How We Differ from the Authorities

The Belarusian revolution took place at a very difficult time.

I don’t understand and don’t accept any, even the most benevolent, reproaches that the Belarusians haven’t won yet. Recognizing the weakness and unsystematic nature of the actions of the newly-minted leaders, many of whom were accidentally carried away by the wave of the revolution, I must note that we had to act in conditions that hardly any other nation could have coped with.

The Belarusian revolution took place at a very difficult time. The whole world froze for the second year because of the unthinkable, dangerous, and unpredictable coronavirus epidemic. International contacts have ceased, people have forgotten about travel, business is being ruined at a rapid pace, states are spending colossal funds on the fight against covid. The numbers of the infected and the dead are close to astronomical. The streets of cities around the world are deserted, rare passers-by keep away from each other and practically do not speak. And no wonder: in many countries, including the neighbors of Belarus, compared to last year, the daily incidence of coronavirus in the spring of 2021 increased 30-40 times. In our country, the situation may be even worse because the authorities still do not take any quarantine measures.

And against this background - hundreds of thousands of people at demonstrations all over Belarus in August - November 2020 and “partisan” protest actions that have been incessant for the ninth (!) month. What other revolution in history lasted so long, and even in an epidemic?

And the genocide in Belarus began in the spring of 2020, when Lukashenka, who had long gone mad, refused to recognize the epidemic and did not introduce the necessary quarantine in the country. The number of deaths from this disease in the country today goes to tens of thousands. Of course, these deaths are hidden, they are not in the official statistics, but everyone understands perfectly well that the figures of the Ministry of Health today need to be increased 20-30 times in order to understand the approximate picture of the Belarusian catastrophe.

Moreover, thousands of people who passed through Belarusian prisons during the protests were deliberately infected with the coronavirus. Among them, there are undoubtedly those who died. In addition to the absence of quarantine, even the Russian Sputnik is not vaccinated in Belarus. Even physicians are not vaccinated, who are forced to work in the “red” zone with covid patients, and then, due to an acute shortage of personnel, to receive patients in the “green” zone of the polyclinic and involuntarily infect healthy people. At the same time, in neighboring Poland, doctors, workers in the broad field of education, and older people have already been vaccinated. And even I, not a citizen of Poland, have already been invited for free vaccination on a specific date.

What can be demanded of people in a situation of epidemic and repression unleashed by a frightened dictator? The Belarusian people today demonstrate unprecedented heroism to the world, and there is no need to compare our realities with the Armenian, Kyrgyz, or Moldovan ones. The comparison is so incorrect that it causes not even irritation but doubts about the adequacy of critics.

The Belarusians themselves should not be discouraged either. We are brave, courageous people. Today, when the world is covered by another epidemiological wave, it is normal to take care of yourself during a period dangerous from the point of view of an epidemic. It takes strength to keep fighting. A person cannot endlessly work or protest, especially in such unthinkable conditions. Today, Belarusians need to copy the methods of combating the pandemic and personal protection in civilized countries: wear a mask, keep children out of kindergartens and schools, if possible, avoid cafes, restaurants, and shopping centers, observe other measures of social distance. According to experts, April is the most dangerous month when there is a peak in the incidence of covid.

We will continue to fight in the very near future. We will definitely continue. But today our most important task is to save our lives and the lives of our loved ones. This is how we differ from the authorities.

Natallia Radzina, editor-in-chief, Charter97.org