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We have seen many terrible tragedies play out on our living room televisions. None have been quite so horific as the terrorist attack on School No. 1 in Beslan. HBC has pursued historic war and crises because we believe that the impact on children is commonly not adequately covered. Normally the children are affected because they and their parents are caught in the crossfire of war and the disruptions associated with war. Rarely are there occassions such as the Holocaust where children become special targets. The attack on School No. 1 was a direct, planned attack on children. The results were horific and heart rending. So many dead and wounded. Terroists shhoting adults in front of the children. Terroists shooting children in the back as they fled. Adults carried small mangeled bodies. All these horific images will be imbeded in our minds for ever. One is hard put to imagine how people could have planned to do such a terrible thing.
We began to prepare this page and realized there needed to be aemorial page to expressed our condolences to the people of Beslan, to the childtren, the parents, and the teachers. There is a need to discuss what happened and why, but there is also a need to grieve. We can't help but think of the first day at Russian schools, all the beautiful children so full of hope. The girls in their starched pinafores. The boys in new suits. All so full of hope and the future. Then suddenly the carnage. The horrific images of small mangled bodies. Our heart blleds for these children and their parents. I can recall little in my life where such innosence was attacked with such evil. We are hard put to adequately express our sorrow. HBC readers are invited to expressed their emotions here.
School No. 1 is located in Beslan. Beslan is a town od about 30,000 people located in North Oestia, west of Ingushetia west of Chechnya. Schools in Russia as in Soviet days are not named, but rather numbered. The school was for children 6-16 years of age. The 6-year olds are the children just beginning school. I'm not sure why the school only had children up to age 16.
The first day of school in Russia is a major event. The celebration is called First Bell. At school No. 1 the students were lined up by grade in the school court yard. Many parents were there to celebrate the day with their children. The younest children marched into the school accompanied by music. They first year children were carrying flowers for their techetrs--a long established Rusdsian tradituion. The older 11th gradetrs had prepared a dance as part of the celebration.
The school had an aopening-day ceremony for the new children just beginning school. Just as the assembly was finishing about 9:00 am, A force of 30-40 Islamic terrorists burst into the First Bell ceremonies at Beslan School No. 1 and took over 1,000 children, parents, and teachers hostage in the school. The majority of the hostages were children. The terrorists were heavily armed and rigged the school with exposives, especially the gymnasium where most of the hostages were held. A large bomb was placed in the center and smaller expolsives set in strategic locations like window shelves. The school is quickly surounded by Russian soldiers. Russian oddicuals about 7:30 pm establish contacy with the terrorists. The Terrorists demanded that Russia soldiers withdraw from Chechnya and release prisoners taken after a guerilla raid in Ingushetia (summer 2004). Russian officilas did not release these demands to the public.
The hostages were held here without food and medecine. The terrorists did not beat the children, but continully threatened them. When children begab crying, the terrorists poinyed their weapons threatingly, but fired into the air. Most had trouble getting water. Many took off their clothes in the stifling heat. Often they were forced to drink their own urine. Some candy was available from a school supply, but the terrorists refused offers to supply food tonthe hostages. Conditions in the gym were terrible. It became sifling hot. Some children fainted. Many vommited. The terrorists released 26 hostages, mostly mothers with young children. That night the terrorists executed 22 men inside the school. Many of these men were apparently teachers at the school. It is unclear just why these men were murdered. It appears to have been simply mindless killing. One terrorist taunted the hostages, "Do you think 22 men is enough?"
Ther standoff lasted 58 hours. About 1:00 pm on Friday a terrible shoot out began (September 3). The Terrorists set off the explosives in the gym. It was here that most of the hostages were killed. It is not clear why the shooting began. Russian officials report that they did not begin the shooting. There had been negotiation and the terrorists had agreed to allow the Russians to remove the decaying bodies of the men thy had murdered in the initial take over. Four doctors from the Emergency Situtions Ministry began to do this. Then two explosions occurred, charges set in the gynasium where the hostages were confined. It is unclear who among the terrorists ordered this and why. One reports suggest that some of the terrorists were preparing to surrender, but this is only specualtion at this time. What followed was chaos. The roof collapsed. Hostages began fleeing out of the windows. Those near the windows had the best chance of success. Russian sources report the terrorists began shooting the children in the back. At first stunded the Russian forces soon began to respond. Special forces stormed the school. Helicopters and tanks went into action. Fathers rushed forward to save their children. Some had arms. Many special forces soldiers killed were shot by armed civilians. The terrorists apparantely fired on the abulances. Steachers carrying children and adults with children in their arms were everywhere. The Russian special forced blow a hole in awall to help hostages escape. The local police did a poor job of crows control. The Sprcial Forces had trouble entering the building. The battle continied in the school building for hours. Some terrorists tried to escape into the crowd. Some terrorists escaped into Beslan and running gun battles in the town continued for hours.
The terroists took about 1,200 people hostage. About 340 hostages, including 150 children, were killed by bullets. About 700 people were wounded. Several hundered people are wounded.
The Russian relationship with Chechnya is a bloody one. The relationship began with the bloody Russian conquest by Tasarist armies during the late 19th century. Further repression followed during the Soviet era, culminating in Stalin's
deportation order during World War II.
Observers estimate that there were 30-40 terrorists. There have been 27 bodies of terroists recovered. The identity of the terrorists was a matter of some uncertainty in the early reports. Most assumed that they were Chechans. Russian officials including President Putin referred to Arabs. They have been described as Chechan, Ingush, Russians, and Arabs. The actual identity of the terrorists has not yet been defuinitively reported. Especually unclear is if Arabs were involved. The Russians claim that 10 of the terrorists were Arabs. A little-known group associated. with al Qaeda, the Islambouli Brigades, has claimed responsibility for the attack. It is not unusual for shadowy groups to claim credit for major attacks, so it is not yet known just who was responsible.
It isinteresting to note how the media rfers to the terrorists. One Washington Post article refers to "heavily sarmed Muslim guerillas" and "fighters". [Baker and Glasser, p. A1.] Other News papers used similar terms. There seems a reluctance to use the term "terrorists". This is not an inconsequential matter. Russian officials commonly refer to the Chechans and others involved in terroist attacks as "bandits". It is not possible to coherently respond to these outrages unless those resoponsibe are accurately defined.
The question one asks is "Why?" Here the answer appears to be relatively simple. Terror can work. You would think that any thinking person would reject terror. Unfortunately there are many examples of terror working. The Boston Tea Party was an act oif terroirism. Many more serious incidents were to follow. The British reaction, especially the Boston Masacre was used to inflanme public opinion against the British. Serbian terrorists by shooting Archduke Franz Ferdinand brought about World War I and in the end got what thaey wanted--the Slavic state of Yogoslavia. The NAZIs in Germany used the Stormtroopers (SA) to conduct countless acts of terrorism and viloent incidents. Many Germans desiring an end to the vilence and disorder voted for the NAZIs. They never achieved a majority, but were Germany's largest political power. In recent years, terrorists have gotten what they wanted from terror. American forced pulled out of Lebanon and Somalia because of terrorist acts. The Germans released the murders of Isrealic athletes at the Munich Olympic Games because of terrorist threats. And most recently, terroirist attacks in Spain affected a Spanish election. The killing of school children would seem to be very differnt than past acts of terroism. It seems to cross a line. It should be clear to most observers that among the current generation of Islamic terrorists there are no such lines.
Baker, Peter and Susan B. Glasser. "Russian school siege ends in Carnage," Washington Post Septembefr 4, 2004, p. A1, 20.
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