Yesterday marked 36 years since the disaster at Chernobyl. Last night, by chance, I was staying at @frontlineclub where they happened to be screening ‘Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes’ by @jamesjonesfilm An incredible piece of filmmaking that punches you in the face with the reality of what happened, and what it was like for both those who lived there and the people who were brought in to clean up. It resonated with me in a few different ways, and I found myself constantly thinking back to the time I spent there in 2016, living for a week covertly amongst the ruin. Alongside a small group of Ukrainians and Brits, I was travelling with @raskalov . His father worked at the site for six months after the disaster, and as Vitaliy puts it ‘he returned completely bald and lost almost almost all his friends.’ Vitaliy wrote a post yesterday saying he is a ‘child of Chernobyl’. James’ film gave me a whole new perspective on what that might mean, not that I’ll ever really understand. Travelling in that environment and living amongst it was a surreal, emotive and confusing experience in many ways. There was a lot to digest. The obvious point to make is that you can really sense the tragedy, particularly inside the residential buildings. People’s lives were abandoned, and their personalities remain in those apartments. It felt somewhat like dark tourism. Almost this voyeuristic glance into a scene that I shouldn’t really be peeking at. But being in the city with a group of Ukrainian men and women who have history there, and following their lead at every turn (particularly when we were being chased by the military police dogs - see pic of Vitaliy laughing, which still unnerves me) made it feel more reportage and helped settle the personal ethics. Continued in comments.