Poisoned schoolchildren in Shelkovsky: negligence or criminal act? By Umalt Chadayev
CHECHNYA – Medics and specialists of the Emergencies Ministry are as yet unable to ascertain what lies behind the poisoning of children in several schools in the Shelkovsky district of northeastern Chechnya.
As of today, the number of victims stands at 53. Of these, seven are adults: six teachers and one technician. The rest are schoolchildren aged between twelve and seventeen, and almost all are girls.
While the first 22 victims were from a school in the Starogladovskaya village, yesterday saw children being brought to hospitals from the villages of Shelkovskaya, Shelkozavodskaya and Kobi. Of these 29 new cases, 8 are said to be in serious condition.
The Health Ministry of the Chechen Republic has described the situation as “extremely serious”, since what was originally characterized as “a local occurrence”, has now spread to other villages. “The initial diagnosis of food poisoning has proven to be untrue, but we are nonetheless unable to offer a precise diagnosis”, the ministry's representative said. “We presume the cause of the poisoning to be either a military nerve gas, or psychotropic substance, or radioactive material”.
If the children did indeed come into contact with a poisonous substance, it is unclear how this substance came to be in the schools. Nevertheless, all schools in the district are now closed.
Blood samples have been taken to Makhachkala, capital of neighboring Dagestan, as Chechnya does not have the required laboratory facilities. A toxicological examination is also taking place in Vladikavkaz, capital of North Ossetia. Only after receiving these results will doctors be able to make an exact diagnosis.
A group of specialists, including toxicologists and two chemists, from the Russian Medical Centre arrived in Chechnya on December 20, and are already at work in the Shelkovsky district. Workers from the Emergencies Ministry are also at the schools, trying to find the source of the poisoning. A governmental commission has been created. The district operations staff is working as well, under control of Khussein Nutayev, the district’s head of administration.
Local inhabitants are extremely disturbed by the events, with many simply in a state of shock. One woman from the area, 48-year-old Zareta Umakhanova, said no one has been given any information as to the cause of the children’s poisoning. “At first they told us that the children were made ill by poor quality food in the canteen; now they are talking about some psychotropic substances or nerve gas.” She added that there had been “hints that rebels could have done it. But we are first of all worried about the health of our children, and not interested in any conjecture and gossip”.
People are convinced the authorities are deliberately hiding the full scale of the epidemic. According to Ms. Umakhanova, a number of the children have been taken to the central district hospital, while another group “were taken to Grozny and placed in various clinics and hospitals. They say there are 52 victims, but in fact (there are) many more”. She added it was “still not understood” why practically all of the victims were female.
Representatives from the Nazran-based Council of non-Governmental Organisations (SNO) also believe the authorities are playing down the number of children who are sick. “According to our figures, in one clinic alone, in the Zavodskoy district of Grozny, 35 children were admitted”, a SNO representative said. Another two girls were brought in during the evening. The SNO added the clinic was “not the only place where casualties were being brought”. It is possible that the total number of patients is closer to one hundred.
This is not the first instance of mass poisoning of children occurring in the Shelkovsky district. On September 13 this year, 18 schoolchildren from the village of Staroshchedrinskaya were hospitalised with signs of poisoning. Another eight from the very same school were taken to hospital on October 24. Local authorities and the public prosecutor effectively ignored those cases, something which was not possible this time, given the scope of this latest outbreak.
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