A trouble in the air
Yesterday the whole Kiev woke up because of the smell of smoke. I can't say that I didn't panic as well. The first thought, which I had, was that my flat was burning. I ran to the kitchen very fast and checked whether everything was ok and, fortunately, the flat wasn’t on fire.
But when I checked my Facebook page, I saw a lot of posts, where the Kievans were panicking. Everybody posted information about stinky air and on measures, which had to be done.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine (1) and doctors commented in the following way: one should have closed all windows and didn't stay outside for a long time. Ok, the first advice was clear - to close our windows, but they didn’t mention, that we would have musty air as a result. As for the second advice – it failed. I couldn’t even imagine, how I would call to my boss and say that I would be absent because the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and doctors advised it. And I would be really ashamed not to go to work, when even children went to school. That’s why having done several breathes of fresh air at home, I went to work.
I spent this day normally, without gasps, cough etc. But next day, on Friday, I saw an interesting article in the newspaper "Viesti"(2),which was about charter flights and large-scale "leaving" from Kiev (I don't read newspapers like this, I have just noticed it from one pensioner in a bus ). And I smiled. Was everything so bad, that people started to leave the city? I can understand the agiotage in drugstores, when people began to buy gauze mouth bandages and lollipops from cough. One should wear a mouth bandage, tuck a lollipop in his mouth and can spend his day calmly.
It's interesting how did the escaped citizens of Kiev imagine that day? Maybe they thought, if they had breathed the smoke, they would have had problems their hair and teeth, asthma attack, without any chances to save their lives? Health is an important thing, but paranoia is too much.
Author's Note:
1. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine is the main body in the system of central bodies of the executive power that provides realization of a state policy in the sphere of a civil defense, rescue, creation and functioning of the system of insurance fund documentation, utilization of radioactive wastes, protection of population and territory from any emergency situations, preventing such situations and reaction to them, liquidation of their results and the results of the Chernobyl catastrophe.
2. Newspaper “Viesti” – (English: “The News” ) - Ukrainian daily Russian-language newspaper, which is spread for free. This newspaper is considered to be pro-Russian and contains anti-Ukrainian propaganda.
