Beslan four years on - the grief remains

The small town is marking the anniversary of one of Russia's deadliest hostage takings with candles, tolling of bells and tears.

People touched by the tragedy are filing into Beslan cemetery. For many residents of Beslan the days of mourning bring back their bad dreams and memories.

"My girl died because she suffered from diabetes. It happened before the explosion. A boy also died because of a heart attack, before the explosion. It was very scary and sad. Like, when you see a mother with her kids and a child asking for something and you are unable to give it, you cannot help with anything - it's incredibly hard," said Zalina Tokova, who lost a child in the terrorist attack.

Kasbulat Ramonov was a caring husband and a loving father to his two children. His daughter Mariana was killed on the first day during the initial attack. His eight-year-old son Irbek was gravely injured and spent several months in hospital in Moscow. His family never managed to get back together.

Kasbulat says his life stopped that September. He is now the key keeper of the cemetery. Many people say every day they see him walking along the graves and quietly talking to the dead children. He knows the story of each of the victims lying there.

The rest are in other cemeteries close to their families. Madina, Svetlana and Aza were best friends at school. During the hostage attack Madina was sitting alone in the other corner of the gym. On September 3 she had her birthday. The other two girls crawled to congratulate her. The first explosion came right at that moment. They were all killed instantly.

But a miracle happened in the family of another victim, Angelika. Two years after her death her mother had a daughter. The girl was born on the same day as their last child - a miracle that every family in Beslan is praying for.

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