Asosiy ma’lumotlar

  • 1966-yil 21-oktabrda ko‘mir chiqindisi tepaligi qulab, Pantglas Junior School maktabini ko‘mib yubordi; 144 kishi, shu jumladan 116 bola halok bo‘ldi.
  • Llandudnolik rassom Uilyam Richardson halok bo‘lgan bolalarning taxminan 100 portretini haq olmasdan va shuhrat izlamasdan yaratdi.
  • BBCning yangi «Unseen: The Aberfan Portraits» filmi iPlayer’da mavjud va 19-oktabr kuni soat 22:40 BST da BBC One Wales’da efirga chiqadi.

Qishloqni o‘zgartirgan falokat

1966-yil 21-oktabrda Uelsning Aberfan qishlog‘i ustiga ko‘mir chiqindisi tepaligi qulab tushdi: shlam oqimi Pantglas Junior School maktabini va qo‘shni uylarni ko‘mib yubordi. 144 kishi, shu jumladan 116 bola halok bo‘ldi. Falokat hozirgacha qishloqning kundalik hayotida mavjud — maktab joyidagi yodgor bog‘da, qabristonda va oila dasturxonlaridagi bo‘sh o‘rinlarda.

Halok bo‘lgan aka-ukalar xotirasi

Janette Kin singlisi Edwynni osoyisam va nozik, lekin shirin-shalvir qizcha deb eslaydi. O‘sha ertalab Edwina uyga onasini o‘pish uchun qaytgan edi — «Onajon, seni o‘pishni unutdim», — va onasi uni uyda qoldirmagani uchun umrbod o‘zini ayblab keldi. Otasida sakkiz yoshli Edwynni shuvalar ostidan tirik topdi, lekin tom qulash xavfi tufayli uni ozod eta olmadi; qiz otasi qo‘lini ushlab turgan holda bo‘g‘ilib vafot etdi. «Shundan keyin hamma narsa o‘zgardi», — deydi Janette, otasi kechalari xiyobonda yurib boshini devorga urganini eslab. Kichik singlisi Annet maktabda halok bo‘lgan Denise Morgan fojiani darsdan qaytayotganda bildi: «Aberfan tomonga qaraganimizda faqat qora massani ko‘rdik». Omon qolgan opa-singillar yo‘qotishning oddiy lahzalarini eslaydi: «Biz doim birga yotardik. Va birdan men yolg‘iz qoldim», — deydi Janette. Ularning ko‘chalarida mos ravishda to‘rt va besh nafar bola halok bo‘lgan.

Qishloq bilan aloqasi bo‘lmagan rassom

Llandudno pierida karikaturalar orqali daromad topgan Uilyam Richardson (uning modellari orasida Margaret Thatcher va Bay City Rollers ham bor edi) Aberfandagi voqealarni televideniye va gazetalardan kuzatib bordi. Uning Jean va Ken ismli farzandlari aytishicha, ko‘rganlari uni chuqur larzaga keltirgan va u halok bo‘lgan bolalarning portretlarini chizishga qaror qilgan — «biror narsani qaytarish, unga hammasi barobar ekanini ko‘rsatish uchun». U haq olmadi va e’tirof izlamadi. Ota-onalar unga bolalarning ko‘z va soch rangi, sevimli kiyimlari va xarakteri haqida yozib yuborardilar; ba’zilari rassom tafsilotlarni aniqroq yetkazishi uchun mato bo‘laklari yuborardi. Mavjud ma’lumotlarga ko‘ra, yillar davomida u taxminan 100 portret yaratdi. Richardsonni hatto Welsh Office’ga ham taklif qilishgan, u yerda ba’zi asarlarini Uels ishlari bo‘yicha davlat kotibi George Thomas’ga ko‘rsatgan.

«Bu uni hayotga qaytardi»

«O‘xshashligiga ishonchimiz komil emasdi. Bu u edi. Bu uni hayotga qaytardi», — dey Denise Annet portreti haqida. Janette Edwina tasvirlangan rasm kelganda otasining yig‘laganini eslaydi: «Agar ular uni quchoqlay olsalar edi, albatta quchoqlagan bo‘lardilar». Portretlar kundalik hayotning bir qismiga aylandi: «U Rojdestvoda, bayramlarda, doim xonada bo‘lardi. Bizning ko‘chamizdagi har bir uyda bunday portret bor edi», — deydi Denise. Falokat paytida maktabdan qutulib qolgan Gaynor Madgwick uchun rasmlar boshqa vazifani bajargan: «Ular suhbatlarni boshlaydi. Odamlar yana bolalari haqida gapirishni boshlaydi».

Portretlarning keyingi taqdiri

Fojiani bevosita boshidan o‘tkazgan avlod ketishi bilan rasmlar taqdiri masalasi turibdi. Ko‘plari oilaviy yodgorlik sifatida qolmoqda, ba’zilari kichik avlodga yoki mahalliy muzeyga topshirilgan. Gaynorning oilasi onasi vafotidan keyin og‘ir qaror qabul qildi: «Ularni olyotganda siz rasmni emas, ularni olasiz», — portretlar onasi bilan birga kichik tobutga o‘xshash oq qutida, yuzma-yuz qaratib dafn etildi. «Bu ularni yana dafn qilgandek bo‘ldi», — deydi u. Janette Edwina portretining kelajagidan xavotirda: «Men odamlar ularni ko‘rishini xohlayman». Denise esa rasmdan ayrilishni tasavvur ham qila olmaydi: «Bu qimmatbaho xazina. Uni hech qachon qo‘ldan bera olmayman».

Dastur haqida

«Unseen: The Aberfan Portraits» filmi BBC iPlayer’da mavjud va 19-oktabr, dushanba kuni soat 22:40 BST da BBC One Wales’da namoyish etiladi.

A montage of eight paintings showing the faces of nine children who died in the Aberfan disaster
Image caption,

The portraits helped families grieve after the Aberfan disaster

Jeanette Keane sits on her sofa wearing a red shirt, holding a portrait of her blonde-haired younger sister Edwina
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Jeanette Keane lost her sister Edwina

A black and white photograph showing Jeanette and Edwina as childrenImage source, Family Photo
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Jeanette has fond memories of her sister Edwina

A colour photograph showing the damage to Pantglas Junior School, the ruined building is to the right of the frame. In the foreground is black coal waste and dozens of rescue workersImage source, Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
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The black coal waste smothered Pantglas Junior School, killing 144 people including 116 children

A portrait of two brothers with light brown hair and blue eyes
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Brothers Kelvin and Malcolm Andrew were the sons of school caretaker Stephen Andrew, whose family still treasure their portrait

A collage of three portraits showing a girl with long brown hair, and two brown-haired boys
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Paintings of Lynn Harding, Gareth Davies and Terence Davies still hang on the walls of their family homes

A black and white photo of a smartly-dressed sketch artist, holding a sketchpad and pencil on Llandudno PierImage source, Mirrorpix
Image caption,

William Richardson made a living as an artist on Llandudno Pier, where he sketched visitors and celebrities including Margaret Thatcher and the Bay City Rollers

A man and woman sitting at a table that's covered in news paper cuttings and photographs
Image caption,

"It's like looking back at old friends now." Ken and Jean Richardson remember their father's tireless work to complete dozens of paintings for families in Aberfan

A black and white photograph showing three men in suits looking at two paintings of some of the children who died in the Aberfan disasterImage source, PA Media
Image caption,

William Richardson (left) was invited to the Wales Office to show some of the portraits to the Secretary of State for Wales, George Thomas (second from the right)

A portrait of Marylyn Minett and a black and white photograph of Marylyn wearing identical clothing
A portrait of Carl Minett with blonde hair and a blue V-neck jumper, alongside a black and white photograph that shows Carl in an identical pose
Image caption,

Marylyn and Carl Minett both died in the disaster. The artist worked from photographs and descriptions of the siblings.

Three women standing in the sunshine in the Aberfan memorial garden on a sunny day
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Denise, Jeanette and Gaynor are concerned about the future of the portraits

An image of the River Taff. The fuel leak is spreading from bank to bankTom Jones - in the 1960s - giving a salute while he holds an oversized coinA man in a navy suit, green tie, and glasses, stands up and speaks inside a formal-looking room.