In light of recent events it seems appropriate to bypass other potentially interesting topics and devote a few posts to the recent terror-related tragedies. This post presents material on the crash of the Russian plane in Egypt. An upcoming post will showcase an excellent video I found of Russians responding to the attacks in Paris. (Use the tool in the sidebar to subscribe if you would like to be notified about new posts.) The current post contains two videos. Scroll down to view the second one.
On October 31 a plane operated by the Russian charter airliner Kogalymavia / Когалымавиа (operating under the brand name Metrojet) crashed in the Sinai peninsula. The plane had just departed the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh for St. Petersburg. All 224 people on board died. Most were Russian tourists returning home from vacations. As of today the cause of the crash has not been officially established, but several figures involved in the multinational investigation have said it seems likely that a bomb exploded on board. The terror group ISIS (Russian “Исламское государство” or “ИГИЛ”) claimed responsibility for the crash soon after it occurred.
VIDEO 1 (above)
Audio content: Russians voicing sorrow and condolences; Patriarch Kirill leading a mourning service; Orthodox liturgical music
Visual content: Memorial sites in St. Petersburg with piles of flowers and candles; an Orthodox church service, church interiors, parishioners taking part in the service
The opening images in this video are from the St. Petersburg airport Pulkovo. In Russia it is common to bring flowers, especially carnations, to a memorial site. Later in the video you will see shots of Orthodox memorial services in St. Petersburg and in Moscow at the resident church of the Muscovian and all-Russian Patriarch Kirill. Note the distinctive tall thin golden candles that are commonly lit in Orthodox churches, the heavily decorated walls and icon screen, and the head scarves worn by most women inside Orthodox churches.
Transcript
0:25-1:00
Мужчина: Это такая трагедия для Петербурга, и, я считаю, в целом, для всего города и для нас, мы не безразличные люди и специально приехали.
Молодой отец: Пришли выразить соболезнования родственникам погибших. Ну, страшная, конечно, авария.
Молодая мать: Очень страшная трагедия, соболезнования [?мы шлём ?] всем близким, родным… это не выразить словами. Горе для всей страны, для Петербурга.
Молодая женщина: У меня тоже дети, у меня тоже родители. Больно, вот, по-человечески жалко. Не знаю… мне кажется, это всё невозможно пережить.
Man: This is such a tragedy for Petersburg, I think, both overall for the whole city and for us. We are not indiferent people and we deliberately came [by vehicle–perhaps from a different city].
Young father: We came to express our sympathies to the relatives of those who died. Well, it’s a terrible crash, of course.
Young mother: It’s a very terrible tragedy, [?we send?] our sympathies to all loved ones [lit. “close ones”] and relatives… this cannot be expressed in words. Sorrow for the country, for Petersburg.
Young woman: I also have children, I also have parents. It is painful, pitiful from a human perspective. I don’t know… it seems to me, all of this is impossible to live through.
1:30-2:00
Патриарх Кирилл: Эта трагедия не может оставить никого из нас безразличными. Поэтому сегодня в храмах нашей церкви мы молились об упокоении души усопших рабов божьих… в этой страшной катастрофе погибших. Но мы также молились и о тех, кто сегодня особенно страдает, о их родных, о близких.
Patriarch Kirill: This tragedy cannot leave any of us indifferent. Therefore today, in the temples of our church we prayed for the rest of the soul of the deceased servants of God… who perished in this terrible accident. But we prayed also for those who are particularly suffering today, for their relatives and their loved ones [lit. “close ones”].
VIDEO 2
Audio content: Two women discussing how they adjusted their vacation plans after travel to Egypt was banned.
Visual content: Two women talking. Also shots of unspecified vacation destinations.
From the tragedy of the first video we now turn to a much less severe but still significant issue. Egypt is a popular and relatively affordable destination for Russian vacationers. But now flights from Russia to Egypt have been banned indefinitely and the prices for competing travel destinations have risen sharply. What should those who have already purchased their tour packages do? Olga Ornapolskaia has arranged to travel to Vietnam instead–but she had to pay extra. Yuliia Kalinina was not so lucky: she couldn’t afford to pay the increased prices for her whole family and the tour agency is unable to guarantee the same price and quality of accommodations for a postponed date. Later in the video (not included in the transcript) we meet some Egyptian people whose living depends on Russian tourists, and finally we meet a woman who is very upset because she paid for her trip in cash and has no recourse for getting it back.
0:40-1:05
Ольга: Мы приняли решение не портить себе отпуск, а выбрать всё-таки альтернативу. Турфирма предложила мне любое направление, какое я захочу, за что очень большое спасибо. И выбор пал на Вьетнам, мы вылетаем на неделю позже, чем планировали, да и много заплатили, но зато будем отдыхать, как планировалось, то есть отпуск не пропал, все удалось перенести.
Olga: We made the decision not to ruin our vacation but to go ahead and choose an alternative. The tour agency offered me any destination that I want–thank you very much for that! And the decision fell on Vietnam. We are flying out a week later then we planned, and we payed a lot, but in return we will vacation as planned, that is, the time off was not lost and it worked out to reschedule everything.
1:30-1:40
Юлия: Предлагали на Таиланд, например, поменять, но на Таиланд на каждого человека должна добавить 50 тысяч. То есть, нас пять человек, [??] на инфанта не надо, то есть, 250 тысяч примерно мы должны добавить.
1:55-2:30
Юлия: Я им сказала, что я согласна, чтобы мой депозит остался при условии, что мой тур, то есть, конкретный отель, конкретный тип питания и количество дней, чтобы они сохранились. То есть, когда откроют Египет, я полечу, допустим, пусть в феврале, в марте, там, в апреле, когда его откроет правительство, мы согласны. Но они сказали категорически нет. Вы не полетите, потому что цены у нас уже поменяются. Если вы доплатите до этого, то да, а так во что уместитесь по деньгам, туда и поедете
Yuliia: They suggested changing to Thailand, for example, but for Thailand for each person I am supposed to add an extra 50 thousand. That is, there are five of us, [?extra payment?] for the infant is not needed, so, about 250 thousand we are supposed to add.
Yuliia: I told them that I am in agreement that my deposit remain under the condition that my tour, that is, the concrete hotel, concrete type of food and number of days, that they would be preserved. That is, when Egypt is opened up again, I will fly out, let’s say, let it be in February, in March, in April, when the government opens it up, we agree [to that]. But they said categorically no. You will not take the trip [lit. fly out], because the prices will change already. If you pay extra before then, then yes, but if not, then whatever you fit into according to the money paid, that’s where you’ll travel to.