by Moddey Screbbagh » Thu Apr 27, 2006 5:33 pm
thanks for this, professor.<br><br>incredible link, with extremely powerful photographs. i was struck in particular by a couple of comments the photographer, paul fusco, made. one, that these children were "like a different race." and secondly, that many of them, despite their deformities, had "an extremely active inner life," although they were not receiving any education.<br><br>it is clear that these children, so much a "product of the state" -- including, here its mistakes -- and where the state was once all-powerful, are being utterly neglected: many of their conditions could be treated (the large tumors for example) to improve their life, but, presumably because the prognosis is felt to be so poor (combined with the lack of resources for health care there), they are left to succomb to their diseases.<br><br>i am reminded of a couple of books. one, <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>roadside picnic</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, by arkady and boris strugatsky. it describes peculiar areas on earth created after visits by some extraterrestrials, areas where the laws of physics are broken and there are powerful and dangerous forces. a second book, <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>hopeful monsters</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, by nicholas mosley, describes a small group of social and intellectual "mutants" who see the world differently than the pack, and carry its future in their actions. fate gradually brings them together. <br><br>it's extremely sad to think that an enormous disaster like chernobyl has created this zone of danger, which will be beyond life for generations, and with it its offspring, a "new race" of monsters. and most of the world is looking the other way. the stories these kids could tell, the things they could teach us all... <p></p><i></i>
