Russian Ministries Reaches Out to School Siege Terror Victims
by Allie Martin and Jenni Parker
September 13, 2004
(AgapePress) - An organization that works to plant churches in Russia says the recent school hostage crisis there has prompted many in the United States to offer assistance. The Illinois-based ministry has established a fund to assist children and families affected by the recent terrorist attack.As students were arriving for the first day of classes at Middle School Number One in the town of Beslan (located in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia), armed attackers stormed the facility, herding more than 1,180 students, parents, and teachers into the school gymnasium. During their onslaught, many of the attackers wore black masks and carried guns, while others were armed with grenades and explosive belts.
About 50 people managed to escape to safety during the initial attack, and there was some confusion as to how many hostages were left inside. Repeated gunfire was later heard coming from the school buildings, which officials guessed was for the purpose of intimidating Russian security forces. However, the authorities subsequently learned the terrorists had killed 20 adult hostages that first day and thrown their bodies out of the building.
During the three-day standoff, the Beslan attackers were reported to have made a number of demands, including the withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya and the release of Chechen prisoners. This has led some Russian authorities to link the hostage-takers to certain Islamist terrorist groups supporting Chechen independence, and some have speculated that the attackers may be connected to al-Qaeda.
Three days after the crisis began, a shootout between the hostage-takers, armed civilians, and Russian security forces brought the Beslan school siege to a bloody end. Amid gunfire and explosions, hundreds of the terror victims managed to escape, but the violent aftermath of the hostage-taking left more than 600 people dead and injured, many of them children.
Anita Deyneka is with Illinois-based Russian Ministries, an organization which promotes indigenous evangelism, church planting, and church growth in the former Soviet Union. She notes that since the terrorist attack in Beslan, offers of assistance and support from Christians in the U.S. have been numerous and says, "The major way people can help, of course, to begin with, is to pray, and Christians there are calling for that."
While Russian President Vladimir Putin recently declared a national period of mourning over the Beslan tragedy, Deyneka says Christians in Russia have also made it a national day of prayer "and have asked for our solidarity in prayer." Also, apart from the importance of ongoing intercession, she points out that there is a tremendous need for emotional healing, since many affected by the recent events -- including some Russian brothers and sisters in Christ -- have experienced this tragedy on more than just a national or community level.
For many Russians, the hostage crisis and its aftermath have been a very personal tragedy, touching their own churches and families. For instance, two pastors who work with Russian Ministries near the middle school lost six children in the hostage crisis. Deyneka believes many adults and children will need help in dealing with their grief, fear, and other intense reactions to the incident.
To address this need, Russian Ministries spokeswoman says, "One of the things we're doing from our office in Moscow is organizing a team of Christian counselors. There is, as you can imagine, terrible trauma, with children especially -- and not only in the immediate aftermath, but this is going to be ongoing. So there are going to be many needs for ministry and many avenues open and much help needed from the West."
Russian Ministries has established a terror relief fund to help the community in Beslan address the physical and spiritual needs of those affected by the violent tragedy. In an interview with Mission Network News, Deyneka noted that more than $13,000 has already been collected by Americans for Beslan terror victims, and more help is on the way.
