People Living in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

After spending 5-6 hours in Pripyat, we drove northwest to visit an elderly couple that has ignored the government's warnings and returned to their home in the village of Staryye Shepelichi. Approximately 300 elderly people have moved back to their homes in the Zone since the evacuations.

Though the government would prefer the area remain uninhabited, they do not force any of these people to leave their homes again. Most do not believe there is anything harmful in the area. They have lived in the Zone for many years since the accident and have not suffered any noticeable effects from the contamination. Since they cannot see the radiation, they do not believe it exists.

Final Thoughts

A journey to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is a fascinating, yet somber experience. The area is not a nuclear wasteland, but a beautiful landscape largely untouched by humans for the last 20 years. Many visitors feel themselves changed after a visit here. I am writing this article six months after my excursion, and still find it difficult to describe my feelings. I do feel as if the Zone has truly changed me, though I find it impossible to explain how. Perhaps these lyrics from American artists Huns & Dr. Beeker can describe it for me:

Gone the homes, the gardens and the playgrounds
Gone the souls who made their livings here
They say this place will always be a ghost town
It will be for at least six hundred years
--From: "Ghost Town (For the Victims of Chernobyl)"
© 2006 Hunsbusher/Erickson

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