Beslan tragedy

. PHOTO: AFP

Not only Alena, the lives of a few hundred children who were born in Beslan, a city in Russia, met the same tragic end on 4 September. The lives of these little angels were cut short in the most brutal fashion that one can ever imagine. These innocent souls who came from the heaven to heal this earth were snuffed out. The city of Beslan has turned into a mass grave. The atmosphere is heavier than ever before. The city is floating on tears. Weeping silently in small groups they carry their beloved kids, more precious than their selves. Grabbing their overwhelmed hearts they put those little dead bodies inside the grave. They left water bottles beside the graves if their kids feel thirsty. Thousands of flowers that bloomed over night all over Beslan came to cover the small graves of those little angels.

In my 30 years of life, I have not learnt words that can befittingly condemn an act of such brutality. The video footage what we got from BBC and CNN was simply heart stopping. Its not clear how on earth a group of human beings who are claiming a land for their own can act such diabolically. How mindless one has to be and how insane one must be to open fire on hundreds of children and unarmed civilians. Their patriotism and self-belief must be corrupt. The cause that they are fighting for must have lost credibility. In any part of the world, in any state, such an act must be termed as wanton, barbaric, mindless and unacceptable.

Our utmost efforts must be concentrated toward making the world a better place for our children, for our next generation. Doesn't matter my kid is a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew, a black or a white, to me what matters most ...its my kid, my own blood, whom I love more than anything else on this earth, even more than my own life.

I have no words to express my shock and grief at the terrorist attack on the Beslan School in Southern Russia killing four hundred people including a large number of children and gravely wounding another seven hundred men, women and children, many of whom would not survive. My daughter-in-law, and two little grandchildren who are school students here in Brussels, join me in expressing our profound sorrow and grief at this heartless tragedy. What they saw on the TV screen, throughout the whole of yesterday, I hope they don't have to see anything like it in their whole life. Taking children as hostage for political reasons and then kill them, or cause their death, cannot be a civilised conduct of life and deserves nothing but hate and condemnation. The so called Muslims will have to pay for such a gruesome act today or tomorrow.

Our heartfelt condolences and sympathy for the bereaved families.

Michael, Raphael, Shaon and Faruq Aziz Khan, On e-mail

330 persons died, more than 700 injured, most of the victims are school children. This is the result of a seize of a school on its opening day in southern Russia. As we see the whole tragedy on TV screen live, we feel the agonies and pains of the relatives and friends right here far away from the place of occurrence. All the consolations and condemnations are weak enough to express our sorrow and hate. Hundreds of school children and their loving parents and guardians died or were injured and mutilated for a cause with which they have no connection whatsoever. We condemn this inhuman act of terror from the core of our hearts. Russians addressed the situation in a most inept manner. No sign of professionalism was evident from their dealings. Not a single ambulance was there when shooting broke out, 58 hours after the siege. Negotiations were half-hearted whereas intervention and an exigency plan was missing. In these days of international terrorism, all the nations including Bangladesh has got many things to learn from the lapses.

We also urge the Russian government to look for a political settlement to the Chechen problem.

M Sanaul Huq, Uttara, Dhaka