South Ossetian President Alan Gagloev has received representatives of the "Mothers of Beslan" committee who arrived in the Republic for the mourning events on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the Zar tragedy.
Gagloev thanked the guests for their unity and support, having emphasizing that the Ossetian people had to go through many tragedies, "but in difficult times they always showed solidarity."
The head of state noted that during the Beslan tragedy, many young people in both north and south Ossetia were ready to sacrifice themselves to save children.
"We are sincerely grateful to you for being with us today on this difficult day for us. Your presence confirmed that South and North Ossetia are united in both joy and sorrow. We have no right to forget what happened, we cannot ignore our history and we must move forward together," the President said.
He expressed his gratitude to all the "Mothers of Beslan" and wished them fortitude.
In turn, Chairperson of the "Mothers of Beslan" organization, Susanna Dudieva, has noted that South Ossetia is her native land, having added that the committee has taken on the care of the future generation and will do everything for the youth until its last days.
"We cannot allow our children to see our helplessness, that we were unable to do something. If each of us does something in our place, then we can do everything, we will succeed. As long as we have the strength, we will try to do everything possible for this. Because when there is a great desire, God helps," she said.
Dudieva has noted that the Ossetian people were fighting for independence and freedom with dignity, becoming an example for everyone.
"We have come today on the anniversary of the terrible Zar tragedy and we see that our people are patient, courageous, strong people. We understand that the tragedy that happened to our people even before the Beslan events shows how our people were living with dignity, how they were foghting for independence, for freedom, how we were winning it - this is a great example," she said.
Dudieva reminded that thanks to the "Italian friends" the "Mothers of Beslan" were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
"They saw in us the desire to live in peace, in kindness, in love. This is our opportunity to talk about peace and talk about how children should have a happy childhood. This is our freedom to do, the freedom to speak, which not everyone likes. We have earned this freedom at a very high price, so we are not afraid to say or do anything for the sake of our children’s future,” Dudieva said.
As a gift, the head of state was presented with a book by Elina Bestauty entitled “The Beslan Testimony,” which tells the stories of people who survived the tragedy at School No. 1 in Beslan.
