Donors and volunteers told what struck them after the terrorist attack at Crocus

“We wanted the children to understand: there is no such thing as someone else’s grief”

Artem (he asked not to give his last name. – E.B.) – 42 years old, he works in a company that organizes banquets, is married, and has two daughters in the family.

“I learned at work that there was a terrorist attack at Crocus, just as I read everything on social networks. The first thing I did was call my wife: what are we going to do? She suggested that the whole family donate blood for the victims. Our eldest daughter is already 19 years old, so she can also be a donor, the youngest, however, is only 9, but we decided to take her too, so that I could see how many people responded and understand that there is no such thing as someone else’s grief. Otherwise, how else can we teach children compassion?” says Artem.

The day after the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, kilometer-long queues lined up near blood collection points. Thousands of people stood for hours in the rain to help the victims.

“My wife heard on the news that doctors do not have enough supplies of Rh negative blood, like mine, so Masha suggested to me: go right now, and tomorrow the girls and I will go ourselves. The closest to our house is the Gavrilov Blood Center on Begovaya. That’s where I went. My wife instructed me that there was a separate line for Rh negative people, so I didn’t have to stand outside for long. Nevertheless, I spent almost 5 hours at the donation center. I would like to note that, despite the colossal influx of people, no one showed any nervousness or irritability. Everyone was extremely friendly and polite to each other, and I immediately felt that we were like one family there,” says Artem.

By the way, many people spoke about the feeling of unity and unity, who in these difficult moments decided to respond and help the victims. For example, a well-known fast food chain sent its employees to blood donation centers, who served hot tea and treated snacks to those who were wet in the rain. So that people could warm up, regular regular buses, taken off the route, were on duty next to the queue.

“I got inside the building pretty quickly, but then a long wait began. First, the donor fills out a form, he is registered, and he receives a magnetic card, then the number of this card will be displayed near the rooms where test tests are taken and where therapists see. There were so many people that there weren’t enough cards for everyone; we had to wait until they were free. Because of this, in the electronic queue there could be number 450 and 6 or 35 nearby, the board on which the numbers were displayed was one for the entire point, and people were in a long, very long corridor, many of them could not see the board. Therefore, volunteers, standing at different ends of the room, shouted out numbers so that no one would miss their turn. And again, I was surprised by how tolerant everyone was towards each other, no one argued with anyone, did not try to jump in line, on the contrary, everyone tried to help if someone had problems: they gave a pen to fill out a form, gave up their place at the table and so on.”

According to Artem, not everyone was able to become a donor on this day. For example, several fragile girls were “rejected” due to lack of body weight. Someone was not suitable for medical reasons. Artem himself was tested twice, and both times the tests showed that there was some kind of inflammatory process going on in his body, so he was refused a blood sample, but was told that he could come back in a month if the indicators returned to normal by then. He also remembered one elderly woman who at first they didn’t even want to register because she was over 65 years old, but she still insisted, convincing everyone that she was in excellent health, and in general she was an honored donor of the Russian Federation.

“It’s a shame that we weren’t able to donate blood for the victims at Crocus, but the time spent was not in vain for me. I saw how many good people live in my hometown. There were very different people with me: my age, older, and much younger. Moreover, some were dressed very expensively, that is, there were representatives from different classes, so to speak. In my opinion, this is an indicator that a terrible misfortune united everyone, no one remained indifferent, and this made my soul a little lighter,” admitted Artem.

According to him, he will definitely donate blood in a month, although he has never done this before.

“More than 10 thousand people came to Crocus on the Day of Mourning”

Daniil Radinovsky is 21 years old, he lives in Krasnogorsk, studies at IGSU RANEPA and has been volunteering for 8 years, now heads the local branch of a volunteer organization.

“As soon as it became known about the terrorist attack, our guys wrote in the general chat that we use within the organization that they were ready to go to Crocus to help in any way they could. We are not new to the organization, we participated in many actions, including transporting humanitarian aid to new regions of Russia, so we have experience working in extreme conditions, but what we saw at the scene of the terrorist attack cannot be compared with anything,” says Daniel.

They were on site within a few hours of the terrorist attack. They were not allowed close to the Crocus City Hall building; there was a cordon around and security forces were working.

“By that time, the flames of the fire had already been noticeably knocked down, no open fire was visible, but the smell of burning was very strong. Firefighting helicopters were circling overhead, making such noise that it was impossible to talk. We were told that our help would not be needed until the morning, and at about 2 a.m. we went home. And in the morning they were there again. Moreover, there were many volunteer organizations near Crocus, not just ours, and there was enough work for everyone,” the volunteer recalls.

According to him, volunteers were responsible for all those who came to the Crocus building these days. These were people who had lost their loved ones, and those who wanted to pick up things left in a wardrobe or a car from a parking lot near the center. And, of course, those who came to honor the memory of those killed in the terrible tragedy.

“Emotionally it was very difficult, we were surrounded by grief on all sides, but at the same time, more than ever, I felt unity with the whole country – and these are not pretentious words, this is how it really was. When you see an endless stream of people with flowers and children’s toys, and only on the Day of Mourning, March 24, about 10 thousand people came to Crocus, you understand that it is impossible to break us,” says Daniil.

But emotions have been running high these days, and the numerous responsibilities of volunteers do not allow the children to indulge in grief and sadness for a long time. They were entrusted with a great responsibility – to separate the flow of people, so that the mourners would not create a crush, and everyone could remain at least for a few moments near the memorial alone with their feelings, their grief. Volunteers were also responsible for ensuring that everyone standing in line at the memorial could warm up with hot tea, have a snack and relax on a special bus.

“We organized a food point, a heating point, and we also had a separate minibus, where we planned to rest outside between shifts, but very quickly it turned into an impromptu headquarters, where we talked with those people who needed some kind of assistance from us. help. For example, we were often asked how to find a car left in a parking lot, or things forgotten in a wardrobe. In principle, other people were doing this, traffic police officers were responsible for the cars, but for many it was easier to turn to a volunteer than to a person in uniform, so we did not refuse help to anyone – we explained, showed where everything was, sometimes we simply took them by the hand.” , says the volunteer.

The culmination of the mourning days near Crocus City Hall came on March 24. For the “Candle of Memory” campaign, volunteers prepared and lit 10 thousand candles, they also prepared paper cranes, the projection of which later appeared on the burned building of the concert hall.

Probably, this picture, a sea of ​​candles and cranes flying into the sky, which was broadcast by many television channels not only in our country, but also abroad, will be remembered by hundreds of thousands of grieving people around the world. But when I asked Daniil what he personally remembered from everything he saw then near the Crocus, he replied that he was most touched by the participation and compassion of ordinary people. And also a desire to help.

“We spent the whole day on the street, we were terribly tired, and it was very pleasant when suddenly someone unfamiliar came up and offered us home-cooked food. Many residents from Krasnogorsk prepared and brought their own food, feeding us and those who stood in line. Taxi drivers, who are often accused of self-interest, brought water and food completely free of charge these days. You see, no one wanted to stay away from this tragedy, and this struck me the most,” admits Daniil.