DATE=2/20/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=GROZNY PEOPLE (L O)
NUMBER=2-259369
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=GROZNY
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry has
moved into the Chechen capital, Grozny, to help
survivors of the five-month military onslaught that
destroyed the city and killed countless civilians.
Authorities estimate as many as ten-thousand people
may still be living amid the rubble. VOA's Peter
Heinlein reports from the shattered city and the
plight of what residents still.
TEXT: A drab gray overcast adds to the surreal
atmosphere of Grozny this chilly February morning.
Every square meter of this once-elegant regional
capital is littered with the debris of war -- rocket
parts, twisted pieces of metal.
The only sounds are the occasional crack of rifle
fire, and the distant roar of Russian military
vehicles on patrol. The streets are mostly deserted.
But in what must be a triumph of sheer will power over
adversity, 60-year old Viktor Yermolenko is out in his
front yard on Tuchin Street inspecting his bomb-
damaged house. Standing on a ladder, he says the roof
appears to be beyond repair.
///Yermolenko act in Russian, then gunfire erupts, and
under to.///
He says "Everything is destroyed." But his sentence
is interrupted by a long burst of gunfire.
Mr. Yermolenko waits patiently for the rat-tat-tat of
the rifle to subside, then calmly returns to
inspecting his roof.
Grozny is officially closed. Russian authorities tell
journalists and others wanting to see the ruins it is
too dangerous. They say there are mines everywhere,
and snipers perched in the remains of bombed out
buildings.
But a walk through the streets tells a different
story. At the temporary city administration office,
Russian army colonel Evstafy Demesh says the level of
danger is exaggerated.
///Demesh act in Russian, then fade to.///
He says "Only one fresh mine has been found in the
city". He adds "We haven't had any casualties (among
Russian forces) in a month."
Colonel Demesh says a surprisingly large number of
civilians are still living in the city. About 500 have
been located in this central district, 400 in a
neighboring district, possibly as many as ten-thousand
in all. Another 100-thousand or more are believed to
be in outlying suburbs and villages.
Survivors wandering the streets say life in Grozny
remains difficult, even though the bombing has
stopped. There is no food, fresh water, gas or
electricity, except what the Emergencies Ministry
supplies.
A large percentage of those who endured the months of
bombing are ethnic Russians who have lived in Chechnya
all their lives. Many, like 50-year old Taia Petrenko
say they were left behind when others fled because
they are either too old or too poor.
///Petrenko act in Russian, then fade to.///
She says "Where can I go, my mother is 85 and I have
no money, so I stayed".
54-year old Galina Ivchenko endured four freezing
months huddled in an eight meter by 10 meter room with
120 others, the oldest of whom was 98 years old.
///Ivchenko act in Russian, then fade to.///
"It was a cold, concrete basement," she says. "We were
hungry and the children were sick. It was miserable,
and there was nobody to complain to."
Most say they would prefer to live out their lives in
Grozny, but they realize there is little hope the city
they called home can be resurrected. Vitaly Gemai, a
retired electrical engineer, says it would probably be
better to simply bulldoze the remains and close Grozny
forever.
///Gemai act in russian, then fade to.///
He says "anything can be rebuilt, but it would just
cause additional pain to the survivors. It's just not
worth it".
But for some, these heaps of rubble are all they have
to live for. Sixty-five-year old Tamara Vitayeva is
one of those. Three months ago, at the height of the
bombing, a group of men came to her basement and took
away her only son. These days, she spends her time
sitting in a central meeting place waiting for her boy
to come back
"They told me they would move me", she says "but I
told them I will sit here until my son returns."
(Signed)
Neb/pfh/dw/plm
20-Feb-2000 07:28 AM EDT (20-Feb-2000 1228 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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