In an effort to aid victims of the besieged Russian school in Beslan, Georgetown’s Orthodox Christian Fellowship raised more than $1,500 from student, staff and visitor donations last week.
The money will go toward relief efforts in Beslan through cooperation with the International Orthodox Christian Charities.
Chechen separatists took hostages, including scores of women and children, at School No. 1 in Beslan on the first day of classes. After a two-day standoff, the hostage situation ended in carnage Sept. 3, when a bomb exploded and Russian forces stormed the school buildings. During the siege, more than 1,000 children and adults were held hostage without food or water and at least 326 people were killed.
OCF Vice President Ilya Kharin (COL ’05), who cites the attack as “the Russian 9/11,” was born and raised in a city near the North Caucasus. The region comprises the focal point of the Russia-Chechnya conflict.
“I first heard of the school taken hostage from my father and for two days we could hardly think of anything else,” Kharin said. “Seeing these faces on Internet photos, faces so familiar, but devastated. It made me cry.”
Personal reaction to the incident spurred the organization’s decision to help victims of the attack.
“[The incident] devastated me. But I know that there is always going to be good and bad surrounding my world,” OCF President Cristina Plamadeala (SFS ’05) said. “One should try to do anything possible to help someone else in need. I abide by this rule, and this is why I knew we had to do something.”
According to OCF Secretary Georgina Jones (SFS ’07), the organization raised awareness of the incident and money for victims by setting up a table in Red Square staffed with members of the organization from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. every day from Sept. 13-17.
“The OCF is a very small campus ministry group, and it was challenging to find enough people to ensure that our table was staffed continuously,” Jones said. “Therefore, every hour in which we weren’t in class, we were out in Red Square, trying to make the Beslan tragedy real for the students at Georgetown.”
OCF members said the success of the fundraiser surprised them.
According to Rev. Constantine White, chaplain for OCF, the small table in Red Square raised $500 in donations in one day. According to Jones, the initial goal was to raise only $300, at most, in an entire week.
“When I first heard how much money they raised I said, `Oh, is that from professors?'” White said. “But apparently the majority came from students. I think that speaks very well of our student body.”
Jones said that it was common for a student to give $10 or $20.
“Even though many students are busy and short on cash, they took the time to stop by our table, learn about the tragedy, and contribute towards the fund,” she said. “Students deeply cared about what happened and they gave generously. To them we are very thankful.”
Though the OCF fundraiser ended last Friday, Jones encouraged students to continue to contribute through outside charities such as the International Orthodox Christian Charities.
In addition to raising money to help victims in Beslan, OCF works to raise money for less fortunate children in different regions of the world as well as gather donations for those who are in need in the immediate area.