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Fear and sorrow in Beslan
A few weeks ago we didn't even know that there was a city called Beslan in North Ossetia. It is also appalling that we would remember it nebulously again after some weeks passed somehow like this: 'Beslan? Was there the hostage drama where school children became hostages, wasn't it? Yes, it was.' And people living there will remain under its effects not only for some weeks but may be for all their life. International humanitarian aid shipments have been arriving, also from Hungary. Läszló Czimre, contributor of the Hungarian Interchurch Aid has the task to survey the claims on the one hand, and to cooperate in distribution in the other hand. 'The city is very sad, and almost desolated. Hardly people can be seen on the streets. 1476 people were affected altogether by the action of the terrorists taking hostages. This is approximately three thousand families, nearly one third of the city' said Läszló Czimre, contributor of the Hungarian Interchurch Aid, program leader of the North Caucasian area since 2001. The security conditions became very strict, transport is extremely difficult inside the Republic, and all borders towards Ingushetia and Chechnya are fully closed until now. There are not any significant changes; rather the people's attitude to strangers has changed. They look quite suspiciously at anyone who is not from Beslan. This is a small city, everyone knows all the others and of course, atrocities sometimes happen for this in town. For instance, inhabitants stop anyone in the streets they don't know and ask them where they are from, why they are here, and ask them to go away. This kind of fear is inside people nowadays. - Are foodstuffs available? 'Of course, North Ossetia is do an operating, self-sufficient republic. Life goes on, so plants, factories, shops are open, people work, education has already begun too, exactly on this week. According to a regulation of the Home Secretary, armed police guards protect every school 40 minutes before starting the lessons and for 40 minutes after tuition. - What are your experiences? Could people return to their normal daily round after so little time passed? 'This is interesting, because some children go to school yet, but divers of them simply refused to go to school. Either family fully closeted themselves, so they do not even let us communicate with them. It depends on the personality, how one can cope with this trauma. The great mass, especially the children, seem to be able to exceed this problem earlier. We talked about this to the chief medical officer of the Beslan hospital, who said that the final coping with such a trauma also depends on the age of the patient, but it may take two or three years in case of children. The news is here that the terrorists committed excesses inside the school, which means that they did violence on women, forced children for fornication and then shot them and threw them out of the window. - Psychiatrists and psychologists are sent to the area from Moscow. How far is the psychical assistance enough? '40 psychologists arrived to Beslan and Vladikavkaz from Moscow university of psychiatrists, who carry out their mission in a 24 hour service. Their staying is even more justified, because psychical problems more and more turn out by the time passing and more people look for a psychologist. Restarting of communication, especially towards the children for example, means a major assistance because they were formally frightened of going to school, so they needs induction again that school is not a bad place. There are centres in the child clinic in Vladikavkaz and in the Beslan hospital, where psychologists are continuously available or they attend to families and to hospitals for personal trainings with the children. There are families, where the mother is dead, the child is in hospital with injuries and then the father and a grandparent left, so circumstances are incredible. I talked to a family in which the mother was wounded but she is already at home, her husband is between live and dead in Vladikavkaz, her younger daughter is in Beslan as an injured, her elder daughter is registered as vanished and she is with one of the grandparents. Think over, how can these conditions cope with.r younger daughter is in Beslan as an injured, her elder daughter is registered as vanished and she is with one of the grandparents. Think over, how can these conditions cope with. -How can we help them from outside? 'With care and charity.' Posted by: TS(vice girl) 2004-10-07 |
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