Chernobyl Nuclear Accident: 26 years later, what have we learned?

The last two articles have commented, rather disproportionately, on the obsession with nuclear weapons in the context of the 26^th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear accident. Inevitably one would ask: What has the peaceful use of nuclear energy – and the inevitable accidents – got to do with nuclear weapons?

The answer is: a lot.

Claims of peaceful use of nuclear energy, in the case of North Korea and Iran, are, at best, dishonest. Why the secrecy? Underground facilities beneath mountains reasonably arouse suspicion. Honesty demands transparency. Denying I.A.E.A inspectors access to nuclear facilities and laboratories is indicative of dubious intentions.

Then there is the myth of deterrence by the two neighbors – India and Pakistan – who are not signatories to the non-proliferation treaties. Their quest to deter one another will only lead to another cold war – this time in Asia.

War as a deterrence, even with nuclear weapons, is false and the two nations with the world's largest stockpiles know it. Their experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq must prove the impotence of war as a solution for peace.

Ultimately, even for peaceful purposes, the world must contend with the possibility of another Chernobyl or Fukushima Daichi scenario. And even without an accident, what about the nuclear waste; now and for thousands of years to come?

Back to the question: What have we learned 26 years later? Probably not much. The town of Proytal is still a ghost and there are no definitive answers to the future of Fukushima Daichi.

Why the nightmare?

Evidently Pakistan decided to follow India's example. Yesterday, they tested a ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead! The rocket launch by North Korea last week was supposedly disguised as carrying a satellite while in fact it was a test of ballistic missile technology.

Pakistan, North Korea and Iran are backward Third World countries. The pictures seen daily, of widespread poverty in Pakistan and North Korea make one wonder: “Whatever happened to reason and priorities?” These are countries that are still to move into the 21^st century. India too has a majority of its population in Third World living conditions!

Their obsession with nuclear weapons, when the rest of the world seems willing to move away from the falsity of peace by conquest seems to make no sense. Too much of the world resources has gone into the machinery of war at the expense of human welfare.

Today is the 26^th anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident Twenty six years later, and Pripyat is still a ghost town. Thousands of lives were lost and thousands more altered forever.

In a news segment on NHK World there was a report of a nuclear waste site in Finland which is still under construction. It is believed that burying the waste 420 meters underground, the area will be safe. What is not known is the effect 3,000 years later!

It is a nightmare that will linger for thousands of years and thousands of generations. The people of Cincinnati still remember the secrecy and the poisoning of workers at the Fenald Nuclear facility.

How long will the nuclear nightmare linger on?

Detente by a fifth grader where giants failed

This is not the first time to comment on Samantha Smith, who at age 10 in 1982, wrote a note to Yuri Andropov, then Soviet leader, when the U.S and the U.S.S.R were locked in the hostilities of the Cold War. At the time, U.S president Ronald Reagan had embarked on massive military build-up, supposedly to counter communism.

In her letter, Samantha Smith asked Andropov if it was true that the Soviet Union was planning a nuclear war. She must have been influenced by the anxiety that prevailed at home. She also wanted to know if the Soviets had the intention of preventing a nuclear war.

Here is Andropov's response in a letter released by the Soviets on April 25, 1983: “Yes, Samantha, we in the Soviet Union are endeavoring and doing everything so that there will be no war between our two countries, so that there will be no war at all on earth”.

The horrors, fear and anxiety of the “nuclear monster” are still present today. Tomorrow, April 26 is the anniversary of the Chernobyl Accident (see the following article).Japan is still struggling to return to normal life after the nuclear accident at Fukushima-Daichi last year.

In the midst of these horrifying accidents from peaceful “nuclear energy” the world is locked in a struggle to contain North Korea and Iran in their quest for nuclear weapons. And what was that missile India tested last week?

Sometimes one wishes that there would be more Samanthas to soften hearts and reign in sanity.

After tragedy and mourning: Triumph

The cycle of rebirth and renewal after conquest and destruction is a familiar story in the Hebrew Bible. In the Jewish Calendar, two public holidays – in Israel – follow Yom HaShoah.

Today, Wednesday April 25 is Yom HaZikaron, Day of Remembrance of Israel's soldiers killed in wars as well as victims of terrorist attacks. At sundown, Yom Ha'Atzmaut, Israel's Independence Day celebrations will begin. The holiday is observed on Thursday, April 26.

Cincinnati is home to a large Jewish community, spiritually connected to the Israel. There are also many non-Jews who love the State and land of Israel, and certainly Christians have a spiritual connection with the Holy Land.

Mayerson JCC will host community-wide observances for both holidays on Thursday April 26 at 5:30 pm. Services for Yom HaZikaron will be held in the JCC building courtyard. As was the case with Yom HaShoah, the religious services will include prayers, songs and poems, in addition to lowering the flag and laying a wreath.

Israel's Independence Day – the 64^th anniversary – will be celebrated inside the JCC building. Activities planned for the occasion include a performance by the Israel Defense Force Choir, torch lighting as well as a flag and drum parade.

These observances are open to everyone with no charge. There will also be special events for children and teenagers so that the whole family can participate.

Just a reminder: Mayerson JCC's address is 8485 Ridge Road.

"Touch me and see"

The Gospel Reading for this Third Sunday of Easter is from Luke 24:36b -48. Jesus appeared to his disciples while they were engaged in a discussion of his resurrection. They were "startled and terrified". He asked them why they had doubts about his presence.

Jesus invited his disciples to touch his wounds to experience his presence.

Perhaps we are wondering why he still bore the wounds of his suffering even after the resurrection. Didn't he arise with a spiritual body free from any weakness, disease, suffering or death?

It is true he conquered all those; meaning they no longer have power. But the world is still broken. There is brokenness in Over the Rhine; there is brokenness in our schools; and there is brokenness in homes and in workplaces.

And yes, Jesus is inviting everyone with the same words he invited the disciples: "Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see..." The call is to recognize him in the wounds, in the pain, in the suffering of those around us.

There are many opportunities during this National Volunteer Month to experience Jesus' presence.

Days of Remembrance

As previously pointed out, Yom HaShoah – or The Day of Remembrance (of the Holocaust) fell on April 19, the 27^th of Nisan in the Jewish Calendar. The U.S. Congress established a week-long observance which this year falls on the April 15 – 22 week.

In Israel Yom HaShoah is a public holiday with all public entertainment closed. At 10 in the morning a siren is sounded and all traffic, every activity stops. Everyone stands in remembrance.

In addition to religious services and candle-lighting, songs and poems, there are different community-wide activities. Along with keeping the memory of those who perished during the Holocaust alive, education is another important goal of the day.

There is a need to educate the younger generation, some of whom may even be skeptical as to how the victims were unable to escape. There is need to combat skeptics who refuse to acknowledge the historical facts.

Locally, again, the Mayerson JCC will sponsor a special community-wide Yom Hashoah Commemoration on Sunday, April 22 at 2 pm. As pointed out earlier stories of survivors and others form part of the observance The story of survival during this special event will be by Sigmund Rolat. It is a special opportunity for everyone to hear first hand from one who experienced the Holocaust.

Again, the event is free and meant for everyone. The venue will be 8485 Ridge Road, Cincinnati.

There is still more to come.

Yom HaShoah: Why and how did it happen?

The horrors of the Holocaust were exposed to the world when the Third Reich collapsed marking the end of WW II in Europe. But the process of extermination of European Jews had been carried on for six years. The Final Solution established a system whereby thousands of Jews were killed in a matter of an hour – at industrial rate.

Ultimately, six million Jews – equivalent to two-thirds of all Jews in Europe – had perished by the gas chambers, along with others deemed undesirable by the Nazis: Roma – or Gypsies, Slavs, the handicapped, gays and lesbians, political and religious dissidents.

Why and how could one group of human beings turn against another group and commit such horrors for so long? How did the Nazis succeed to carry out their plan without detection? Did the world abandon the Jews and the “undesirables” of the Nazis to their fate? Could this horror have been prevented, and can a similar atrocity be prevented from happening again?

Those are some of the questions that the world must never forget to ask and to find answers.

The Holocaust Remembrance Day being observed today is a time to reflect on those questions. In addition, it a time to remember the victims, to hear stories from survivors – so that we never forget – and to honor those who acted, in whatever capacity, on behalf of the victims.

Locally, the Mayerson JCC is sponsoring events for this occasion and synagogues will have special services. There is still more to come.

Choosing to Act: Stories of Rescue

Today, Wednesday April 18, at 7 pm the Jewish community in Cincinnati will observe Erev Yom Hashoah with religious services at Congregation B'nai Tzedek.www.bnaitzedek.us Though in remembrance of the Jews massacred by the Nazis during WW II, these remembrances are for everyone, especially if the word humanity means anything at all.

Thus, the services are for eveyone but registration is required.

Yom Hashoah – literally, “The Day of Catastrophe” is also known as the Holocaust Remembrance Day (more on that next). It is observed with candle lighting, stories of survivors, songs, poems and prayers.

Tonight's events at Congregation B'nai Tzedek are being presented by the Mayerson JCC which will present more events during the week -long remembrance.

Mayerson JCC preserves the Holocaust Torah Scroll, which came from the Jewish community of Trest in Moravia. The services will honor the Trest Torah with stories and music.

There is still more to come on this week of remembrance, including the history behind it, educational information and stories of survivors and those who risked their lives as they made a choice to save their fellow human beings in persecution.

How would you interpret sola scriptura in the 21st. century?

On April 16, 1521 Martin Luther appeared before the Diet of Worms expecting there would be a debate about his 95 Theses and the abuses of Indulgences. Instead he discovered that he was being called to recant. The following day, April 17, 1521 he made that now immortalized statement: “Unless I can be instructed and convinced with evidence from the Holy Scriptures or with open, clear and distinct grounds of reasoning...then I cannot and will not recant, because it is neither safe nor wise to act against conscience. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen!”

In the centuries after the Reformation, Fundamentalism has been pitted against Historical Christianity over the words Sola Scriptura.

Three things stand out in Martin Luther's statement, if that is a representation of the Reformers' position: Holy Scriptures, Reason, and Conscience.

It is difficult to imagine that the canon effectively sealed divine revelation. The Holy Spirit continues to work in individual believers and the community of believers – the Church – through the Scriptures, reason and conscience. Divine revelation continues to enlighten successive generations in their time and place.

The message of the Holy Scriptures to the 21^st century world is certainly not that of the 1^st century. Or, what do you think? How is God speaking to you today?

Imagine you were on the Titanic that fateful night a hundred years ago: Continued

You have probably experienced five or ten minutes that felt like hours. May be in a hospital waiting room waiting for word about a child or loved one undergoing surgery! Or watching a house on fire with loved ones inside as you waited for rescue personnel to arrive.

For two and a half hours, from 11:40 pm on April 14, 1912, the engineers and electricians of the Titanic fought to save the ship from sinking. It is said that they actually knew it was sinking but they fought to delay it. It is also believed that the band played Nearer my God to Thee until the ship broke up and sank.

Yes, and even as the Titanic fired flares into the sky, the Californian, which was the last to communicate with her before the accident, failed to respond. Neither were other ships nearby able to respond before she sank.

Those who survived left in half full lifeboats. J. Bruce Ismay, Chairman of White Star Line, the owners of the Titanic, would become the world's most scorned man after he jumped into one of those half full lifeboats and fled from the sinking ship.

Imagine too, that you were one of the residents of Southampton where “night and day that crowd of pale,anxious faces had been waiting patiently for the news that did not come”, according to The War Cry, the newspaper published by the Salvation Army.

What would be your reaction in a similar situation?

Imagine you were on the Titanic that night one hundred years ago

One hundred years ago, on April 14, 1912, the Titanic struck – or was stricken by – an iceberg while on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. The name was suggestive of the ship's colossal size and strength. Towering eight stories high, it was the largest vessel ever built by mankind, including Noah's Ark. It's builders believed that “even Almighty God could not sink it”.

The 2,223 on board the ship represented the society of that time and perhaps of today too. On First Class were the wealthiest and on the lower decks were prospective immigrants to North America, leaving poverty and misery behind in search of a better life.

Convinced, as they were, that the ship was invincible, the operators, White Star Line, decided to carry lifeboats enough for only 1,178 people – about one third of all the passengers and crew on board.

Having too many rich people on board was not good either. Though equipped with the best telegraphic systems, the Marconi Room was busy dispatching messages from the rich to their friends and associates around the world. That was how the operator missed the warning about the floating iceberg.

The collision with the iceberg occurred at 11:40 pm and about two and a half later, at 2:20 am, the ship broke into two and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic. There were only 710 survivors.

More about the one hundredth anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic still ahead.

"What I have I give you"

In the Book of Acts 3:1 -10 – the lectionary text for today, Wednesday after Easter – Peter and John are on their way to the temple in Jerusalem for prayers. At the gate they encounter a crippled man who daily sat there begging for “change”. He is not named – he is anonymous – like so many in public places like Fountain Square in Cincinnati, or anywhere else in any major city.

Peter says to the beggar, “Look at us!” Imagine the expectation in the man's eyes! But then Peter says, “We have no change!”. Expectation in the man's eyes changes to disappointment.

Is this not typical of many encounters on the streets of Cincinnati and elsewhere? They are there daily, with expectation in their eyes for a moment, followed by disappointment.

Peter says to the beggar, “We don't have silver or gold, but we will give you what we have”. And what they gave him was larger than the “change” he expected and was used to. He regained wholeness.

There is no denying that relatively, we are a very rich community as a nation. God knows what “change” goes to helping the elderly, the poor, the homeless and the disenfranchised. Yet, our vision continues to diminish as even that “small change” is poised to be cut and even eliminated.

During this National Volunteer Month, we can perhaps dream big and embrace a larger vision that utilizes talents, treasure and time to make life for the weak better.

A time for stories

Yesterday, April 7 was the first day of the 7- day Jewish Passover. For Christians today is Easter, a day very much connected with Passover.

The church has had a complicated formula of calculating the date of Easter and various reasons have been suggested for it. For some though, there has always been suspicion that distancing Easter from the Jewish Passover has been the underlying motive.

Nevertheless, the two belong together and again, this year, they fall on the same date.

On a recent PBS program, Jewish families shared memories of Passover celebrations. They shared stories, thus highlighting a very important aspect of Passover. There are stories, beginning with the Exodus and continuing to this day.

For Christians too, the Easter experience is a time of shared stories, as The Very Reverend Ron DelBene, Interim Dean at Christ Church Cathedral in Cincinnati, powerfully illustrated during the Great Vigil of Easter.

One of those great stories, as DelBene demonstrated, is the experience of facing the raging waters of the Red Sea while fleeing from slavery in Egypt, a picture drawn from Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21, the First Lesson of the service. Like the Israelites, we too get terrified and think of going back to Egypt.

But then there are stories of people, just like Moses, who have urged us to dare step into the raging waters. That is the story even today - being courageous to step into the unknown!

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

　

　

　

Like the precious oil running down on the beard of Aaron

For the 93^rd year, Cincinnatians gather today for Opening Day. A very diverse gathering of young and old, men and women, rich and poor, Black, White, Latino, Asian and in between! You can also bet that a good percentage of them may not be Reds fans even when dressed in red.

It is an annual ritual for the people of Greater Cincinnati. It is like worship - people coming together for a common purpose.

There is a sense of spirituality in the whole experience. There is togetherness, agreement of minds and thoughts and mutual expectations.

Whether fans or simply residents, the whole community comes together to send off and cheer their representative in the quest for the World Series. It is like saying, “Go on, you have our backing”. The same way warriors would be sent off to battle with the hopes and aspirations of the whole community.

Thus, “How good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes” (Psalm 133:1-2).

Indeed, people, in all their diversity can come together and unleash tremendous power.

Mah Nishtanah, or "Why is it different?"

One could possibly also ask, “What is different?” What is different this week?

This is a week full of symbolism for Jews and Christians. In many churches, tomorrow, Thursday, April 5 will be observed as Maundy Thursday. Worshipers will follow the clergy washing each other's feet following the example of Jesus. Celebrations of Holy Communion will recall the Last Supper – even as scholars have not been able to identify the exact day of the Last Supper.

Friday, of course, is the holiest day of western Christianity – if there is such a thing as a holy day. Some Christians in Cincinnati will climb the steep steps to the Holy Cross-Immaculata Church in Mt. Adams. All around the country, Christians will commemorate, in one form or another, the death of Jesus on the cross. Some Christians in the Philippines will even choose to be nailed to crosses, in attempts to experience Jesus' agony and pain.

Had there been nothing after Good Friday, there would not have been Christianity. Easter Sunday, or the Day of the Resurrection is at the center of the Christian faith, and so Saturday will be the Great Easter Vigil in many churches.

Perhaps all this is familiar information for many. Even the fact that Passover for our brothers and sisters of the Jewish faith begins at sunset on April 6 may be common knowledge – and hence the title of this writing.

So, why should this week be any different, or what is different about it? Find out next.