Ayna Gul Portrait - Semipalatinsk Victims Documentation (Kazakhstan: 1999)

Ayna Gul (6) has not grown since the age of three. Her father came from the village Znamenka close to the Polygon test site. Her parents are ashamed of her and have withdrawn her from school. They are considering putting her in an orphanage because they lack the money to take good care of her. Nuclear tests in Semipalatinsk caused wide spread radioactive contamination in Kazakhstan. Around 1.7 million people have been used as guinea pigs by the military and been severely affected by radiation. The rates of cancers, leukemia, cardio vascular diseases, bone diseases and children born with physical or mental handicaps have increased dramatically since the testing started. In 1999, UNDP declared the region a disaster zone and called for wide spread support for the people living there.