Moscow remembers Beslan’s victims

By Vestnik Kavkaza

A memoriam meeting took place in Moscow near the monument to Beslan’s victims on the Day of Solidarity in Anti-Terrorism Struggle. The day is connected with the biggest tragedy in the modern history of Russia, which happened on September 1-3, 2004. 10 years ago terrorists took 1128 hostages, children and adults, in the 1st Beslan school. In the terrorist attack 334 people were killed, including 186 children.

Moscow’s Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, members of the Ossetian community, students of Moscow universities who are natives of Ossetia, former hostages, and members of the Federation Council and the State Duma visited the mourning event. When it was a moment of silence, 334 white balloons, the number of killed people, flew into the sky.

Aslambek Paskachev, the chairman of the Russian Congress of the Caucasus People, urged people to unite in favor of peace: “Today we mark 10 years of the Beslan tragedy. It is the greatest tragedy that has happened in the modern history of Russia. There have been many such tragedies in our country. Today we have gathered to remember killed children and adults. And not only remember, but also to tell those who are alive that it mustn’t happen ever again. We need this first of all. We cannot allow people to get used to such things. We should remember that children are our future, and we should do our best to save their lives to provide our happy future. Today we have gathered to create an atmosphere in our country, where ground would burn under terrorists’ feet, to prevent such phenomena. Let’s unite in favor of peace and life in our country.”

Alexander Totoaunov, a member of the Federation Council Committee for Science, Education and Culture, hopes that the memory of Beslan’s tragedy won’t fade away: “We have gathered here not only because we refresh our memories every year on September 1-3; not only because we refresh our feelings, first of all guilt and the call of duty to remember those who died or survived in the tragedy in the 1st school; but also because we continue being people. Those who are able to remember, sympathize, feel and understand the pain of other people would never use missiles and heavy weapons against peaceful citizens, their own compatriots. They would never shed blood in North Africa and the Middle East. I think it enables us, the Russian people, to remain a reliable potential of consciousness, honor and kindness, one of the strongest pillars of human civilization.”