Three Days In Hell

The terrorist attack on a school by the Riyadus-Salikhin terror group demanding an end to the war in neighboring Chechnya was a life shattering event. It changed the lives of the people of a small Russian town, Beslan, that had a community of only 35, 000. September the first is a hard day for the people of Beslan; it’s full of memories, pain and reminders of the past. On that very day in 2004 a horror resulting in 333 people’s death, occurred that will ricochet through the lives of many people forever.

The day of horror began as a day of joy as families, teachers and student all piled into the Beslan school. That day a terrorist attack happened. Three dozen terrorist held hostage the 1,100 people (700 of which were children) inside the school gym which was smaller than a basketball court. They held the hostages there for three days in soaring temperatures without food and water.

Carrying AK 47’s, grenade launchers and explosives, the terrorist executed a man in front of his children and the hostages on the first day for who had dared to speak. They then led several men at gunpoint into a classroom on the third floor and sprayed them with machine gun fire then threw the bodies out the windows.

Most people died when the three explosions went off on September 3rd in the afternoon. The first blast was an accident but the other two were triggered by the terrorist. The last and most dangerous explosion set the gym ablaze and brought down the roof trapping hostages under scorching debris, blazing beams, searing iron and burning plastic.

As the scared and wounded hostages scrambled over the bodies, the terrorist sprayed bullets at them and rocket propelled grenades. Twelve year old Karina Kusova was one of these hostages. She had gone to the school three days earlier, excited for her first day of school. Her 19 year old cousin, Albert had accompanied her there.

"All I remember is running away with Albert after the explosions," recalled Karina, "I was scorched and in agony. Suddenly as we fled he was shot in the head. He fell to the ground and had blood gushing out of his eye. I was crying and screaming at him to get up." Albert died two days later in hospital and Karina was left severely burnt. She spent two months in hospital, was operated on three times and is now horribly scarred along her left leg and waist.

The school building has been left the same, people are torn over what to do with it. Some want it torn down whereas others would literally stand in front of bulldozers to keep it up. The people leave messages on the walls as a memorial for those lost. Drinks are left for those who were denied drinks, flowers and wreaths placed down for them, candles lit in respect, toys laid down for the children and balloons. A portrait of each victim has been hung on the walls.

There are uncontrollable emotions after the attack. Anger over how the money was spent, resentment over survivors after having lost loved ones, distrust over the authorities who failed to protect them, anger at the teachers who survived and uncertainty for the survivor’s futures.

Out of the 333 deaths, 186 were children. Seventeen children lost both parents and one single block close to the attack lost thirty people. 72 people were left severely disabled.

Even though the world gave more than twenty million pounds of funding, these people’s lives will be changed forever. Nothing will bring back the dead or remove the memories of those three days of hell.