Belarus

Belarus – in the German language ‘Weißrussland’ – was founded in 1991 as a successor state of the eponymous constituency of the Soviet Republic. The presidential republic governed by Aleksandr Lukasenka with about 10 million inhabitants borders with Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Ukraine and Russia. Approximately 1.7 million people live in the capital of Minsk. Belarus has a planned economy with market elements that fluctuate between an orientation towards Russia but a cautious approach towards the EU. Belarus is divided into 6 administra­tive regions with 181 districts. It is a multi-ethnic state with about 81% Belarusians, but also Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Tartar und Russian-German minorities.
Of the Belarusian population, 80 % are members of the Belarusian Orthodox Church, whereas approximately 10% belong to the Catholic Church. Evangelical Lutheran, Greek Orthodox and Reformed Christians as well as Jews are small minority churches.

In 1986 the largest nuclear power plant accident in human history occurred in Chernobyl, Ukraine. For months the impact of the meltdown in this nuclear reactor did not only worry people in the immediate neighbourhood, but also throughout the whole of Europe. Numerous people died after the so-called "clear-up operations". An area of 30 kilometres around the nuclear power plant was declared a death zone, but also large parts – particularly in Belarus – were radioactively contaminated. Nowadays there are still some large prohibited areas in northern Ukraine and southern Belarus.

After the accident committees and initiatives were created throughout Europe to provide assistance and advice for people affected by the reactor catastrophe. Numerous groups, circles and local church congregations – also in Westphalia and in the Evangelical Church of Westphalia – have cared for these people. Thus, many groups were initiated which also organised retreats in Germany for children from radioactive-contaminated areas. Meanwhile there is a growing commitment for Belarus and there are initiatives which provide assistance by means of green housing or the treatment of topics such as renewable energies, geriatric care and human trafficking.

More than 20 years after the largest reactor catastrophe to date, over one million people still live in areas of Belarus contaminated by radioactivity. Five major groups which are committed to Belarus are presented here as follows:

Internationales Bildungs- und Begegnungszentrum Dortmund (IBB) e.V., contact person:
Mr. Peter Junge-Wentrup, Executive Director of the IBB.
They are particularly involved in education, memory and reconciliation work and also established the IBB Johannes Rau in Minsk.

Heimstatt Tschernobyl e.V., contact person: Rev. (Retd.) Dietrich von Bodelschwingh.
They are, for instance, committed to the project ÖkoDom building ecological and energy-saving systems in Belarus.

BAG Den Kindern von Tschernobyl e.V., contact person: Rev. (Retd.) Burkhard Hohmeyer. For many years they have been organising retreat visits for Chernobyl-affected children and adolescents from Belarus; moreover they are committed to combating human trafficking in Belarus.

Kinderzentrum Nadeshda, contact person: Mr. Ralf Höffken.
This is a project of the Men’s Association of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia.

Kinder-aus-Tschernobyl-in-Herford e.V., contact person: Rev. (Retd.) Ludwig von Behren and Mr. Klaus Wörmann.
Since the summer of 1992 they have been inviting 30 children annually from radio­actively con­taminated areas of Belarus for a four-week recuperation visit to Herford, Vlotho or Roeding­hausen.

Detailed information on current projects and fields of activity may be found on the respective websites of the aforementioned initiatives. Furthermore, there are numerous other small and large religious and non-religious groups in Westphalia which are committed to Belarus.