Alla Khomich, Belarus
Alla Khomich was 19 years old and a university student in a town near Chernobyl when the accident happened. She was young and happy, and she wanted to be a good student, she told her daughter Hanna, who interviewed her. It was only in 2001 that the terrible consequences of Chernobyl became known to Alla when health problems appeared.
I decided to interview my mother who is a bright time–witness of the Soviet time. For some hours we returned to the past and spoke about it as it has being still continued. The result of our interview you can see below.
The familiar background of the time–witness
Alla Khomich (Kozlovskaia) is my mother. She was born 14/11/1967 in Zhodino, an engineering town near Minsk, the capital of Belarus. Her family was composed by her father Gennadij, her mother Alexandra and one younger sister Natalia. Her mother was a commodities expert, seller (now she is retired). Her father worked at one of the biggest engineering plant BelAZ (Belorussian automobile plant in Zhodino) and then as a sailor in far away Sakhalin (Russia) and was at home only twice a year (he died because of cancer). Her younger sister Natalia has three higher educations (teacher of primary school, psychologist and economist – manager), single. My mother’s family was famous as a well-educated, exemplary and prosperous family.
My mother went to school at five years old (It was too early for that time and now too. For example, I went to school at seven years old and it’s normal and common for nowadays). My mother studied at three schools because at that time her family changed a flat: school № 4, 5, 6. Then her mother decided that my mother should become an economist and sent her to another town to enter the Accounting and Planning College in Molodechno (Belarus) 1984 – 1986. After the college her mother told her to go to Gomel Cooperative Institute (accounting) 1986 – 1991. My mother was an excellent pupil and student. She hasn’t argued with her parents and did everything that she was advised.
Read the full interview
