by Sam Rozenberg
September 9th, 2008 was an historic day. It was historic because victims of numerous terrorist attacks from across the world came together for the first time at the UN. While we as a global community watch the number of terror attacks increase at a rapid pace, not much attention is given to the people affected the most. We tend to think mostly about those who perpetrate the attack and ways to prevent future attacks. We forget about the victims. On September 9th, The U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon convened this historic symposium so that these mostly unheard victims will be heard. As a student international criminal justice and specifically terrorism, I have learned about victims of crimes like genocide and human trafficking, but never terrorism. I am going to attempt to give you a brief eye-opening look into the way in which these victims of terror survive and go on to attempt to live normal lives.
After a moment of silence for all the victims of terror the event was opened by the UN Secretary-General himself, and then it was on to the first victim of terror to speak. Ms. Ingrid Betancourt, whose story has been widely reported in the news media, was introduced by the Secretary-General. Ms. Betancourt described her experience as a hostage for six years after being captured the terrorist group in Colombia, FARC. Along with her trying and heart wrenching testimony, she highlighted some key issues that she, as a victim of terrorism, would like to see implemented within the U.N. and in International Law. More specifically what Ms. Betancourt sees as essential are an international status for victims to be protected under International law as well as a U.N. website resource for victims. One thing that Ms. Betancourt stressed was that media coverage for victims of terror needs to rival that of the terrorist groups who gain a majority of the attention.
The next victims to speak described the most gruesome, but all too true details of their ordeals with this monster called terror. Aleta Gasinova and her daughter Saneta Sabanova were victims of the 2004 massacre and attack at a school near Beslan, in South Ossetia. For the next fifteen minutes or so, they described what they saw, which included bombs hanging over their heads, dead bodies strewn everywhere as well as Saneta’s own grandfather, who was an administrator at the school, being buried under the gymnasium floor. Saneta explained how lucky she was to have her mother there with her, while other kids did not have anyone and were crying for Mommy and Daddy. I know I will never be able to remove the pictures from my head that Aleta and Saneta gave me and I believe that is why this event is so important.
The stories that all the victims of terrorism gave to us on this day are equally as traumatic and important; however, the next victim that I will talk about had a terrorist infiltrate one of the most important occasions of his life: his wedding. Mr. Ashraf Al-Khaled was preparing with his family to walk down the aisle at his wedding when a bomb exploded. This attacks killed many people including his father and father in-law. As you can imagine Mr. Al-Khaled to this day is shaken by his close call with death and his even more intimate encounter with terrorism.
Along with these four victims of terrorism, many more spoke on this historic occasion as well as representatives from many member states and experts in the field. We must not forget their words and not forget the people who cannot tell us their story because their bodies are in multiple pieces and they are buried underground just like Saneta’s grandfather. This event was intended to open up the eyes of the U.N. Member States, as well as the global community. I can say wholeheartedly that my eyes are open, my heart feels for these victims and my mind is set on doing anything that I can do to help these victims and make the broader community of this world aware.
Lastly, I could not have written this article if it were not for some very important people. I would like to thank the Alliance of NGO’s on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and the Women's Federation for World Peace who made it possible for me to attend this extremely important symposium. Finally, I would like to also thank my professor Dr. Rosemary Barberet, who encouraged me to attend this event and so to connect the real workings of the U.N. to my academic studies.
Thank You,
Sam Rozenberg
Student, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY
New York, NY
September 20, 2008
References
(2008, September 10). United nations: secretary-general, opening symposium on victims of terrorism, urges governments to draw upon their courage, strength in implementing counter-measures. Retrieved September 18, 2008, from Individual.com Web site: http://www.individual.com/story.php?story=88277502
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