Analysis of Documentary The Children of Beslan

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Introduction
The documentary film, “The Children of Beslan,” gives a first-hand account by some of the children who survived the terrorist siege of their school in Beslan, Russia. On September 1, 2004 terrorist took over School No. 1 in the town of Beslan with demands that Russian forces leave Chechnya. The terrorist held over one thousand adults and children hostage for three days. The surviving children explain how their lives were forever changed by this tragic chain of events. The three day siege ended in a violent clash between the rebel extremists and Russian Military Forces which left one hundred seventy-one children and more than two hundred adults dead. In my opinion, this documentary film is a very good depiction of how terrorist use soft targets along with propaganda and violence to create an atmosphere of fear in an attempt to gain power and political control.
The Siege
On September 1, 2004 in the Russian town of Beslan, school children and their parents were arriving at School No. 1 for the traditional first day of school. The children and their parents appeared to be happy about returning to the first day of school. Shortly before the start of the school day, heavily armed rebel extremists stormed the school’s courtyard and began firing their weapons into the air. In my opinion the terrorist choose a soft target such as the school because they felt that the possibility of resistance would be low and by taking school children hostage would be a way to gain immediate attention from the world.
The author believes the surviving children’s vivid account of the series of events that took place during the siege gave clear insight into the emotional and physical stresses they suffered. The children explained how they felt...

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...siege came to an end.
Conclusion
The siege at School No. 1 in Beslan showed how the innocence of children can be changed in an instant, more especially when children endure situations of extreme violence. The author concludes that children’s innocence and resilience diminishes somewhat after experiencing tragic and violent events. The surviving Beslan children speak of never returning to normal lives after the siege. The children returned to school, albeit at another school building, but they now approach life in a more cautious and fearful manner. Some feel they now have to protect themselves and their families and of how they have become more mature as a result. Interesting enough, adults seem to be far more cautious than children. Some parents of the Beslan children to this day still accompany their children to school and sit in the classrooms all day with them.

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