Students exchange Russian and Chechen experiences Are they struggling for their independence or fighting against terrorism?

Author: Lauren Armstrong

On Tuesday, April 12, students and faculty gathered in the Robert A. Jones '59 conference room for a discussion of the conflict in Chechnya. The event was entitled "Struggle for Independence or War on Terrorism?: The Example of Russia and Chechnya," and featured Beslan Visambiev '08 and Julia Koloziejczyk '05 as representatives from Chechnya and Russia, respectively.

The student-led presentation and discussion wrapped up a week-long symposium exploring the conflict and focused on the personal experiences of the students rather than politics, which had been covered earlier in the symposium. Topics such as religious fundamentalism, the attitudes of youth on both sides and hopes for peace were discussed.

Beslan Visambiev '08 spoke about his experiences in Chechnya during the war for independence from Russia. As a boy of 11when the first war began in 1994, he remembers being entranced by the planes that flew overhead, launching missiles on his hometown in the southern part of Chechnya, near the Caspian Sea. Shortly after the raids began, he was taken to a refugee camp in Dagestan, where he lived with his grandparents until it was safe for him to return home.

With the coming of the second war, Visambiev found himself once again in a refugee camp, but at age 16 he was not content to stay. He explained that he preferred the risk of being killed in Chechnya than the risk of being "cowardly" by staying in Dagestan, so he barely escaped by bus back to Chechnya. There he lived with his aunt until she insisted that they return to Dagestan. It was especially unsafe for young people to remain in Chechnya during the war because they were targeted by the bombings.

While living in the city, Visambiev said that the Russian troops bombed the city day and night for six months. One night, he left early from a wedding celebration in which 18 people were killed when the building was bombed. He completed his final year of high school in three months in a kindergarten classroom, a testament to the tolls that the war took on daily life and education.

Sadly, almost all of the young men in Chechnya have grown up surrounded by violence and death and have grown to hate the Russian soldiers. Visambiev stressed the need for peace above all else, pointing out that trying to identify right and wrong sides wouldn't bring the conflict closer to peace, but would only perpetuate hatred and violence.

Julia Koloziejczyk '05 spoke next from the perspective of a young Russian, also speaking of her desire above all else for an end to the violence. She explained that the war in Chechnya had divided the youth of Russia into three categories - Chechen refugees, soldiers returned from war, and apathetic university students. The recent immigrants from Chechnya were accepted for the most part, but maintained a low profile to avoid violence at the hands of angry returned soldiers or revenge-seekers. In one incident, a 15-year-old Chechen boy was killed at a nightclub by a mob of men, but only one of them was ever brought to justice - even more disturbing was the success with which the government covered up the incident.

Koloziejczyk is saddened by the apathy that she perceives in many Russian people regarding the conflict. She worried that an average university student could not say what was currently happening in Chechnya and recalled that people ignore the daily portion of the news broadcast that covers the conflict. She feels strongly that the conflict is between the two governments and not between the people, especially the youth.

The fact that students from both places could come together and discuss their experiences and concerns is a tribute to the power of communication, and it shed light on a topic that many American students don't know much about. The thoughts shared that night were not between people who were antagonistic toward the other for being from a certain place, but who recognized the need for youth to come together in order to work toward peace.

Vani Sathisan '07, coordinator of Dialogues for Peace and chair of the International Students Organization symposium committee, gave a heartfelt thank you to the members of both organizations that helped make the symposium a success.