NewRatings.com
Dec 20 2004
Dr Leonid Roshal, the Russian Paediatrician who was Chief Negotiator
During the Beslan Siege, is Named Reader’s Digest ‘
Monday, December 20, 2004 7:01:00 PM ET
PRNewswire
LONDON, December 20 /PRNewswire/ —
Russian paediatrician Dr Leonid Roshal, who acted as an intermediary
during the Beslan school siege last September, is to receive the
Reader’s Digest European of the Year Award 2005 for his tireless and
dedicated work helping children who have been injured in disasters
and conflicts around the world.
Dr Roshal was chosen by the Editors-in-Chief of the 18 European
editions of Reader’s Digest magazine, which reach 4.2 million
subscribers. The Reader’s Digest European of the Year is awarded to
the person who in the Editors’ opinion best embodies the contemporary
expression of Europe’s values and traditions. The award will be
presented to Dr Roshal at a ceremony in Moscow on 19 January 2005.
Dr Roshal, 71, is head of the Moscow Scientific Research Institute
for Emergency Children’s Surgery and Traumatology and founder of an
international aid organisation which aims to rescue children in
trouble. Over the last two decades, thousands of young people with
horrific injuries have benefited from his specialised emergency care.
He has also become a hero in his own country. When terrorists seized
School Number One in Beslan in September, they asked for Dr Roshal to
act as mediator. This wasn’t the first time he had been called on as
an intermediary. Dr Roshal had gained international renown in 2002
for the crucial role he played when the Dubrovka theatre in Moscow
was seized by Chechen terrorists and he managed to negotiate freedom
for some of the hostages.
Within 30 minutes of arriving in Beslan he was speaking to the
terrorists and implored them, in vain, to allow in food, water and
medicines. Over the next two days he served as main negotiator and
alerted nearby hospitals for possible casualties. On the third day a
powerful explosion inside the school triggered a savage gun battle
with the special forces outside. According to official figures 379
people died, including 171 children and 30 terrorists. A further 700
hostages were injured, but thanks to Dr Roshal’s and his colleagues’
meticulous medical preparation all received medical attention within
two hours.
Dr Roshal’s international aid work started in 1988 when he and 34
doctors from Moscow’s hospitals volunteered to help the relief effort
following the devastating 1988 earthquake in Armenia.
Since then his work has taken him to more than two dozen major
incidents on four continents, including the first Gulf War, Romania,
former Yugoslavia, Nagorno Karabakh, the US, Egypt, Japan,
Afghanistan, Turkey, India and Algeria.
The full story of Dr Roshal’s remarkable achievements, written by
contributing editor Brian Eads, is published simultaneously in all
European editions of Reader’s Digest in January.
Dr Roshal is the tenth winner of the Reader’s Digest European of the
Year award, worth EUR5,000.
A high resolution photograph to accompany this release is available
to the media free of charge at (+44-207-608-1000)
Reader’s Digest