BBC Children Of Beslan avi

BBC.Children.Of.Beslan





INFO:

***************************************************************

Originally broadcast on BBC2 on 20 August 2005



On September 1, 2004, a group of heavily armed muslim extremists stormed into School No. 1 in Beslan, Russia. For three days, more than a thousand children and adults were held hostage in a sweltering gymnasium, denied food and water, and forced to keep their hands over their heads. The harrowing siege ended on September 3 with a series of explosions and a hail of gunfire that killed some 350 people - half of them children. In this film, the youngest survivors of Beslan tell their story.

***************************************************************



From BBC website:-

In the basement of his Beslan home, seven-year-old Chermen is kicking boxes with a surprising energy given his age and his tiny frame. His face is tense and betrays the turmoil he is feeling. But when we sit down to talk, he regains his composure. Looking straight into my eyes, he answers my questions with clarity and confidence.



"There is no God. There is only military force. I believe in Russia and in our armed forces. That's what I believed in during the terrorist attack."



Chermen is a survivor of last year's attack. On 1 September, pro-Chechen gunmen seized School Number One in Beslan. More than 1,000 adults and children were held inside for three days. When the siege finally ended, 171 children and more than 200 adults were dead. Angry survivors still want officials to answer for what happened



"I was with my best friend Oleg inside the school. When the siege started, we tried to run together but I lost him. Later on I found one of the sleeves of his sweater. I never saw Oleg again. I found out that he had died. He was my very best friend and I really miss him. If you could measure it in electricity volts, it would be 9,000 million volts." A familiar tension reappears on his face.



"I feel pain. And also rage. And since then I want to avenge Oleg's death. If I were president, I would order them to send unarmed terrorists to me and I would, with my bare hands, using a knife, slit their throats. I was with my best friend Oleg inside the school. When the siege started, we tried to run together but I lost him"



In a small flat in one of Beslan's characterless compounds, nine-year-old Laima draws a picture. It shows an armed terrorist, his face covered by a mask. She draws several pictures until she is finally happy with the result. Then she picks it up, tears it to pieces and sets it on fire with matches. I draw the terrorist and burn them for all the children who died in the school. I want to take revenge on them for killing those children."



Since her lucky escape, Laima has been engaged in drawing and burning these pictures almost every day. "It's never enough. It is impossible to get enough revenge. All my life I will have to do it, because of how they held us for three days."



Explosions and fire destroyed the school Laima was on her own when she was caught up in the siege. As she is telling me her story, she pulled out something from under her blouse. "I found a little cross on the gym's floor. I kept it on me for all of the three days. It helped me to survive. I had a dream that I was running out of the school and I saw a pram. I ran up to it and I saw myself in there. I asked my Mum what it meant, and she said 'You were reborn'. I understood that when I escaped from that hell, I was reborn."



Produced and directed by Ewa Ewart and Leslie Woodhead.



***************************************************************



Enjoy!