June 8, 2007

• 9000 Million Volts of Missing – That’s What Really Matters

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  FYI, I’m taking a couple of days off from blogging.  I should be back Sunday.  It will give you guys a chance to catch up.     Feel free to comment or message though and I’ll get back to you.  I hope everyone has a great weekend. – Carey –

  P.S. Quote of the day:  Kathy Hilton being ushered into court today, was asked by the paparazzi, “What going to happen to Paris, Kathy?”  Kathy’s reply, “It’s in God’s hands”.  LOL, I kid you not.  Ugh.

  Bonus, Song of the weekend

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  Much has been written this week about the 18th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Protests, but a lesser known anniversary also occurred this week.  The anniversary of, in my opinion, one of the most horrifying acts of terrorism of our time.  Though more people were killed on 9/11, not to mention the countless innocent Iraqi deaths; the unfathomable magnitude of this event was so horrifying that many people have tried to block it out of their minds, for fear of losing hope in humanity. 

  I’m speaking of the Beslan School Siege, which, after 1000 days has brought no one to justice to account for the deaths of 344 people, 186 of whom were children:

  The Beslan school siege came to an end 1,000 days ago last week. For the survivors and the families of the dead every one of those days has brought difficult memories which have had to be suppressed or cried over. For a smaller band of survivors the search for justice has been unending throughout that period, too. This week in a court room in the North Ossetian capital, Vladikavkaz, that search may well have been brought to an abrupt and unsatisfactory conclusion.  Read more… 

  A few months after the siege had ended, the ridiculous mainstream American media had moved on to seemingly more important news like the “disappearance” of a pretty blonde American in the Bahamas.  (If she’s pretty, blonde and American, stop the presses.  To wit:  the aforementioned Natalee Holloway (whose mother recently started dating Mr. Ramsey –>)  Jon-Benet Ramsey, Elizabeth Smart, Anna Nicole Smith and most recently Paris Hilton (12,000 news stories today alone)…who’s currently holed up in her mansion less than a mile from here, presumably waiting to be hauled back into court, and hopefully back into prison.  (I’m scared that if she’s not thrown back in the slammer, we may have another LA Riot on our hands tomorrow.  Lock your doors in Beverly Hills!!)  But I digress…

  So again, a few months after the tragedy in Beslan I watched the HBO documentary, The Children of Beslan.  One little boy’s story in particular broke my heart.  His name was Chermen Bugunob, he was 7 years old at the time of the massacre and this is his story.  

  

  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. 

  “I draw the terrorist and burn them for all the children who died in the school. I want to take vengeance on them.”

  When the siege finally ended, 186 children and more than 200 adults were dead.  A year on, he seems to be coping well. He has started to play his beloved computer games again and he smiles frequently.  But as he recalls those three days in hell, his memories are as vivid as ever and reveal that his pain is unresolved.

  “After the first explosion, a terrorist’s grenade was hit by a bullet. They all had grenades slung round them. He blew up and his brains hit me in the face. It was horrible. It was fatty and slippery.”

  During the siege, Chermen’s eardrums burst and doctors told him that he would never regain full hearing. He seems resigned to that verdict. For him, other losses he has suffered are far more significant.

  “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.”

  This, from a seven year old boy.

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  A mini GLY Brazilian/Chilean reunion was held this week.  Beijos to Joelle and Adriana.  xoxo

  

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  An aside:  Mathias Rust, who stunned the world in 1987 as a teenager when he landed his Cessna plane in Moscow’s Red Square, has re-emerged 20 years later to reveal his regrets about his peace mission.  Read more…

  I remember when this happened.  It was wild.  Can you imagine if that happened now??

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  Song of the day

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  • 8:57 pm
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