HBO was showing "Children of Beslan" last night

[0rganism]

so I watched it. http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/childrenbeslan/

Chilling. Truly one of the most horrifying things I've ever seen on screen; I only wish it weren't a documentary. Much of it was based in interviews with the surviving hostages, children under 12. These kids were describing, quite lucidly and clearly, circumstances that I wouldn't care to imagine, they have memories that would drive me permanently insane.

Approximate quotes:

"When the terrorist exploded, his brains hit me in the face. They were all fatty and slippery, it was very unpleasant."

"People were melting. They were melting. Like if you watch a string burn, it twists and shrivels, the people were just like that."

"I noticed a girl standing next to me, she said, 'everyone I know is dead, can I stay with you?' I said, 'yes.' Then there was an explosion and I looked around and she was gone."

The hostages had been held w/o food or water for three days, some of them drinking urine to survive.

"While I was running away, I saw a faucet with water pouring out, and I thought I would run there and get a drink. There was a group of children standing there drinking, and someone fired an RPG at them, blowing them all to bits. One kid lost his leg, another his head. So I got scared and ran in the other direction."

One kid led the film crew up to the room where terrorists had murdered his father and 19 other adult hostages, throwing their bodies out a window.

Anyway, one of the things that terrified me was how much Americans have in common with the Russians who invaded Chechnya. Keep in mind that these events happened only 1 year ago, to the month; the invasions of Chechnya took place in the mid-90s, includling the razing of Grozny ca 1995. A decade later, under different leadership, Beslan, a minor town in Russia became the target of terroristic revenge. Who can say what the revenge of like-minded Iraqis would look like, ten years from now? Would our emergency response teams and special forces units handle the crisis any better than the Russians'? We simply can't afford any more bush-style croneyism among our emergency response bureaucracy.

Worst of all, the spirit of the entire community is shattered. They look like a town of zombies now, going through the motions of life but burdened by overwhelming grief to the point of not caring anymore. They've been thoroughly terrorized, there's really no other word for it, PTSD on a massive scale. The children in the film are so very unlike children now; they have this eerie calm maturity about them, this coldness and clarity that overlie an impossible burden of sorrow and rage.

After watching this film, I can draw only one certain conclusion: there will not be peace in our lifetimes or our childrens'. The coming century will be just as bloody and unforgiving as the last one.

[Helga Scow Stern]

1. Thanks for posting. I have been watching for this.

[0rganism]

3. I was shocked at how much video there was

Not only did the terrorists videotape a lot of stuff from inside the school, there were videos of the people dodging bullets as they jumped out of the broken windows to the burning gymnasium. It's the proverbial train wreck, too awful for words but impossible to turn away.

[SteppingRazor]

2. "The coming century will be just as bloody ... as the last one."

And the one before that. And the one before that. And the one before that. And the one before that. And the one before that. And the one before that. And the one before that. And the one before that.

And so on

Why should the 21st Century be different than the rest of human history?

[jokerman93]

4. Because there's no longer any choice

We have to consciously choose a different future now.

[0rganism]

8. There never was a choice

I think that's what SteppingRazor's pointing out.

We cannot deny our nature; if the choice is between world peace and the total extinction of humanity, we will die.

[jokerman93]

9. I disagree

But that's just me.

[0rganism]

6. same as it ever was

> Why should the 21st Century be different than the rest of human history?

You know, on the one hand I completely agree with you. But for so long, I held this naive hope that somehow, someday soon, there would be a time when humanity would learn from its mistakes. I suppose popular figures like Gandhi and MLK gave me some undue optimism, I thought they could become examples of a new norm, instead of the exceptions that prove the rule. I used to look at my country and wonder what the hell happened.

Now I know the answer: nothing happened. Nothing at all. We're as stupid today as we were the day Hitler's tanks rolled into Poland, the day the Aussies landed at Tripoli, the day Napoleon crossed the Rhein, the day Caesar surrounded Alesia, the day Menelaus chased Helen across the Mediterannean, stretching back in time as far as anyone cares to write about it.

So even though there's every reason in the world that the 21st century should be different, I understand that it won't be.

[SteppingRazor]

7. Ghandi and MLK? Yeah, they were both good men...

And look what happened -- they both got ventilated for no good reason.

The world is a cruel, dumb place, the good die young, money buys you everything, and what's good for the powerful is rarely good for everyone else.

[okieinpain]

5. man, there is not going to be anything good come out of that. those

kids will grow up with a lot of problems. if you can see the show please do, I highly recommend it.