‘I Am So Sorry. . . . I Hope No More People Die’ : L.A. Pupils Write Condolences to Gorbachev Over Chernobyl

The handwriting was a scrawl but the message from a Los Angeles schoolgirl to Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev was clear.

“I wish I could do something to help you but I can’t. . . . I am so sorry,” wrote Rachel Ortega, a fourth-grader at the Roscomare Road School.

She was one of 53 pupils at the school who sent letters of condolence to Gorbachev in connection with the April 26 Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident that killed at least 19. One of the pupils offered blunt advice on nuclear safety.

“Hello, Mr. Gorbachev, how are you?” wrote Steven Heyman, a 9-year-old. “I think you might put a containment structure around the reactor so an accident wouldn’t happen again. You also might want to install safety rods and an emergency cooling system. These might help.”

But most of the letters merely expressed sorrow and a concern for the radiation victims.

“I hope no more people die,” wrote Michael Esfahani, who signed himself “your friend.”

Fourth-grader Judith Monteil told Gorbachev: “I want people in the accident to be OK. I know that you are nice, so please do it.”

The letters, many of them decorated with drawings of the Soviet and American flags, were delivered to Moscow by Dr. Robert P. Gale, the UCLA specialist in bone marrow transplants who helped to treat victims of the Chernobyl accident.

Gale, who has two daughters enrolled in the school, talked to their second- and fourth-grade classmates last week on a brief respite from his medical duties here. When he returned, he brought packets of letters for Gorbachev from both classes, literally adorned with hearts and flowers.

Tal Gale, the doctor’s 9-year-old daughter, declared: “I am very, very proud of my father. . . . I think that if there ever will be another nuclear accident, you should let more doctors come. It was very nice to let my father come to Russia.”

Gale’s younger daughter, Shir, addressed her note to “President Gorbachev,” although he does not hold that title--he’s general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party. She said she was glad her father had been able to help save the lives of many Chernobyl victims.

“Peace will come in another few hundred years,” she assured Gorbachev.

Gabriel Rodriguez, a fourth-grader, was more upbeat. He wrote, “Well, I hope your and our countries can be friends.”

Chong Hoon Kim wrote, “Hello, Mr. Gorbachev, I suggest that people who work at the power plant have suits that are radiation-proof.”

Another fourth-grader, Brad W. Klaustermeyer, said: “I think you should build a new nuclear plant and check it; I never ever want this to happen again.”

Second-grader Hoda Sapir sent one of the briefest messages to the Soviet leader. It said:

“I hope you are having a nice time and doing your things right. I want our countries to have peace and love.”