Perhaps on fire, they were red and didn’t move
Download image
Alina Naldikojeva comes from an Ossetian family. She was born in Beslan. Her mother grew up in Čermen where conflicts flared up between the Ossetians and the Ingush people. A memory is stored up in the family history that at the time of the conflict the men were taken away and shot dead. At the time of the Beslan attack she was about to go into sixth grade and her brother to eighth grade. On 1 September she could hardly wait for the school year to begin. Sixth grade meant a new teacher and new subjects. She was looking forwards to the new school year ceremony taking place at the schoolyard. “My mum wanted to go with us but we told her that we are big enough so she stayed home while dad was at work that day.” When they heard gunshots at the schoolyard they first though that it was fireworks. In a short while the crowd pulled them along to the gym. During the first day the terrorists took away and shot most of the men. They told the hostages that their government did not care about them. The third day an “incredible ball” flew inside the house. As a result of the explosion, Alina flew out and only remembers falling down in the direction of the garages. She only regained consciousness in the hospital. Her brother managed to jump out of the window following the explosion and run away. In the next month, Beslan was full of funerals. Those who didn’t find the body only buried a coffin with personal items. Alina found it hard to look into the eyes of acquaintances that lost a relative in the school. As she says: “It is very hard to comprehend that someone isn’t here anymore while I am.”Translation coming soon.
