No more Dutch vacations for Chernobyl kids

Belarusian children from the Chernobyl disaster area have long enjoyed health vacations with guest families in the Netherlands and elsewehere. Now Belarus is saying no more.

Jeanet Louw proudly puts the picture frame on the garden table. "This is Vlad," she says, pointing to a stocky ten-year-old who looks straight into the camera. His full name is Vladislav Savedeev and he is from Belarus.

Vlad spent eight weeks with the Louws - father Jan, mother Jeanet, their two daughters and son - last summer. It's funny how quickly someone becomes part of the family, says Louw. She and her husband visited Vlad in Belarus in October. They talk to each other on the phone every Saturday night, and Vlad writes a letter most months.

Like thousands of other children Vlad came to the Netherlands through the Foundation Russian Children Aid. It helps children from the border areas of Ukraine and Belarus that were hit by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster spend their summer vacations in the West to regain their strength.

Travel ban

The exact number of Chernobyl victims has always been a point of contention. But there is no doubt that lenghty exposure to low doses of radiation increases the chance of certain cancers as well as cardiovascular diseases.

The Louw family hopes Vlad will be able to come again this summer - this time for four weeks - and that his 16-year-old sister Violeta will be able to join him. "She needs it more than Vlad."

But chances that Vlad will even be allowed to leave Belarus this summer are slim. President Alexander Lukashenko issued a travel ban last October which remains in force. Only children with cancer are still allowed to come to the West to convalesce; all others are prohibited from travelling here. The reason: two Belarus children applied for asylum to stay with their guest families - one in the US, the other in Italy.

Officially, Minsk is only looking out for the children. "We cannot risk our children not returning to Belarus," says Aleksei Raiman of the Belorusian embassy in the Netherlands. But others see a political motive behind Lukashenko's decision.

"Minsk feels threatened by children who spend several weeks in a free society," says Dutch parliamentarian Pieter Omtzigt, a Christian Democrat. Omtzigt has asked questions about the travel ban in the Dutch parliament, and has taken the matter up with the Council of Europe, which deals with human rights. Every European country is a member of the Council of Europe - except for Belarus.

The children have become a political tool, says Jan Marinus Wiersma, a member of the European parliament for the Dutch Labour party. "Minsk is afraid that the children will rebel against the regime in their country after they've been exposed to the freedom and prosperity of the West."

Unpredictable

Several European countries are negotiating with Belarus over the Chernobyl children. Italy, Germany and Ireland have already signed treaties. Wiersma disapproves. "Once you give in to a regime like this yo become a toy in their hands." Italy, for instance, has agreed to an age limit of 14. "It shows how much the government mistrusts its own citizens," says Wiersma. "Children older than 14 can think for themselves."

The Netherlands too are negotiating a treaty with Belarus. According to Belarusian diplomat Raiman its signing is mere days away. What does Belarus want from these treaties? A guarantee from the Dutch government that it will return the children.

But Omtzigt says the Netherlands will never give such a guarantee. "The state cannot keep individuals from applying for asylum." The foreign ministry refuses to comment. We don't want to jeopardise the ongoing talks, a spokesman says. But the Dutch foreign minister, Maxime Verhagen, is highly critical of the Belarus regime. When most EU countries wanted to lift or reduce sanctions in place against Belarus earlier this year, Verhagen opposed the move.

Jan Louw hopes that president Lukashenko will realise that it is also in the interest of the Belarusian economy to let the children go. Each child arrives with one bag - Vlad had two pairs of worn-out underwear - but returns with two bags full of clothes and food. Wiersma is doubtful: "Lukashenko is Europe's most unpredictable president." Omtzigt: "A regime like this doesn't reach decisions in a rational way."