Our War And Our Guilt

Orwell as a documentary chronicle.

Our common mistake was to think of George Orwell's "1984 " as an anti-utopia. For in reality it is simply a chronicle of events. "Freedom is slavery. War is peace. Not knowing is might." Let us finally accept that we live in precisely these circumstances, and act accordingly.

If we are told that there will be no war, then we must get ready for war. So that there will be no "ah, how unexpected, who would have thought, they said there would never be one, only negotiations".

If they promise us that the Belarusian military will never go to war outside Belarus, it means we must urgently remove children of conscription age from the country, or hide them in the basement, attic or shed.

If we are promised a bright future for the national economy which in spite of all sanctions goes like a tank, sweeping away everything in its path, it means we must stock up on buckwheat and crackers because we will have nothing to eat tomorrow.

If the TV shows you some fancy graphics portraying the Belarusian ruble as strong and stable, you must withdraw your entire salary from the nearest ATM and convert it into dollars, even if you have to stand in a queue to the exchange office all day.

If they try to persuade us that the Belarusians are well off and have savings, just take a look in your wallet or under your mattress and see: there are no savings any more, they have been swallowed by the previous war of the neighbours or the wave of repressions.

If they say that the white-red-white flag is banned and that it is collaborative and almost fascist, then you must sit up nights at a sewing machine and sew these flags, because they are the only real national symbol.

If people in uniform with stern piercing eyes - such eyes cannot lie, of course - claim that Russian troops have come to Belarus exclusively for exercises, and that after the exercises they will immediately leave - it means that no one will go anywhere, except across the Ukrainian border.

If they swear that the independence and sovereignty of the country are immutable and every official is ready to give his life for the sake of these values, it means that the occupiers are on the doorstep and it is time to go to the village and dig out the grandfathers' or great grandfathers' rifle and look for a good thick forest for deployment of a partisan brigade.

If they urge us from the state television screens to come to a referendum and vote for all sorts of wonderful changes, and even back up their appeals with songs by Tsoi, it means that we should not go anywhere at all, and in fact we should immediately forget about that the state senile fools have invented for themselves such a pastime with the use of the people.

If they tell us confidentially that it is not our war, but someone else's war - then we must immediately realize that the war is, alas, our war. And the guilt is also ours.

Yes, we are guilty because we have allowed two insane usurpers not only to make Kafka a myth, but to make Orwell a documentary chronicle. By our silence, by the hearts made up of our fingers, by our stillness, by our certainty that none of this will happen to us. But it has already happened. And now is the time to right our wrongs and finally take the country into our own hands before midnight strikes and we all turn into pumpkins.

As for the two obsolete morons, they are now walking through the minefield at night, wearing dark glasses and leaning heavily on each other, like Alisa the Fox and Basilio the Cat from the old "Belarusfilm" picture. They can't even remember where they have buried their mines when they were still sensible. On those mines they are going to blow themselves up.

Iryna Khalip, specially for Charter97.org

If you like this article, you can support the website Charter97.org

MULTI-CURRENCY ACCOUNT FOR ASSISTANCE:

Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL 97 1160 2202 0000 0002 1671 1123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims

You can contact us by the e-mail charter97@gmail.com