Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] Funeral events dedicated to the 19th anniversary of the terrorist act in Beslan ended in North Ossetia. People who came to school No. 1 in Beslan lit candles, carried flowers in memory of the dead, brought bottles of water, opened them and left them in the gym. Many families came to school these days and brought their children with them, told them about what had happened, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.
On September 1, mourning events were held in Beslan on the occasion of the 19th anniversary of the seizure of the school. People came to school number 1 to lay flowers in memory of the victims of the terrorist attack.
Zalina Aguzarova, a resident of Vladikavkaz, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that in 2004, when the terrorist attack happened, she was going to college.
“We came here with a group after 40 days. The literature teacher told us: "If you go there, you will leave there as a completely different person." And it is true. When we came here, we saw everything, we left here matured. This year I came here with my children, let them know what happened and let them remember. This, of course, is impossible to forget,” the girl said.
“Each person in these days of mourning should come here and be with all the relatives of the victims. My distant relatives died here. In such a tragedy, even if you didn’t have anyone here, you have to come and mourn,” a woman who introduced herself as Aida told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.
On September 1, 2004, militants seized 1,128 hostages in the gymnasium of School No. 1 in Beslan. The operation to free them ended on September 3, 2004. As a result of the attack, 334 people were killed, including 186 children, and another 810 people were injured. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report " Terrorist act in Beslan (September 1-3, 2004) " and a chronicle of the terrorist act and the events that followed it.
A resident of Beslan, who introduced herself as Tamara, said that in 2004, during a terrorist attack, her husband's cousin was taken hostage along with her son. The boy managed to escape, but his mother died. “Nothing has changed, the pain also remains,” said the girl.
Svetlana Glebovna came to Beslan from Mozdok with her son and grandchildren. According to her, she had previously been to the City of Angels memorial cemetery, but this was her first time at school.
“It is a holy cause not only for Ossetia, but for the whole world to visit this place so that this does not happen again. I would not like to go to such events, but if we stop doing this, then this (terrorist attacks) will be endless ... I would not want to be in this place at that day and hour, because here you can go crazy and fall dead. If it’s scary now, how do people live with these memories in general? These are strong people and we must help them, do not forget, do not be indifferent,” she said.
According to Svetlana Glebovna, she welcomes the fact that people bring children to school, because "children should go to children."
Ramina from Vladikavkaz said that her neighbors were taken hostage during the attack... “Every time I go to the gym, it's like the first time, with the same pain. Absolutely nothing changes,” said the girl, not hiding her tears.
The deputy director for educational work of the school from Nevinnosmyssk, Natalya Mazaeva, came to Beslan for the first time with the teaching staff. After visiting the school, she said that "everyone should be here." “It will never be forgotten. This is where the walls speak. When you watch it on TV, it's one thing, but when it's around and you're in the middle, it's completely different. Whatever the situation from a political point of view, innocent children suffered here, families died ... We can talk a lot about politics, about rulers, but children should never suffer,” said Natalya Mazaeva.
Many people refused to speak to reporters.
Victims of terrorist attacks have been trying for many years to pass a law that would define the duty of the state to help the victims of a terrorist attack. In July 2022, the victims of the terrorist attack complained about the obstacles in receiving medical care. Due to the absence of a law on the victims of the terrorist attack, the money allocated from the budget to the victims is not enough to treat and rehabilitate all the former hostages, representatives of the Mothers of Beslan and Voice of Beslan said.
At 13:05, 334 white balloons were released into the sky in the school yard, symbolizing the souls of those killed in the attack.
Then a religious procession was made from the school to the memorial cemetery "City of Angels" with photographs of the dead. There, at the "Tree of Sorrow" after the names of all those killed in the terrorist act were read to the sounds of a metronome, representatives of the leadership of North and South Ossetia laid flowers and wreaths. The mourning events dedicated to the 19th anniversary of the terrorist act in Beslan ended with a requiem concert and a screening of the film.
Recall that only 14 years after the tragedy, in December 2018, the presidential envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District announced the first official recognition since the terrorist attack that the storming of the school was planned from the beginning, despite the protests of local residents. The presidential envoy also confirmed that the school was fired from a tank. In 2019, on the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attack, the book Outpost. Beslan and Its Hostages was published, written by Olga Allenova, a journalist for the Kommersant publication. The author then told the "Caucasian Knot" blogger Alan Tskhurbaev that this is a book about a tragedy that is still "not lived through by our society, not comprehended, because there were and remain many lies about this terrorist attack," and therefore, "there is no hope that it won't happen again."
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