Newsletter
RED SILK MEMORIAL WILL MARK 1st ANNIVERSARY OF
BESLAN MASSACRE
Children As The Peacemakers (CATP), a non-profit organization (peace-kids.org), will cover Beslan School #1- the school where children were taken hostage last September 2004 and more than 330 murdered on September 3, in North Ossetia, Russia – with their mile-long red silk Banner of Hope. Wrapping of school # 1 is scheduled to begin on September 2, 2005.
Their Beslan Banner will join the World Banner of Hope. Led by the founder and president of CATP Pat Montandon, the red silk Beslan memorial was created in Beslan January 15, 2005. Forty ten-foot long panels of silk carry the photographs and names of those lost in the terroists attack in Beslan, North Ossetia, Russia.
The mile-long World Banner of Hope is inscribed with the names and ages of children killed in wars and in acts of terrorism from around the world dating back to 1935. The entire memorial will be displayed on school #1 in Beslan. Survivors and family members will carry the Beslan portions of the memorial, to school #1, on September 3 rd .
Patricia Montandon and the artist Ariel, created the Banner of Hope Memorial in 1986. This traveling Work is dedicated to children killed in wars, forgotten victims, from around the world. It has an illustrious history having been presented all over the world: Moscow's Kremlin, Washington DC, Berlin, Belfast, the United Nations in New York City, and on the Great Wall of China.
“We want to memorialize those innocent lives lost to horrible acts of violence, and to show compassion to the survivors and families of those victims,” states Pat Montandon. “We hope that this memorial will make the world wake-up to the senselessness of war and the killing of our young.”
Montandon took an international group of children and adults to Beslan on January 15, 2005 to comfort the survivors and to create the Beslan Banner of Hope memorial. Students at The Robert Lewis Stevenson Elementary School in Burbank, CA, sewed white doves onto the red silk – the universal symbol of peace. CATP collaborated with the grieving survivors to start the healing process. This emotional journey of compassion is documented in a film “Remember Beslan: Journey of Hope.” The compelling documentary will be completed during the upcoming trip to Beslan.
The journey to Beslan will include Moscow and an anticipated meeting with President Vladimir Putin. Children as the Peacemakers had requested that he sign their Children's Declaration of Dependents, currently signed by three world leaders.
A letter from Pat
February 3/05
Our journey to Beslan, North Ossetia, was incredible hard and incredible
rewarding. When the survivors of the massacre understood why we
were there they opened their homes, their lives, and their hearts
to us. "We don't need food or clothing we need acknowledgment of
our loss," the mayor of the town said. His daughter had been killed
in the school we learned.
Our red silk Banner of Hope, covered with photographs of the lost
children, and adults (since they were all killed together in a school
we decided to add the photos and names of the adults) was a true
work of compassion. One we had flown half way around the world,
at our own expense, to bring to fruition.
When completed the survivors of the massacre carried thirty panels
of the Banner of Hope, covered with the photographs of their lost
loved ones, on a fog shrouded day with icy trees bearing witness
to their pain, from school #1 to the Cultural Center. The memorial
was carried in silence except for the sound of weeping, through
the empty streets of Beslan. We ended our walk in the large rotunda
of the Cultural Palace, the silk memorial surrounding us as we hugged
each other and cried, one human family sharing grief. "Spacibo bolshoi,"
thank you very much, was whispered to us continually.
Those sorrowing people and the faces of their loved ones are like
members of our own family now.
The children and adults on the trip were brave, hardworking and
non-complaining, even though our living conditions and food sources
were sometimes erratic.
We only had four days in Beslan to get everything completed before
returning to Moscow, so everyone worked with a sense of purpose.
We worked twelve hour days and more.
Andrew Anderson took digital pictures of the photographs of the
deceased and printed them out on transfers. Davina Dixon, from Canada
with her talented daughter Rebecca, along with Koko Kondo from Japan,
ironed the transfers onto the silk in record time. Kathy Henry,
both grandmother and granddaughter, did whatever the moment demanded
of them. Bob Fox and Bob Thorndike, along with Andrew, the documentary
crew, carried not only their heavy equipment but also our heavy
suitcases up countless flights of stairs with good humor. They also
got good footage of our journey. Rev. Julius Magee kept spirits
high for the entire trip along with his daughters, Katina and Kaila.
There were no Prima Donnas on this trip. We worked in a limited
time frame efficiently and without a negative word from anyone.
We have been invited to return to Beslan on September 1st for the
anniversary of the massacre. But right now I'm so exhausted and
jet lagged I can hardly think much less plan that far ahead. And
while I thought I handled my emotions well during our stay in Beslan,
now I'm having dreams about the loss of life during the siege of
school #1. I was deeply affected by the sorrow I encountered there.
In Moscow we were treated beautifully and entertained by several
schools as well as by Ella Pamfliova, our host. Buses were provided
for all our trips through the snowy streets of Moscow.
Your help and your belief in the value of what we were trying to
do, made it possible for us to do it. Thanks to everyone one of
you.
I'll let you know when the documentary is completed. Soon we will
have photographs of our journey on our web site.
Love,
Pat
Identify Yourself as a PEACEMAKER!
"The women of Beslan will be wearing black for the
next year. People will be coming to the cemetery for years. People
here will not forget. But will people remember the victims elsewhere?
Irina, 24, watches the news channel, where Beslan is still in the headlines. She is bitter and skeptical. "You'll see, in a month no one will remember this. No one."
We will not forget the Children of Beslan
On January 15, 2005, several adults and children will travel to Beslan, Russia, in Northern Ossetia, to show Irina and all the others, that we will not forget. We will take with us drawings and letters of compassion from American school children as well as ten-foot panels of red silk upon which American children have sewn white silk birds.
In Beslan the bereaved parents and friends of the children lost in that inconceivable attack will be able to inscribe on the silk, the names and ages of their lost children. The Beslan Banner will become the backdrop for a fund raising effort. A bracelet, Identify Yourself as a Peacemaker, is being designed for this endeavor.
The funds will be used for a permanent memorial in Beslan and to support our International Children's Peace Prize. The bracelet will be available on our web site peace-kids.org as well as other sites and places to be announced.
We will not forget the Children of Beslan
"Peace" was the "topic of the week" at Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary
School in Burbank, California USA, and Principal Deborah Ginnetti wanted to
extend the lesson beyond "talking" to "doing" something about promoting peace.
As a result, she created "Pennies for Peace," a grassroots fundraising idea
that other schools are now adopting to encourages children to contribute to
peacemaking efforts.
The "Pennies for Peace" idea came to Ginnetti when she was preparing
for the schools "peace week," and working with the Los Angeles based
Children as the Peacemakers Foundation (CATP) to launch the "Remember the Children of
Beslan" project, created in memory of the 187 children killed in Beslan,
Russia in September. "It was spontaneous," she said. "The Beslan tragedy was
very real for our students. Many are the same age as those killed and the
devastation saddened, frightened and confused them. Giving pennies to support
Children as the Peacemakers was a good opportunity for them to do something
positive for the grieving families, to show them that they care."
One week later, by forgoing extra ice cream and tapping into their
piggy banks, the children at the Stevenson school filled dozens of jars with
nearly 40,000 pennies for the children of Beslan. "This will be a lasting memory
for these students. It helped them define who they are because it taught
them compassion," said Ginnetti.
Thank you Ms. Genetti and the kids at Robert Louis Stevenson school!
If your school, church, or club would like to launch a Pennies for Peace
project, let us know. We will give you any help you might need.
Your pennies add up to dollars. Those dollars will go toward helping the
survivors in Beslan, Russia and for our Peace-Kids Peace-Clubs. Hooray for you!
On November 17th, 2004, more than 155 fourth and fifth grade students from Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School participated in creating the Banner of Hope, a memorial, for Beslan, Russia. The students cut and sewed white silk
doves onto red silk panels and inscribed the names and ages of the children who
were killed on their first day school in Beslan, Russia. The Stevenson students
took great pride in helping create the stunning memorial. They also wrote letters
for us to take to the surviving children of Beslan.
The students also generated a fundraiser called, "Pennies for Peace." The entire
school collected over $300.00 dollars for the Children of Beslan to use for School
Supplies. The Stevenson School is an outstanding example of children half way
around the world making a difference in the life of a child they have never met.
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Salina |
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Marley Marra and Kathy Henry |
Principal Ms. Deborah M. Ginnetti |
Burbank High School students under the guidance of their English teacher Anne
Burnett, crouched bears for grieving families of Beslan Russia. Each bear is
tagged with a photo of the bear-maker with the bear as well as the students
contact information. Children as the Peacemakers will deliver the bears as part
of "Remember the Children of Beslan" project, created in memory of the 182
children who were terrorized and murdered on September 1, 2004, their first day
of school.
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