Seven years ago a terrible tragedy shook the world. On 1 September 2004 a group of Ingush and Chechen armed terrorists have taken hostage for about three days almost 1,200 people in a school in Beslan, a small town in the Republic of North Ossetia, part of the Russian Federation. When the Russian security forces stormed the buildinh on the third day, the tragic result was that at least 334 hostages were killed, including 186 children.
Here is how Wikipedia describes this bloody event:
The Beslan school hostage crisis (also referred to as the Beslan school siege or Beslan massacre) of early September 2004 was a three-day hostage-taking of over 1,100 people which ended in the deaths of over 380. It began when a group of armed mostly Ingush and Chechen Islamic militants took more than 1,100 people (including 777 children) hostage on 1 September, at School Number One (SNO) in the town of Beslan, North Ossetia, an autonomous republic in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation. The hostage taking was carried out by the group Riyadus-Salikhin, sent by the Chechen separatist warlord Shamil Basayev who issued demands of an end to the Second Chechen War and Russian withdrawal from Chechnya. On the third day of the standoff, Russian security forces were forced to storm the building, after several explosions happened inside the gym using tanks to make an entrance in the near gallery, incendiary rockets and other heavy weapons were used later when hostage rescue was over. Ultimately, at least 334 hostages were killed, including 186 children; hundreds more were injured and many were reported missing. Russian special forces lost 21 men in the storm.”
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The seizing of the school took place on September 1—the traditional start of the Russian school year, referred to as “First September” or Knowledge Day.[27] On this day, the children, accompanied by their parents and other relatives, attend ceremonies hosted by their school.[28] Because of the pupils and family members attending the Day of Knowledge festivities, the number of people in the schools was considerably higher than usual for a normal school day. Early in the morning, a group of several dozen heavily-armed Islamic guerrillas left a forest encampment located in the vicinity of the village of Psedakh in the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia, east of North Ossetia and west of war-torn Chechnya. The rebels wore green military camouflage and black balaclava masks, and in some cases were also wearing explosive belts and explosive underwear.
(Read HERE the rest of the story.)
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In October 2009, during a business trip in Ingushetia, I was also able to visit Beslan. I left that place with a heavy heart, that I carried with me all these years. I cannot explain what I felt when I visited the school and the graveyard. Last night, after watching again these pictures, I was filled so much grief that I could not continue and the pain persisted all night long.
I will share with you below some of the pictures I have made during that trip, with minimal explanations, because the pictures speak of themselves.
The School
The sports hall where the massacre took place
The List of victims
The water bottles in the middle of the sports hall are a reminder of the terrible fact that the terrorists did not allow children and adults to drink or eat anything during the three days of the hold up.
Teachers
The Graveyard
The Tree of Angels – monument dedicated to the victims of Beslan massacre
Mother mourning her child
Six children in one family
Story
Monument dedicated by the Armenians to the vistims of Beslan
Good bye, angels! See you in heaven!
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