The flour hangs in the air like snow. Thick, white, everywhere. On the floor, on the shelves, on the hair of Stanisław Nowak, who for forty-five years has been getting up at three in the morning to bake bread for his district. He is seventy-two years old, but his hands – wrinkled, covered with burn scars – move with the precision of a surgeon.
A Journey from Chernobyl’s Shadow to Milan’s Embrace
Oksana Medvedova, now 25, with Harry Potter-esque glasses and a curious gaze, hails from Snovsk, a town of 10,000 in northern Ukraine, just 120 kilometers from the infamous Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Her mother, Olga, was only five when the reactor exploded on April 26, forty years ago. For weeks, Soviet authorities concealed the disaster, leading many, including Oksana’s family, to continue drinking contaminated well water, oblivious to the cesium. “My grandfather Valerii died of lung cancer, likely due to contamination, doctors say. I knew about Chernobyl from childhood because my mother had to undergo full medical check-ups every year, and I never understood why,” Oksana recounts.
The Invisible Enemy: Chernobyl’s Lasting Scars
Forty years ago, on April 26, 1986, Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, located 130 kilometers from Kyiv and 16 kilometers from Belarus, exploded due to a botched experiment. The incident unleashed radiation 400 times more potent than the Hiroshima atomic bomb, causing an estimated 9,000 deaths over the years. It was an invisible enemy, without smell or color. “My classmate’s uncle, who worked in Chernobyl’s security sector, spoke of many colleagues dying, their skin peeling off, unable to speak or breathe, and doctors lacking painkillers for their agonizing pain.”
Milan: A Sanctuary from the Past
Oksana Medvedova first arrived in Italy, in the metropolitan area of Milan, in 2008 at the age of seven, through the Chernobyl Children’s Welcome Committee of Cerro Maggiore. She was a summer guest of the Luè family – Attilio, Marita (who also chairs the association), and their children Alessandro and Cristina. “I was the niece of Katya and Yulia, the first girls to stay with them. I remember a lady with a beautiful smile who took my hand as soon as I got off the plane. It was Marita. She spoke, and I didn’t understand anything, but I trusted her smile.”
A Breath of Fresh Air and a Second Family
Italy became a breath of fresh air for Oksana. “We stayed here for five weeks: we went on mountain trips, to water parks, swam in pools, and spent a whole week at the sea together. Marita’s family became my second family; they helped me with so many things, even with my university studies. They were always there for me.” She earned a degree in Philology and Foreign Languages and, four years ago, decided to move permanently to the Milanese area. She now works as a school educator in primary schools in San Vittore Olona and shares an apartment with her brother, Vitalii. Marita, her “second Italian mother,” recalls: “As a child, she used to say: ‘When I grow up, I’ll come to live in Italy.’ She kept her word.” Oksana reflects: “Back then, I wondered why there were people so far away in the world who thought of us and wanted to help us. Now I understand. I grew up with the idea of helping others, especially children, which is why I chose to become a teacher, because they are the future: no child should live in fear of war.”
The Ongoing Shadow of War and a Mother’s Choice
Oksana’s mother, Olga, who works for the railways, and her younger brother, Vladislav, remain in Ukraine. Her father, Dmitriy, passed away a few years ago in an accident. Chernobyl is still there, but now Ukraine is gripped by war. “Every day I tremble for my family, who live 50 kilometers from Belarus. Because it’s true that the fighting is in the east, but every day the areas where my family lives are bombed by missiles. A few days ago, my little brother, who goes to kindergarten, couldn’t celebrate his birthday with his friends because every two hours there’s an air raid alarm, and when it goes off, everyone has to run to shelters and stay locked up for hours.”
She dreams of them being safe in Italy, away from all danger, but for now, her mother prefers to stay there. Oksana states: “I am Ukrainian and I will always be Ukrainian, but Italy has given me happiness, tranquility, the possibility to live in a safe place and breathe clean air, without having to worry about going to the woods to pick mushrooms, which I always wanted to do as a child but couldn’t. It seems like little, but it’s everything.” The future is yet to be written, but one thing is certain: “I was lucky: here, on the outskirts of Milan, I found an Italian family, who became my own, who loved me and changed my life. For me, love has conquered Chernobyl.”
Source: https://milano.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/26_aprile_25/oksana-bambina-di-chernobyl-tornata-in-italia-per-viverci-milano-mi-ha-adottata-due-volte-l-amore-e-piu-forte-delle-radiazioni-eb7bd449-0e72-4a47-bc37-afbad7ea1xlk.shtml
