Children of BeslanChildren of Beslan

First day of school, September 1, 2004 in a small town of Beslan Russia, a group of armed separatist militant group called Riyadus-Salikhin  sent by the Chechen warlord Sahmil Basayev took over the school with over 1,000 hostages, of which 700 were children. It was a 3 day standoff, the terrorist demanded that the Russian Federation ends the Second Chechen War and Russia makes an immediate withdrawal from Chechnya.  

3 days later, Russian security stormed the building, using tanks and rockets.  At the end… 334 hostages were killed, 186  were children…. with many more unaccounted and missing.  

In 2008, Irina Popova, a Russian journalist and the newest member of Shoot 4 Change Russia,  traveled through all the Republics of the Caucauses and spent some time in Beslan with the families and children who were part of the Beslan Hostage Crisis.  

This is her story of the survivors, the siblings and parents of the children that died and the children who born to the families after the tragic loss they suffered.  This is a story of how a small town regains strength through their culture and traditions and never forgets.  – Yelena Futeran/S4C

Children of Beslan

(ph: Irina Popova/S4C Russia) click to see the photo gallery

“Beslan is a small town of 30,000 where everyone remembers the capture of the school by terrorists in 2004, September the 1st . The school is still preserved as in the day of rescue. On the walls everywhere there are the signatures of the visitors and the words of grief and small presents to honor the dead.

By the way half of children have managed to stay alive. Now they have very strong post-traumatic syndrome and none of the measures of the government can cure their memory of pain.
But still they behave as usual children – play games, laugh. There is only one difference – they are more tolerant, more friendly and they value each other more than any other children.

The grown-ups also suffer from the sequences of the tragedy. Many of them, who have lost their children have born new ones. It seems that all Beslan is full of children and of immense care and carefulness to them.

The period of mourning lasted for very long time, and it is over now, and there are again weddings and other celebrations, but still there is very little music on it, and very few people dance, and it contradicts the main tradition of the Ossetians who love to dance and do it very well. On the Ossetian wedding there is a tradition when the bride feeds her new neighbours with honey, and then the children from neighbourhood have to steal the honey and eat it themselves. Usually in Osetia it is the favourite rite of children, but here the children were too shy to do it, and then one of the drunken fathers stole the honey and they’ve eaten it after that.

(click to see the photo gallery)

Once a year there is a celebration named Caars, which celebrates the first son in the family. Whenever the child was born, he shouldn’t be shown to strangers until this holiday. A family of Alic which had three daughters, and all three had survived through the tragedy, celebrate the birth of the first son, and receive honour and congratulations from nearly all the town.
For this celebration, as well as for weddings and burials, there is a bull and some rams killed as a Muslim sacrifice. Traditionally the neighbours do all the work, and the host relax. It was also so on the burials of the victims of the tragedy.

Alic lives in a courtyard opposite to this school. It was his courtyard where the dead bodies were laid. It was his courtyard where the mourning and the burials were held. And now it is a happy day in this courtyard.

All this photo project was shot in July, 2008, during month-long travel through all republics of the Caucasus.”

Irina Popova/S4C

3 days later, Russian security stormed the building, using tanks and rockets.  At the end… 334 hostages were killed, 186  were children…. with many more unaccounted and missing.  

In 2008, Irina Popova, a Russian journalist and the newest member of Shoot 4 Change Russia,  traveled through all the Republics of the Caucauses and spent some time in Beslan with the families and children who were part of the Beslan Hostage Crisis.  

This is her story of the survivors, the siblings and parents of the children that died and the children who born to the families after the tragic loss they suffered.  This is a story of how a small town regains strength through their culture and traditions and never forgets.  – Yelena Futeran/S4C

Children of Beslan

(ph: Irina Popova/S4C Russia) click to see the photo gallery

“Beslan is a small town of 30,000 where everyone remembers the capture of the school by terrorists in 2004, September the 1st . The school is still preserved as in the day of rescue. On the walls everywhere there are the signatures of the visitors and the words of grief and small presents to honor the dead.

By the way half of children have managed to stay alive. Now they have very strong post-traumatic syndrome and none of the measures of the government can cure their memory of pain.
But still they behave as usual children – play games, laugh. There is only one difference – they are more tolerant, more friendly and they value each other more than any other children.

The grown-ups also suffer from the sequences of the tragedy. Many of them, who have lost their children have born new ones. It seems that all Beslan is full of children and of immense care and carefulness to them.

The period of mourning lasted for very long time, and it is over now, and there are again weddings and other celebrations, but still there is very little music on it, and very few people dance, and it contradicts the main tradition of the Ossetians who love to dance and do it very well. On the Ossetian wedding there is a tradition when the bride feeds her new neighbours with honey, and then the children from neighbourhood have to steal the honey and eat it themselves. Usually in Osetia it is the favourite rite of children, but here the children were too shy to do it, and then one of the drunken fathers stole the honey and they’ve eaten it after that.

(click to see the photo gallery)

Once a year there is a celebration named Caars, which celebrates the first son in the family. Whenever the child was born, he shouldn’t be shown to strangers until this holiday. A family of Alic which had three daughters, and all three had survived through the tragedy, celebrate the birth of the first son, and receive honour and congratulations from nearly all the town.
For this celebration, as well as for weddings and burials, there is a bull and some rams killed as a Muslim sacrifice. Traditionally the neighbours do all the work, and the host relax. It was also so on the burials of the victims of the tragedy.

Alic lives in a courtyard opposite to this school. It was his courtyard where the dead bodies were laid. It was his courtyard where the mourning and the burials were held. And now it is a happy day in this courtyard.

All this photo project was shot in July, 2008, during month-long travel through all republics of the Caucasus.”

Irina Popova/S4C