08:15, 4 September 2020

Olga Allenova: authorities try to erase memory about Beslan terror act

Mourning events in Beslan School No. 1. Photo by Tamara Agkatseva for the Caucasian Knot

The memory about the hostage-taking in the Beslan school is kept by the society despite the work of the state machine to oblivion, Olga Allenova, the author of the book "Outpost; Beslan and Its Hostages", wrote on the sixteenth anniversary of the tragedy.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that starting from September 1, North Ossetia schools held a three-day watch in memory of the victims killed in the terror act in the Beslan school No. 1 in 2004.

On September 1, 2004, terrorists took 1128 hostages in a gym of the Beslan school No. 1. The special operation to release the hostages was finished on September 3, 2004. As a result of the terror act, 334 people were killed, including 186 children, and other 810 people were injured.

Memory, support and dialogue help to heal the collective trauma, but the Soviet paradigm is closer to authorities: "We must not seem vulnerable; we must be strong, because feelings are weakness; and weakness humiliates," said Olga Allenova, the author of the article "Memory as Medicine" published today by the "Kommersant".

In her opinion, "the state pretends that Beslan didn't exist." This can be seen from the fact that September 3 became the Remembrance Day of Terror Act Victims in general, not specifically of Beslan victims, as the residents of North Ossetia had demanded.

The fact that the memory of Beslan is preserved is the merit of Beslan mothers and teachers who talk about it with schoolchildren, and such media as the "Novaya Gazeta", as well as the journalist and video blogger Yuri Duds, who a year ago posted a documentary about the Beslan terror act on his YouTube channel, Olga Allenova has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 3, 2020 at 07:10 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.