The Zar tragedy of May 20, 1992. Witnesses' memories.
Zoya Bitarti, Candidate of Philology, an associate professor:
The Zar tragedy – is the day, which should be remembered by everybody. It was a mass extermination of the Ossetian people. There were children, old people, and women among the victims.
At that time I was a member of parliament of the I-st convocation. That day I was in Parliament, we were discussing something. At 12 o'clock somebody called and informed us that people had been shot on the Zar road. We immediately rushed to the hospital. I will never forget what I saw there. When the truck`s body was opened, blood poured out. Corpses lay on each other. It was a nightmare, one cannot easily think of it. I was speechless. Among the survivors were a four-year boy, who after the incident became dumb, and a girl Bestaeva, whose mother had covered her with her chest and saved her. This girl suffered a terrible psychological trauma. Later she became a student of mine and I was helping her as I could. I was one of the initiators of the "Adaemon Nykhas", so to some extent, in my heart I felt responsible for the Republic. I always told myself - all I can do for my people, I have to do. I organized a charity fund for people injured and sent them to Russia for medical treatment. Ossetian people suffered a lot during these years. Somehow, we are all living for the day, as if tomorrow does not concern us, and what has passed, does not touch us, too. We have to teach it in schools; we have no right to forget.
