BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

03/01/2009

Belarus travel rules may threaten program

By TARA HAGAN, SUN MEDIA

SARNIA -- A local program that helps radiation-ravaged children from Belarus could be in jeopardy if the Canadian government doesn't sign an agreement in the coming weeks.

So says David Morrison, chairperson of the Chatham-Kent Essex Lambton Chernobyl Children's Fund.

The organization hosts between 30 and 40 children each year for six weeks, as part of in international effort to provide time away from a radioactive climate and offer them an extension on life. But a recent move by the Belarus government to tighten travel restrictions has the group putting pressure on Ottawa.

"The Belarus government has instituted travel restrictions, and each country must sign an agreement," said Morrison. "This is the one crucial factor -- we're trying to get our government to sign."

Morrison explained that the changes came following news that a child who travelled to the U.S. as part of the program last summer decided not to return to Belarus.

"So basically, the Canadian government would have to agree that any child must return to Belarus," he said, noting the changes were announced in October.

The CKEL Chernobyl Fund is the local chapter of the Canadian Relief Fund for Child Victims in Belarus, which helps thousands of children each year.

Removing children from southern Belarus, where the effects of the Chernobyl meltdown in 1986 were most heavily felt, has been shown to increase a child's life span by two years for every six weeks they spend away. Thyroid cancer is rampant in the country, and many credit it to the radiation exposure.

"This really helps them out," said Morrison. "Coming to Canada actually rebuilds their immune system.

"We're very disappointed. The Belarus government has tried to make it more difficult for kids to travel."

Restrictions have also been placed on the number of times a child can travel, as well as the age limit, currently eight to 12.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is worried the children will see things in other countries and want the same things at home, Morrison explained.

"We've all been writing our MPs, and we've been in contact with Foreign Affairs, and they've confirmed that this document is being reviewed.

"We heard that the European Union and Belarus have come to some agreement, so we're hoping our government can do the same."

But time is running out.

Lengthy paperwork for the program, which runs in the summer, takes months of planning in advance, he said.

Sarnia-Lambton MP Pat Davidson could not be reached for comment.

Source:

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2009/01/03/7907881-sun.html

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