RAISA CAROLAN

Raisa Carolan é unha empregada de Google dende xullo de 2022, e traballa como Especialista en Política de Escalación, Confianza e Seguridade.

En 2016 graduouse en Filosofía, Socioloxía e Ciencias Políticas pola University of Galway, e en 2017 obtivo un máster en Criminoloxía pola University College Cork.

Antes de obter o seu emprego actual en Google, desempeñou moitos outros. Empezou traballando como Asistente Residente en Cornib Village, unha residencia de estudantes no campus da Universidade de Galway. Na mesma cidade, foi Asistente de Comida e Bebida no Eyre Square Hotel, e Supervisora Xefa na Lyon House Catering, onde estaba a cargo do persoal. 

Máis tarde tivo un emprego en Ladbrokes Coral Group, unha empresa británica de apostas, como Asesora do Servizo de Atención ao Cliente, onde se encargaba de facer apostas e garantir a seguridade, implementando políticas como o xogo responsable, para evitar o fraude e outras actividades delituosas que puideran xurdir. Despois desempeñou o posto de Oficial Executiva cun contrato de prácticas na Road Safety Authority, unha axencia do estado formada polo goberno irlandés, onde se encargaba da análise de datos acerca de tendencias actuais de seguridade, investigación de queixas e comprobación de incumprimentos, e centros de probas. Tamén establecía e procesaba arquivos para acusación e emprendía e asistía en varios proxectos, así como traballo administrativo a diario. 

A continuación traballou en Medserv, unha empresa irlandesa, como Especialista en Facturación Médica, onde levou a cabo moitas tarefas de contabilidade, servizo de atención ao cliente e de organización, para promover a saúde financeira do organismo. O seu seguinte emprego foi en Covalen, unha empresa irlandesa de subcontratación e prestación de servizos xestionados, como Analista de Seguridade Global de Operacións da Comunidade, no relativo a imaxes íntimas non consensuais. E por último pasou a traballar en TikTok como Especialista en Operacións de Busca, abordando contido inaceptable ou perturbador que podería incluír imaxes de violencia, crueldade animal, discurso de odio, extremismo violento ou contido que explota ou pon en perigo aos nenos, coa fin de asegurar unha experiencia do usuario positiva e segura para a comunidade.

Ademais disto, Raisa levou a cabo traballo voluntario como Membro do Comité Executivo da Irish Wheelchair Association durante un ano e cinco meses, e como Embaixadora de Chernobyl Children International dende 2002.

Tamén representou a Irlanda como parte do equipo Wheelchair Rugby Sevens en competicións internacionais, e conduce o seu propio coche.

Raisa empezou a súa vida como unha supervivente do desastre nuclear de Chernóbil. Naceu en 1993 con discapacidades físicas importantes como consecuencia da radiación, e pouco despois foi abandonada nun orfanato para bebés en Minsk, Belarús. Aos catro anos trasladárona a outro orfanato, onde a maltrataban fisicamente e a deixaban a un lado, sen ensinarlle a comer ou falar. Permanecía soa no seu berce coa mesma roupa durante días, e se se pasaba da raia, azoutábana coa fibela dun cinto, ou ortigas do bosque próximo.

Había un cuarto no orfanato cheo de xoguetes, pero era todo para impresionar aos visitantes. Permitíanlles aos nenos xogar alí cando chegaban, pero cando marchaban, quitábanlles os xoguetes e volvían a pechar o cuarto.

Raisa tivo a fortuna de que Adi Roche, Fundadora e Directora Executiva Voluntaria de Chernobyl Children International dende 1991, lle axudara despois de coñecela neste orfanato, xunto con Ali Hewson. Visitou Irlanda por primeira vez cando tiña cinco anos como parte do programa de vacacións Rest and Recuperation de Chernobyl Children International. Mediante esta iniciativa, os nenos pasan alí tempadas curtas nas que saen do entorno tóxico no que viven, e permanecen con familias irlandesas, e entre outras cousas reciben tratamentos médicos, afecto e coidados. Cando remataban as vacacións, nunca quería regresar a Belarús, e todos os anos esperaba que a escolleran para volver a Irlanda. 

Por sorte, atopou aos seus pais irlandeses Tom e Ann Carolan, que estaban moi involucrados co programa, e decidiron intentar adoptala. Cando despois de varios anos e moita perseveranza este proceso case rematara, ao cumprir dez anos, debido ás súas discapacidades, Raisa foi transferida a outra institución aínda máis sinistra onde permaneceu uns seis meses: un asilo mental, sen que o orfanato notificara o seu paradoiro a ninguén en Irlanda. Pero atopárona, e finalmente conseguiron adoptala en 2002 en Trim, en County Meath, onde empezou a ir á escola, e vive dende que tiña dez anos; aínda que tristemente a súa nai Ann faceleu en 2009. Alí ten outros cinco irmáns que a recibiron cos brazos abertos e a chaman o seu "pequeno raio de sol".

Fixéronlle máis de 30 dolorosas operacións para tratar as numerosas deformidades físicas coas que naceu, incluído un padal leporino, e a amputación dun membro debido a que naceu con pernas palmeadas e un pé zambo, así que usa unha prótese, pero aprendeu a camiñar ben. Tamén tivo que asistir a terapia para abordar os seus recordos e pesadelos, e o medo de ter que volver ao asilo.

En 2018, despois de graduarse no seu máster en Criminoloxía, recorreu ao goberno belaruso para que abra de novo as posibilidades de adopción, co fin de que outros nenos teñan as mesmas oportunidades na vida que tivo ela en Irlanda.

En 2019 Raisa criticou a nova ola de turismo que seguiu a un popular programa de televisión de HBO e Sky UK baseado na catástrofe, cando houbo un aumento de viaxes nos que a xente ía á planta nuclear de Chernóbil para facer selfies, cualificando estes feitos como irrespectuosos coa xente que se sacrificou para que outros puideran vivir, e perigosos polos altos niveis de radiación.

Hai dous anos localizou á súa familia biolóxica, os seus pais e irmán, en Belarús, coa axuda de Adi Roche, despois de moitos anos de busca. Lembraba que en varias ocasións a sacaron do orfanato e a levaron ao seu apartamento, e quería saber por que a deixaron. Dende xaneiro de 2022 mantívose en contacto regular con eles por correo electrónico.

Non obstante, coa invasión Rusa, Raisa teme pola súa seguridade, e é posible que non poda cumprir o seu desexo de encontrarse con eles pronto, porque ninguén sabe como se desenvolverá este conflito. Cando os rusos se instalaron na planta nuclear en Chernóbil en febreiro de 2022, e tras detectarse niveis de radiación gamma superiores aos habituais na zona, expresou a súa preocupación polas consecuencias que poderiamos sufrir se o reactor se activa de novo, ou se a radiación selada se emite a gran escala sobre a rexión, e se estende por Europa. Ademais diso, afirmou que o paso á zona da exclusión afectou ás tumbas de xente que deu a súa vida para pechar o reactor e salvar a outros.

Dende que empezou o conflito, Adi e Chernobyl Children International continuaron axudando a realizar operacións cardíacas a bebés que padecían defectos debido ás consecuencias de Chernóbil, e seguiron levando a cabo programas en Belarús. Tamén enviaron axuda humanitaria, que inclúe alimentos, auga e medicamentos, aos nenos e ás súas familias atrapados na rexión de Chernóbil. Ademais diso, debido a que hai máis de tres anos que non poden sacalos do seu país, organizaron campamentos de verán nun lugar seguro nos montes Cárpatos para nenos que sofren problemas de saúde mental, e todas as demais consecuencias de vivir nunha zona de guerra. O que máis temen Raisa e CCI é que unha nova banda de radiación produza outra catástrofe.

En 2022, Adi Roche instou ao Goberno irlandés a facer presión na Corte Internacional de Xustiza da Haia para que calquera ataque a unha instalación nuclear sexa declarado crime de guerra. Tamén pediu que todas as instalacións nucleares sexan consideradas zona sen guerra, e solicitou ao goberno irlandés que actúe de intermediario para conseguir un alto ao lume, e a paz mediante a diplomacia. Ademais diso, pediu ás organizacións de mulleres en Irlanda e no mundo que centren a súa atención na vulnerabilidade das mulleres e dos nenos que foxen da guerra.

Raisa Carolan is a Google employee since July 2022, and works as an Escalation, Trust and Security Policy Specialist.

In 2016 she graduated in Philosophy, Sociology and Political Science from the University of Galway, and in 2017 she obtained an MA in Criminology from University College Cork.

Before landing her current job at Google, she held many other positions. She started working as a Residential Assistant at Cornib Village, a student residence on the University of Galway campus. In the same city, she was a Food and Beverage Assistant at the Eyre Square Hotel, and Senior Supervisor at Lyon House Catering, where she was in charge of staff.

She later got a job at Ladbrokes Coral Group, a British betting company, as a Customer Service Advisor, where she was responsible for taking and putting on bets and ensuring safety, implementing policies such as responsible gambling, to prevent fraud and other criminal activities that could arise. She then served as an Executive Officer on a traineeship contract at the Road Safety Authority, a state agency formed by the Irish government, where she was responsible for analyzing data on current safety trends, investigating complaints and non-compliant testers and test centres. She also established and processed files for prosecution and undertook and assisted in various projects as well as administrative work on a daily basis.

She then worked at Medserv, an Irish company, as a Medical Billing Specialist, where she carried out many accounting, customer service and organisational tasks to promote the financial health of the organization. Her next employment was with Covalen, an Irish outsourcing and managed services company, as a Community Operations Analyst Global Safety in relation to non-consensual intimate images. And finally she went on to work at TikTok as a Search Operations Specialist, addressing unacceptable or disturbing content that could include images of violence, animal cruelty, hate speech, violent extremism or content that exploits or endangers children, in order to ensure a positive and safe user experience for the community.

In addition to this, Raisa carried out voluntary work as an Executive Committee Member of the Irish Wheelchair Association for one year and five months, and as an Ambassador for Chernobyl Children International since 2002.

She has also represented Ireland as part of the Wheelchair Rugby Sevens team in international competitions, and drives her own car.

Raisa began her life as a survivor of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. She was born in 1993 with significant physical disabilities as a result of radiation, and soon after she was abandoned in an orphanage for babies in Minsk, Belarus. At the age of four, they moved her to another orphanage, where they physically abused her and left her aside, without teaching her how to eat or to speak. She remained alone in her crib in the same clothes for days, and if she got out of line, she was whipped with a belt buckle, or nettles from the nearby forest.

There was one room in the orphanage full of toys, but it was all for show for visitors. The children were allowed to play there when they arrived, but when they left, they took the toys away and locked the room again.

Raisa was fortunate that Adi Roche, Founder and voluntary CEO of Chernobyl Children International since 1991, helped her after meeting her at this orphanage, along with Ali Hewson. She first visited Ireland when she was five years old as part of Chernobyl Children International's Rest and Recuperation holiday program. Through this initiative, children spend short periods of time there where they leave the toxic environment in which they live, and stay with Irish families, and among other things they receive medical treatments, affection and care. When the holidays were over, she never wanted to go back to Belarus, and every year she hoped to be chosen to go back to Ireland.

Luckily, she found her Irish parents Tom and Ann Carolan, who were very involved with the program, and decided to try to adopt her. After several years and a lot of perseverance, when this process was almost over, at the age of ten, due to her disabilities, Raisa was transferred to an even more sinister institution where she remained for about six months: a mental asylum, without the orphanage notifying her whereabouts to anyone in Ireland. But they found her, and finally managed to adopt her in 2002 in Trim, County Meath, where she started going to school, and she has lived since she was ten years old; although sadly her mother Ann passed away in 2009. There she has five other siblings who welcomed her with open arms and call her their "little ray of sunshine".

She has had more than 30 painful operations to treat the numerous physical deformities she was born with, including a cleft palate, and the amputation of a limb because she was born with webbed legs and a clubfoot, so she uses a prosthesis, but she has learned to walk well. She also had to attend therapy to address her memories and nightmares, and her fear of having to go back to the asylum.

In 2018, after graduating with her master's degree in Criminology, she appealed to the Belarusian government to reopen the possibilities of adoption, so that other children have the same opportunities in life that she had in Ireland.

In 2019 Raisa criticized the new wave of tourism that followed a popular HBO and Sky UK TV show based on the disaster, when there was an increase in trips where people went to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to take selfies, describing these events as disrespectful to the people who sacrificed themselves so others could live, and dangerous because of the high levels of radiation.

Two years ago she located her biological family, her parents and brother, in Belarus, with the help of Adi Roche, after many years of searching. She remembered that on several occasions she was taken out of the orphanage and taken to their apartment, and she wanted to know why they left her. Since January 2022 she has been in regular contact with them by email.

However, with the Russian invasion, Raisa fears for their safety, and she may not be able to fulfill her wish to meet them soon, because no one knows how this conflict will play out. When the Russians moved into the nuclear plant at Chernobyl in February 2022, and after higher-than-usual levels of gamma radiation were detected in the area, she expressed her concern about the consequences we could suffer if the reactor is activated again, or if the sealed radiation is unleashed on a large scale over the region, and it spreads across Europe. In addition to that, she stated that the trespass on the exclusion zone affected the graves of people who gave their lives to close the reactor and save others.

Since the conflict began, Adi and Chernobyl Children International have continued to help perform heart surgeries on babies suffering from defects due to the consequences of Chernobyl, and have continued to run programs in Belarus. They also sent humanitarian aid, including food, water and medicine, to children and their families trapped in the Chernobyl region. On top of that, because they haven't been able to take them out of their country for over three years, they've organized summer camps in a safe place in the Carpathian Mountains for children who suffer from mental health issues, and all the other consequences of living in a war zone. What Raisa and CCI fear most is that a new band of radiation will produce another catastrophe.

In 2022, Adi Roche urged the Irish Government to lobby the International Court of Justice in The Hague for any attack on a nuclear facility to be declared a war crime. She also called for all nuclear facilities to be considered a no-war zone, and asked the Irish government to broker a ceasefire and peace through diplomacy. In addition, she called on women's organizations in Ireland and around the world to focus their attention on the vulnerability of women and children fleeing war.