Relatives of Beslan victims tell at Memory Watch about echo of tragedy

On September 3, the third Day of the Memory Watch for the victims of the terror act in Beslan began with a liturgy in the destroyed school. This year marks 11 years since the terror act in Beslan; and the city is hosting mourning ceremonies.

Eyewitnesses of the events of September 1, 2004, spoke about the developments of those days. According to their stories, the pain of loss is becoming stronger year after year.

On September 1, 2004, Zaira Berdikova was taken hostage together with her single 11-year-old son Albert. The boy perished; and his mother occurred in hospital with burns. Now, she is an invalid. Today, Berdikova, who came from Dagestan, came to the school again.

"We came to the school, the bell rang, and then all were driven into the gym, saying that it was a capture. Men were killed and thrown out through the window. For three days my son was with me there. He was very thirsty. At the last minute he stood up ... and I lost him. He exploded. That was my only child; and for 11 years I am crying," Zaira Berdikova told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, recalling the 11-year-ago events.

On the day of the tragedy, Karina Valieva and Malina Tsidaeva were 12 years old each. Today, they brought a bottle of water to the school, to open it in the school gym and commemorate the casualties.

"We try not to forget this day. I think that we must remember what happened here 11 years ago. We brought water and want to open it there. When hostages were taken, we didn't even realize what had happened. We realized it all with time," Karina Valieva, who came with her girlfriend from the settlement of Zavodskoy, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.