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2004 World Conference against A and H Bombs
Nagasaki Rally Aug. 9
Milya Kavirova
President
Chelyabinsk Nuclear Victims Organization gAigulh
Dear friends,
I come from Chelyabinsk Region, Russia. It is a very far place.
I flew as long as 11 hours in a plane to be in solidarity with Hibakusha
and spend time with them. We did not have atomic bombs dropped on
us like Japan. We did not have nuclear tests like Nevada, the Marshall
Islands or Kazakhstan. However, we do have a military complex for
processing radioactive waste to produce plutonium that is a basic
ingredient of nuclear weapons. And 1.5 million people have been
exposed radiation.
Let me tell you about the kind of damage we suffer, taking my family
as an example. The military complex left liquid radioactive waste
flow into Techa River. The river is the only water source for the
local people: they drank its water, bathed in it, gave river water
to their cows and drank their milk. My family lived on the riverside.
As a result, my father died of acute leukemia when he was 44 years
old and my mother was left alone with 7 children. Two of them died
of cancer. One was 43 and the other 53. The remaining brothers and
sisters have health problems.
We have begun our struggle to defend the rights of the victims.
I am the president of an organization that helps radiation victims.
We give them guidance on the diet or help them prepare documents
to show the relationship between their diseases and radiation exposure.
At present, we are fighting in a court to get the relocation of
the victims to a safe place. The victims still live on a contaminated
land and continue to be exposed to radiation. We have also started
the signature campaign gAbolish Nuclear Weapons Now!h in solidarity
with the Japanese people.
We know that we must struggle for the total elimination of nuclear
weapons to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. There are
many people who want peace and solidarity. We must make our governments
listen to our voices.
Japanfs Constitution is a great Constitution. Any attempt to change
its article 9 is a crime against the next generations. We must not
let it happen. We shall do our best in Russia do that our government
will never use nuclear weapons. We need to spread the Article 9
of the Constitution in all the civilized world.
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