This video presents the 3rd charity expedition (and the 2nd organized by NAPROMIENIOWANI.PL) to aid the people of Chernobyl.
It's just an excerpt which does not convey the full magnitude of the whole expedition.
The Last People of Chernobyl
I'm Krystian Machnik from the website NAPROMIENIOWANI.PL, which organized a fundraiser for the Samosely of Chernobyl.
The word "Samosely" means "self-settlers." They never accepted the mandatory evacuation after the nuclear disaster in 1986.
Why are we here again, despite the two previous expeditions?
Unfortunately, many of those self-settlers are not with us anymore.
One of them is Fedor, who featured in our 1st video.
We're going to visit some more people, including those who didn't receive help the previous time, due to the lack of time or resources.
We'll see how they are doing and will try to help them.
Well, it's not like they're going to die without our help.
But, let's be honest. Those are elderly people who are mostly not doing so well.
Some of them have problems walking, some don't leave the house for a couple of days.
They definitely deserve some kindness and good will.
It's not a big effort for us, but it means the world to them.
Especially now, when it's cold, and especially here in the Exclusion Zone...
...where the roads are very often impassable.
At times, it's tricky even for us, despite using an off-road vehicle.
Anyway, we're going there and we're going to help them. Against all odds.
Let's hope that it works out. Keep your fingers crossed!
Day 1
*Ivankiv, the Exclusion Zone border*
Let's buy some shoes for Vasil.
We're on our way to the first settler - babushka Olga.
We've already visited her twice.
She is the only settler to have no electricity.
Some of you may remember how we had to help her when she fainted due to the summer heat.
She was rushed to the hospital. Now, in a way, she feels special to us.
She is the only settler who lives totally alone.
Several kilometers away from the inhabited world.
Let's get some stuff for babushka Olga because...
...shortly after our previous visit, probably 2-4 weeks later...
She got robbed and lost all the things we gave her.
Granny Ola, good morning! We've come to see you!
Last time we brought you those warm slippers but somebody stole them.
She says she'll wear them whenever she goes to Kyiv. This is how much she likes them.
Dear granny Ola, we've brought you bread, water, canned meat so I think that you don't need to go to Kyiv now.
- And what about you?! - What do you mean?
I didn't prepare anything for you. I wanted to fry some pancakes but they were so bad...
...that even my cats refused to eat them.
She says the flour she bought was not good, that's why...
We've brought you some warm clothes too.
Here you've got your canned meat. It's all for you.
This time we brought you a picture, as a keepsake.
Here you are. It's for you.
And this one? Are you taking it with you?
She thinks that, now we got her another picture, we want the previous one back.
No, no. They are both for you.
That's why we came to help you.
Last time we were here with the whole group, we promised to come again and help...
...to chop some firewood or buy you food. We will help you.
May God give you good health, my boys. May He keep you young and healthy and that you become younger and younger, every year.
Ask her if her axe is sharp.
Lady Ola will give you a jacket.
- No, I'm warm. - He says he's always warm.
Yeah, now he's warm and then he'll go "achoo, achoo!"
She says that we can chop some firewood. She's really hungry and she's going to have some food now.
The firewood is done.
...it's best to go to Kyiv in the morning. We'll bring you then.
There's a bus from Chernobyl to Kyiv.
She says she wants to go to Kyiv and asks if we can take her with us.
- There's a direct bus service from Chernobyl to Kyiv. - No problem. What time should we come tomorrow?
Today's final visit will take place in Chernobyl. The place with the largest population of the self-settlers.
But because we've never been there, we don't know how they are doing.
We're going to check it out. Let's see if they receive the help they need...
...from the local government or from other people.
There are about 2-3 thousands of people. They live and work there.
We'll visit a very nice lady, recommended to us by our tour guide, Dennis.
It's already dark but let's hope that she opens the door for us.
We'll try to help her as much as we can. Let's see how she's doing.
*City of Chernobyl, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone*
Good evening.
We've brought something for you. The most useful things.
Thank you, thank you.
But it's not my house. My own house in Podolia was destroyed as early as in 1988...
...The place where I was born and where my children and grandchildren were born.
So it was your own little homeland.
...And then our friends gave us another house to live in. And that one got destroyed too.
That's how lucky we were. And this house - I renovated it with my husband. But then he died.
Did you receive any help from the government?
We did. Why not? We all received new apartments...
...but families got separated. There was no way for one family to live together in the same apartment.
The dog really wants to sing. Come on, come on!
What a playful dog!
When it hears music, it starts singing.
- How many inhabitants are there now in Chernobyl? - It's hard to say, these days. People die every day.
We're driving around, visiting the settlers here.
- Thank you so much, that you care for those people. - And we thank you for such a warm welcome.
The government doesn't care about them and she's grateful that we are here.
I think it's sad. You're not the first person who says that.
They don't even have a basic store or a local medical center.
We petitioned for that but we were ignored, just as if we weren't humans.
Now, they at least let us be. In the old days, they'd just kick us out.
We'd go to work and they'd come here and throw our belongings away.
They'd seal everything or cut off the electricity. That's how it was.
- Was it long time ago? - Yes, yes. Now they treat us well.
- Cheers! - Cheers!
Day 2
*Lubianka, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone*
What we're doing? We're taking babushka Olga to a share taxi, as she needs to collect her pension money.
We'll bring her to Chernobyl. There she'll take a taxi. We'll make sure that she gets there safely.
Otherwise, she'd have to wait by the road and hope for some truck to stop and give her a lift.
On such a cold day, it's no pleasure.
- I will give you some money! - We don't want your money!
- Please listen to me and take it! You'll go and buy something for yourselves! - No, no, no! We're not taking any money!
Oh my God, I overslept. You are already here and I was dreaming...
...about some car. That you drove away and left me behind.
I was so tired. I slept with my felt boots on.
She had a dream in which we didn't take her with us and just drove away. Now she's very happy to see us.
- Are you comfortable? - I'm good, I'm good.
- Listen,I will give you some money. Go and buy something for yourselves. - No, no way! We won't take it!
- So you won't take it? - No, we won't!
She says, we've chopped so much firewood that it'll be enough for 2 years.
She says, when the power plant was being built, they all worked 2 shifts there.
Is your pension actually good? Does it pay off to go and collect it?
It's good, it's good. For my needs, it's good.
3000 Hryvnia (95 Euro)
You think it's not much?!
I saw a moose cross the road!
There are 3 of them...4,5,6,7. Oh dear, there are so many!
*Opachychi, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone*
Good morning, granny! We've brought you some gifts. May we enter?
Of course, you can.
So you've come to see the old lady. I'm so happy!
I will pray to God. May he take care of you and me! May He always help you find your way back here, to visit me!
Thank you very much!
And she wishes for us to become as old as she is...
...or maybe even older.
Thank you!
Water, canned meat, butter, toilet paper, light bulb
Thank you, kids!
And here you have a Polish light bulb. We'll change it and you'll have more light.
We have some towels for you too.
And here we have a scarf, a winter hat, some twine, gardening gloves...
And we've brought some Polish chocolate.
Thank you, my darlings. May God give you strength so that you be so swift and hard-working.
I milked the cows. And look at my hands now! Oh!
She used to milk cows, ploughed the field...She worked a lot.
She says "this oldie here is not willing to die yet."
She's from the area. Now she lives in Chernobyl.
And her birthday is in July, right?
- I'm turning 90. - 90?! That's a nice round number.
Now, my son, read about Chernobyl. About the pain in Chernobyl.
After we got evacuated, somebody wrote this and gave it to me.
"Deserted houses and streets, and the children are gone too...
"...only the trees seem to whisper: hey people, where are you?"
"Then - the dearest town, now - no one will pass by. Everybody's gone, but no one said goodbye."
"Please, oh forgive us, that we fear you now" One day we'll come back and we'll keep this vow."
"As there's no other place where we all belong, Where we all want to live and want to lay our bones..."
"You know that we're all in sorrow "And crave to feel your warmth..."
"...to hear you speak again And to see our children being born."
"But now, my dearest town, "the times are still so dark..."
"Have you seen a dead town? It's a pain in our soul and heart..."
"We never needed the atomic energy. It's just a wicked art."
"The dearest town - once so nice, So busy, so friendly and warm"
"And then the tragedy happened, And you and us are no more."
The pain of Chernobyl
Sometimes I just sit down, read it and weep a bit
I wish you could speak Ukrainian!
Maybe you need something. Maybe some warm clothes?
My darlings, I'm fine...
She says that she's just happy that she's still alive...
...that she's being taken care of and that she's got everything.
She says, never make any plans like "tomorrow I'll do this and that."
When there comes a day that you get up and feel good - then do it all. But never make plans in advance.
That's what her mother used to tell her.
We'll survive!
If something ever happens to you, then just think of me and call me...
Granny, oh granny, help us!
During our previous expedition, in July 2017...
...we visited the village called Otashev and this is where we are now.
There is a very nice babushka and she lives all alone.
Unfortunately, we couldn't talk to her because she is deaf without speech.
I don't know how we're going to communicate but we'll try. We have a picture for her, to cheer her up.
We've prepared quite a lot for her because the roads here are like an off-road race track.
As a result, not many people dare to come here.
Therefore we've brought lots of warm clothes and food. It should be enough for her for some time.
Good morning! Are you alone here? *Otashev, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone*
- This is for you. - Bring it in.
- We've already been here before.
This is you.
Do you recognize the picture?
- It's me! - It's for you.
All those things? Yes, bring it in.
Oh, she has a small cat. All black and with big yellow eyes.
Yes, cats.
1 or 2 cats?
3!
- Maybe we could help you? - My legs hurt real bad!
She can't walk much.
- Maybe we should chop some firewood for you? - No, there's enough wood. So much wood!
She can't read.
- Wait, I see somebody's just come. - Should we bring you some medication, for the legs?
- Goodbye! - Thank you!
Unfortunately, we were unable to communicate because, apparently, she can't read.
Meanwhile, there came a car. There came 3 women from the local government.
The words they used towards us were quite explicit, so we decided to go further.
We're standing in front of the house of Vasil, whom we met during our previous trip.
He's one of the oldest settlers in the whole Exclusion Zone.
We have a picture for him, a well as some warm clothes and food.
We've noticed that his shoes were worn out so we bought him a new pair.
Let's go and see how he is doing.
I think he's home. The door is open. *Kupovate, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone*
He says that he collects the water which drips from the roof and he drinks it. He says it's good.
He's talking about people who hate cats. They buy dogs and raise them to be aggressive...
...and then those dogs kill the cats.
Cats are good. They catch mice.
This is not chocolate. This is a coal briquette. It's like dry wood. It's easy.
- Do you pay your electricity bill? - Sure I do!
Now you'll pay less. It's an energy saving light bulb.
It's much brighter in here now.
What's there? What should we do?
There, straight on.
- We'll get the tools and we'll fix it. - What tools do you need?
We have everything.
- He says that he has his own tools, over there. - You mean, here? I see only the antenna.
Last time we noticed that you had old shoes. We checked your size and now we brought you a pair of new ones.
We've visited you so many times and we brought you a picture, as a keepsake.
Look, it's you.
- That's not me. - It is you.
- Me? - Yes. It was in the summer. Look, it's your house.
He says his eyes are failing him.
You can put it on your table, as a keepsake.
- It's such a small gift for you. - Put it over there.
- Thank you very much. - We thank you, sir. We hope that you stay healthy. It's not the last you'll be seeing of us.
That's good.
We're on our way to visit the babushka we met last time. It was a coincidence. We met her and her step-sister on their way back from the woods.
Her step-sister receives regular visits, but nobody visits this one here.
It was clear to see that she felt sad because of that. That's why it's her turn now. We also have a picture for her.
Let's go.
Come in, my children, come in. *Kupovate, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone*
- In a second, I will prepare something for you. - But we won't stay long!
She wants to prepare something for us.
I immediately recognized you.
...we took a picture of you then. Here it is. It's a keepsake.
Thank you!
Those are my grandchildren, children, brothers...
Those are my grandchildren.
- Will you visit babushka Hania? - Yes, yes. We have something for her too.
- Thank you for visiting me. - We thank you for your warm welcome.
May God keep you healthy and make your work easy.
God, please forgive us. It's for good health - not for getting drunk.
- Thank you so much, my children. - Bye, bye!
*Kupovate, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone*
- Oh, my sweet joy! Spit on me! (proverb) - Good morning.
Good morning, babushka Hanna! We've come to visit you.
- Thank you so much for coming. Please, come in. I'll get you some meat. Did you bring bread? - Yes, we did.
- She says that she has a telephone now. - Oh, yes. We have her phone number. It's just a short visit.
It doesn't matter to her. We should drink to it anyway.
- So, cheers! - It's for good health - not for getting drunk.
- We visited you last year and changed the light bulb. Do you remember? - And you got a winter jacket.
Oh yes, yes.
It's from my uncle, from Poland.
You can put it down, like this.
We thought that somebody took you away.
No, it was my neighbour. She's in a wheelchair now. She came here and hurt herself badly.
- Is she back, here in Kupovate? Will you show us where she lives? - Yes, I will show you.
- We've never visited her yet. - She will show us the way.
- But there's nobody there. - There is!
Be careful!
*Kupovate, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone*
- Good morning. Where should we put it? - You can put it here.
- Good morning. - Good morning. I got so ill...
I can't see anything here. Show them the door and let them...
She's telling her to make a list of the medications, so that we can bring them.
Now they are here with me...
Write down the medications I need. I can't do it myself.
Here, everything is very simple.
Thank you so much!
Please, if you find such jacket, buy it for me. I'll give you the money.
No, we're not taking any money! We'll just buy it and give it to you.
Oh, my beautiful...
Come to me, my son...
We've brought you some bread because we know that you can't always buy it. *Kupovate, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone*
- Thank you so much. - These boys are so sweet. They have come and visited Marusia...
Come to the kitchen! Let's go!
- Hello! - Hello! Oh my God!
...it's like dry firewood. Set it on fire, put it down...
- Look what I've got! - Oh, I didn't get those from them. - Have some of mine, then.
We'll give you some too.
You want one too now? It's not a shop, you know!
- That would be it. Thank you! - We thank you very much.
- See you! - See you!
Day 3
We are in the village called Parishev, where we previously visited babushka Maria Urupa.
Even then we had a strong premonition that we wouldn't see her anymore.
It took her more than 5 minutes to leave her house right over there.
It was difficult...but her mind remained sharp until the very end.
She said many wise things which made a big impact on us.
That's why I decided to print the picture I took of her.
I'm going to place it in her house, as a memento.
I don't want her house to become yet another anonymous abandoned building.
By means of this picture, I want to give this house its own unique history.
*Parishev, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone*
She was seated here.
They evacuated us in 1986...or even later. We still lived here.
I lived over there, behind those houses. I grew some potatoes, tomatoes...
This is where we talked.
Looters...
Good grief!
We were walking like some guerillas on the run.
- By foot? - Yes, by foot.
We knew the way. They evacuated us at night, so that we wouldn't see where they were bringing us.
So they took us in the dark. There came buses and we entered them.
I was there with my godmother. May God have mercy on her soul.
Her husband stayed at home.
Her clothes are still here.
*Parishev, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone*
Yes, yes. She says that she remembers you.
What a big cat!
The previous time he was this small!
Have you got enough firewood?
I got some from the boys - the forest rangers.
A shawl, a warm scarf...We have a lot of it...
- This is the first aid kit. Just in case. Everything's in there. - Oh, thank you, thank you!
How's your health?
She's got high blood pressure again.
- Do you take any medications? - Yes.
We could bring you some next time, if you make a list.
- Are those prescription drugs, or not? - No. You don't need the prescription.
In a moment, we'll visit Ivan. We visited him during our 1st expedition.
We already were here 2 years ago. His wife was still alive.
Unfortunately, she died. Last year, we gave him a picture of him and his wife - as a memento.
Some months later, in the summer, we came again and met Ivan's son.
He was inviting us for a barbecue. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay because of the curfew.
We're allowed to drive around only before the curfew starts.
We took a picture of them and they wanted to have a copy. So, here it is. We'll give it to them in a short while.
*Parishev, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone*
- Good morning. - Good morning.
- He says that it's enough for a month. Then I said that maybe for even longer.
It's warm. It's totally brand new.. It's a body warmer.
Maybe you remember. We visited you a couple of times. It was in the summer.
And we met your son. We took a picture of you.
Oh, his son has just left, to attend a wedding.
And he was in the hospital.
- My wife died. - Yes, I knew your wife.
Last year we brought you the pictures of you and your wife. Do you remember that?
Yeah, I guess I remember.
Look, it's you and your son.
Yes, his son is in Georgia now.
The wife of Vasil from Teremtsy died.
Yes, yes, yes. We knew her too.
His wife died quickly.
...when he was cooking, he stacked multiple containers together and put a heavy hammer on the top.
- The cat knocked it all over and ate all the food. - You bandit!
We're now in the village called Teremtsy, located near the Dnieper River.
This is the eastern border of the Exclusion Zone.
More than a dozen of settlers live here. One of them is the babushka we visited during our 2nd expedition.
Let's go and see how she's doing now.
The previous time, we met her daughter. We don't know if she's there now as well.
Maybe she chose to spend the winter somewhere else. Some settlers do that.
Let's see.
-You're guarding the house, aren't you? *Teremtsy, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone*
Here, take it! Will you let us in, now?
You know that we're o.k., don't you?
- Those are the guests from Poland. - We're from Poland. We brought you some gifts.
We have it all. Warm clothes, food, home appliances. We chose the ones you may need.
We don't know your size. You can try some things on.
The size is good. It's just my size.
Warm socks, bread, coal briquettes...
She says: 30 years have passed. Why is this area still excluded? There's no radiation.
People have been living here ever since the explosion, and they are all healthy and normal.
Well, not that healthy. Many have died.
- But that was then. And now? - Now they are dying too.
People have pain in their legs.
Maybe you need something? We can bring it next time.
Some warm clothes, shoes. Or maybe we can chop some firewood?
Oh, it's hard to say. I don't know what I need.
The most important is: whenever you're here, you can always visit me.
Maybe you will stay or maybe you won't...
Please, lady, don't cry. You'll be seeing of us more often.
Now, I'm so old, I'm so happy every time somebody comes to see me.
- Thank you. What's his name? - Krystian
- Thank you, my dear sons. - And we thank you too.
Stay healthy...Toughen up, so that you never get ill.
We'll be fine. You shouldn't get ill, either, lady.
We've come from Poland to see you. We have some gifts.
- Oh, you're from Poland! - Yes, from Poland.
Right, no problem! She wants us to get her some firewood.
We've visited you earlier. In the summer.
It's me!
Yes, you can put it somewhere. It's a keepsake.
Here you have food, bread, canned meat...
We'll carry it into the house. It's so heavy.
Our car is down there. First straight and then to the left, right?
Here, to the club, and then follow the snicket.
*Teremtsy*
Lavrienko Matrona Nikolayevna, 07.01.1952-29.01.2018
Is there afterlife? God knows...But there are some forces...
There is something.
We've just visited Vasil - the grandpa we visited last year, when our expedition was drawing to a close.
Unfortunately, his wife died only a few days ago.
Therefore, this visit was rather a sad one.
We simply turned the camera off. It would've been out of place to record it all.
It was a very moving visit. Many tears have been shed...and not only by him.
We gave him the picture of him and his wife.
The picture, as such, is very moving.
I printed it when Matrona was still alive. A few days before she passed.
And it shows the way she used to look at her husband.
When I gave it to him, he put it on the table. The same table at which she wrote the postcards for us, last year.
And, unfortunately...just like Vasil said: There's nothing we can do about it.
Vasil gave us a warm welcome, as always. We also gave him the things which we didn't manage to give away.
We had way too much of it as we haven't visited as many settlers as we planned. We've run out of time.
But it's never possible to plan that in advance.
Vasil also showed us the way to another grandpa whom we visited too.
An then we said goodbye. We promised to visit him soon and that we'd come as often as possible...
...and that we'd come and help. You know, we don't help them only once or twice per year.
We help them every time we come here. Technically, I spend here the lion's share of each year.
And remember that helping people is good. Wherever you are. We come here very often so we help the people here.
But if you know any people who live in your area and need help - even if it's just keeping them company...
...it means the world to them, especially if they are old.
Just don't forget about them.
The town of Samara is so jolly and naughty...
Well then, boys...Have a safe trip!
- It was a short visit but, at least, our paths have crossed again. God bless you! - Thank you!
- Be healthy, healthy and, once more, healthy! - See you in March!
Our expedition is coming to an end. We've just left the last village we've planned to visit.
We've helped as many people as we only could.
After all, we have to leave as we're running out of the time we're allowed to spend in the Zone.
First, we'll be heading for the city of Chernobyl, then to the Dydiatky Checkpoint
...and then to Poland.
This charity expedition wouldn't have taken place without the financial support provided by the readers of NAPROMIENIOWANI.PL. Special thanks go to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone authorities for granting us all the necessary permissions.
The expedition crew:
Subtitles: Przemek Kosewski