The Chernobyl nuclear disaster struck 25 years ago today. Here’s a message from UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Maria Sharapova, who’s parents were Chernobyl refugees.
It seems obvious to draw a comparison between Chernobyl and Fukushima. But even if the scale of the disaster were the same, it would be hard to imagine that 25 years from now we will have a UN envoy assigned to the issue. To be sure, specialists from UN agencies like the IAEA and World Food Program are providing some technical assistance to the Japanese government (WFP are logistical geniuses, by the way). But over the long term, Japan is a wealthy enough country that it can rebuild and re-develop the affected areas without too much help from the international community.