernobyl than we have done.”
The children stay for three weeks, long enough to have a good holiday but also a period that offers them the chance to boost their immune systems.
Bear hugs
Carmel Everard, from Kilkenny, her husband Conor and daughter Kate gave brothers Vasili (15) and Ivan (9) Karas bear hugs as they arrived. Vasili has been coming to Ireland for the last nine years.
“It is something that my children have grown up with. The difference after a few days is unbelievable. Their skin colour improves, it is amazing the quality of life they have here in comparison with Belarus,” Ms Everard said.
It is the second time this year that John McGuire from Donegal has had Aleh Tashlanau, Karyna Aliferfovich and Zarna Aliferovfich come to stay.
However, Aleh looked a bit glum.
“His Irish mummy [Mr McGuire’s wife, Martina] wasn’t here, but we are meeting her up the road,” he said. “They come from nothing. If we can offer them a good quality of life for three or four weeks, it’s great. We get enjoyment out of it too.”
