His story is identified with his shocking case Massacre by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Vlada Batapov became known as the “woman in red” after her photo went viral when she was terrorized by Hamas gunmen who attacked the Nova music festival.
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His story was unknown before the video of the massacre was released, running with a red shawl on his shoulders to escape the relentless pursuit of terrorists.
For weeks people wondered if she was alive or dead – and she did – until the DailyMail tracked her down and revealed her shocking story.
Today, one year later, the Ukrainian mother of a minor child set aside her personal pain to talk about the events that changed her life forever and haunt her to this day.
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The ‘girl in red’ said: ‘If I could, at the festival, an hour before Hamas attacked, I would be shouting to everyone that something terrible was going to happen. Then all might have escaped the tragedy to come.”
“I may have survived, but others were not so lucky. I think about it all the time. It weighs heavily on my mind. I am still mentally ‘shocked’ from what happened a year ago.”
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“Like many people out there, I’ve been in therapy and counseling, and I find that talking to people helps me deal with what happened that day.”
“Sometimes I wonder who can help me when all this is happening around us, and the fear is still there, it’s still real.”
Vlada, 26, struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while dealing with emotional ‘survivor’s guilt’ from being parachuted in by armed terrorists on their carefully planned assassination mission.
Meanwhile, today’s anniversary of the massacre and ongoing conflicts in the region that are spiraling out of control have added to his emotional trauma.
Vlada revealed that all she could think about in the terrifying moment was to stay alive for her three-year-old daughter.
He said: “I thought at that moment about my daughter being alive for Romi.”
Vlada decides to go to the festival at the last minute with his friend Madan and another acquaintance named Mai.
In the critical attack, she was far from Madan and saw her friends gunned down as gunmen indiscriminately fired bullets into the crowd.
Almost 24 hours later, she was finally able to hug Romi, then three, in the safety of her home.
Check out the iconic “Lady in Red” shawl.
Speaking to the British newspaper, he told how he has since bonded with those who have helped him and plans to celebrate the anniversary quietly at home with his family today.
Vlada said: “Terrorists cannot be allowed to win. We cannot be weak – we must be strong for Israel and the hostages – still in Gaza.
Vlada, who lives in Ashdod, a coastal city south of Tel Aviv, added about her “daily” struggles: “There are constant terrorist attacks, but like I said you have to be strong, you can’t let them win.”
“These people who attack Israel have to imagine what it would be like to live in fear of a terrorist attack here with rockets and sirens.”
