‘We Will Achieve Victory When This Idea Gets In The Head Of Every Politician And Citizen’

An important discussion took place at the event dedicated to the memory of Belarusian volunteers in Warsaw.

In Warsaw on October 28, an event was held in memory of volunteer Eduard Lobau and other Belarusian soldiers who died in the war in Ukraine. About 100 people gathered at the Free Belarus Museum.

The organizer and presenter of the commemorating event was Natallia Radzina, the Editor-in-Chief of the website Charter97.org. In her opening remarks, the Belarusian journalist recalled the names of the heroes who gave their lives for the freedom of Ukraine and Belarus:

“We dedicate this evening to the memory of Eduard Lobau, the Belarusian opposition activist and volunteer who served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and died in January of this year near Vuhledar. We also dedicate this evening to all Belarusians who died during the war in Ukraine. These people fought for Belarus. They knew that the defense of Ukraine from Russian occupiers was also the defense of Belarus. Their sacrifices must not be forgotten.

Since 2014, at least 50 Belarusian volunteers have died in Ukraine. We don't know the names of all our heroes. We don’t know them yet, because a threat remains to their families and relatives who still live in the dictatorial Belarus today. I would like to name some of them, let these names be heard here in this hall.

Let their names and call signs resonate in your hearts: Vasil ‘Wagon’ Hancharenka, Yury ‘Cyborg’ Sakalochka, Ihar ‘Partizan’ Turkau, Dzmitry Kazachonak, Aliaksandr ‘Shustry’ Budzko, Ales ‘Taras’ Charkashyn, Aleh ‘Leshy’ Viarenich, Mikalai ‘Estonia’ Ilyin, Illia ‘Litvin’ Khrenau, Aliaksei ‘Tur’ Skoblya, Dzmitry ‘Terror’ Apanasovich, Dzmitry ‘Hans’ Rubasheuski, Kanstantsin ‘Phoenix’ Dzyubaila, Yauhen ‘Malder’ Lohinau, Pavel ‘Volat’ Suslau, Ivan ‘Brest’ Marchuk, Vasil Parfiankou, Vasil ‘Atom’ Hrudovik, Vadzim ‘Papik’ Shatrou, Alieh ‘Ortega’ / ‘Cat’/ ‘Khmury’ Panamarou, Andrei ‘Zub’ Krauchanka, Ted, Aliaksei ‘Harvester’ Veshchavailau, Mikhail ‘Yunger’ Shavelski, Aliaksei ‘Yakub’ Audzeyenka, Eduard Lobau, Daniil ‘Mujahid’ Lyashuk, Miraslau ‘Mouse’ Lazouski, ‘Zhvir’, ‘Bacchus’, Pavel ‘Bort’ Horbach.

The day before, in an interview, I was asked why I helped organize the funeral of Eduard Lobau, held a memorial service in his memory, and am holding this event today. Because I consider it my duty. Eduard Lobau and I were defendants in the same criminal case after the 2010 presidential elections; Eduard then served four years in prison. When he was released in 2014, the war began in Ukraine, and almost immediately the former political prisoner went to the front. Eduard was a laureate of the Charter’97 award “For Personal Courage”. His life, his struggle — against the dictatorship in Belarus, against the Russian occupiers in Ukraine — is a lifelong feat. This is our tragedy, this is our pain, this is our struggle.

Belarusian volunteer Dzianis ‘Vaúkałak’ Urbanovich, who was wounded five times but still returned to the front, recorded a video message for the participants of the memorial evening.

Then the Minister-Counselor of the Ukrainian Embassy in Poland Roman Shepelyak spoke. He noted that Eduard Lobau gave his life for the European future of the Ukrainian and Belarusian nations:

— Ukraine is waging an existential war not only for its freedom, but also for the freedoms and rights of all civilized people. Only thanks to the courage of our defenders, international assistance and the support of foreign volunteers, we are able to contain the enemy.

Eduard was on the side of good and freedom. This is a man who has been fighting the Russian infection for many years. Even in Belarus, he showed his position against totalitarianism. I'm sure we'll win soon. And we, both Ukrainians and Belarusians, will live in a single peaceful European community, and the names of the heroes who gave and are giving their lives in this unjust war will be immortalized.

After the showing of the film “The Eternal Battle of Eduard Lobau”, which was produced by the Belsat TV channel, a discussion took place with the participation of Eduard’s mother Maryna Lobava, the film’s director Volha Voranava, priest Viachaslau Barok and a volunteer of the public organization “Euromaidan”, famous journalist Yevhen Klimakin. The moderator was Natallia Radzina.

Maryna Lobava told what helps her hold on after the death of her son:

— Today my goal is to preserve Ed’s memory. In nine months we managed to accomplish something. Thanks to the relatives of my son’s deceased friend Bohdan Stasiuk and the administration of the 8th regiment, in which Ed had previously served, he became an honorary citizen of the city of Khmelnytsky. Also, my son was awarded the Order of Courage by the President of Ukraine. Now we are trying to ensure that Eduard receives Ukrainian citizenship, which he was never given during his lifetime. I hope he will be given this citizenship posthumously.

Do people in Ukraine value the sacrifices of Belarusians? Are the Belarusian people and the criminal regime of Lukashenka divided? Ukrainian activist and journalist Yevhen Klimakin is confident that Ukrainians who are truly fighting for freedom have no complaints against Belarusians:

— You can answer beautifully, or you can answer honestly. I won't deceive you. There were unpleasant situations, unpleasant attitudes, but according to my observations, they came from those people who do nothing to bring victory. As for those people who, after February 24, 2022, forgot what rest is and what sleep is, they have no complaints.

They have respect for Belarusian heroes who should not have gone to war. There was no call, but they dropped everything and began their personal struggle against evil. A sense of justice and an internal tuner did not allow them to live the way they lived before.

Maryna Lobava spoke about the problems faced by the families of deceased Belarusian volunteers:

— I have a feeling that the system does not work in Ukraine. I haven’t been able to collect documents for my son in nine months. Every week I call the headquarters of the 72nd brigade, they say that they have sent the documents, I call the military registration and enlistment office in Khmelnytsky — no documents there. And it's been like this for a month. I personally will have to go and pick up these documents.

The latest situation is that my son’s bank account, where money was transferred during his service in the brigade, disappeared. My notary was simply told that there was no bank account.

Maryna Lobava raised another important topic — the families of deceased citizens of Belarus and the Russian Federation cannot count on compensation from Ukraine.

Natallia Radzina said that on the eve of the event, an agreement was reached with the Deputy Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland that a meeting would be held this week, and the Ukrainian authorities would try to help the mother of the Belarusian volunteer resolve all issues.

Ukrainian activist Yevhen Klimakin agreed that such problems do exist, but civil society is ready to help solve them:

— It seems to me that the problem is deep-rooted, and Ukrainians themselves are protesting against it. The problem is an irresponsible attitude. There are people for whom the war has “already ended”, for some it “didn’t even begin”, while others are openly making money off it. However, what makes me believe in a better future is that a critical mass of people opposes this “soviet” way of thinking.

We, the civil society, take on some of the functions of the state. If there are any fundraisers for the families of Belarusian volunteers, we are ready to join.

During the discussion, Volha Voranava called on Belarusian journalists to pay more attention to the topic of volunteers:

— I am very pleased that these people exist today. With their blood they wash away what Lukashenka has done.

I constantly blame myself for not finding time to go and work with real people. Not to delve into the archives, but to show how these people spoke and thought. It’s good that there are archives, but you need to know the Belarusian volunteers alive. I think this is a big gap in our journalistic work. We need to go, talk to them and help them in any way we can.

Natallia Radzina asked priest Viachaslau Barok about who we, Belarusians, will stay with when the best of us die in war. The priest believes that the sacrifice that Belarusian volunteers are making today is not in vain:

— Those who die are not those who adapt in their lives and “land on all fours.” Those who die are those who think not about themselves, but about others; in the line of fire they cover with their bodies the bullets that fly from the aggressors towards the victim. Those who die are not those who say that “war is a dirty business.” Those who say that “this is my business” die. If not me, then who?

Eduard Lobau did not become a hero because he died in Ukraine. He once served a four-year prison term in Belarus, back when many did not know what evil they were bringing to life. Those who took to the streets in 2020, when Ed was in prison, built this system.

Where did 2020 come from? Why did people wake up? Because there were heroes like Eduard Lobau. Because they died, because they shed blood. As long as a person lives on this earth, it is normal to fight for freedom. Because without freedom this life has no meaning.

Let's unite on the ground that Belarus is valuable to us. Not just one’s life, salary, or family is important, but also Belarus. When this thought gets in the head of every politician, analyst and citizen, we will be fine. Our heroes will inspire us with their exploits, show that life without freedom has no meaning, and we will achieve what we strive for — we will build a new Belarus.

The discussion continued in the hall. People stood up and actively spoke.

Journalist Lyubou Luniova expressed the opinion that Belarusian patriots should not fight in Ukraine today:

— You can throw stones at me, but I think it’s worth taking a break, let the institutions work in Ukraine, let there be some guarantees.

We can say that there are problems in Ukraine and so on, but there are 50 million of them, and there are eight of us. We are already scattered all over the world, and the best are dying. Half of the “Young Front”, what is it? Now these people are dying — and there is no gratitude.

Ukrainian actress, wife of the famous Belarusian actor Ihar Sihou Valeryja thanked the mother of Eduard Lobau for her son’s feat:

— If I could choose, I wouldn’t want to live in a time when heroes die, because it’s very painful. I have an answer to the question: “Where have you been for eight years?” I've been thinking about this a lot lately. At the time Eduard went to the front, I graduated from college in Kyiv and began working as an editor in Kherson. In 2021, I got married in Minsk. And in each of these places I was absolutely happy thanks to your son. Because they didn’t go to Kherson, because they didn’t go to Kyiv, because there was hope in Minsk. Does despair come at times? It does. Do you ask yourself a question about the price? You do. The answer is clear — it is very high. Should I go to war? I don't know. This is the personal choice of every foreigner, including Belarusians. I wouldn’t want anyone to fight with us, but we have no choice today. If you wait for Ukrainian institutions to start working, you may not wait to see it happen.

I absolutely sincerely believe that the day will come when we will thank each other for the victory. Long live Belarus! Glory to Ukraine!

Multiple world and European champion in swimming, winner of three Olympic medals Aliaksandra Herasimenya called on Belarusians not to wait for heroes, but to act themselves:

— You know, the words of Father Viachaslau resonated with me today that many people are now disappointed, many people are now depressed, and do not know what to do. I think disappointment is a good thing. If we live in illusions, if we live in our own world, then we do not see what is really happening. And when we open our eyes, many people become depressed. But depression comes when we don’t know what to do, when we don’t want to take responsibility for what we can do ourselves. We want someone else to do it, for some hero to do it, for example.

And I believe that after 2020, Belarusians got the impression that the nation had woken up, that it had finally happened. I think our eyes have only been opened a little. And now there is a struggle, and this struggle is ongoing inside us. This is not only the war in Ukraine, but also for every person: for the light, or for the darkness.

A close friend of Eduard Lobau, Andrei Tsianiuta, called for uniting around the Belarusian idea, and not pseudo-leaders:

— The Belarusians who are now at the front are all ideological, they believe in Belarus with a single state language, in Belarusian Belarus. After 2022, when Russia threw off all its masks, it became clear what is “black” and what is “white”. Some fight at the front, some give their lives for Belarus, and some write a bilingual Constitution. Someone gets shell shock, someone becomes disabled, and someone invents a service that doesn’t even have the Belarusian language (this refers to the “One Window” service for political prisoners, developed by Tsikhanouskaya’s office — edit.)

I think that this is just spitting on the graves of Belarusians. I wanted to express my concern about this to everyone and I think that everyone should urge Belarusians to unite not around some ‘Sveta’, ‘Kolya’ or ‘Vasya’, but around the idea for which our elite is fighting.

Representative of the Free Belarus movement Pavel Vusau believes that there will be changes in our country, but it is important to use the chance:

— Let’s do everything so that when changes or the possibility of these changes come, we don’t waste them. So that we build the country for which our sons, our brothers, our parents are dying today. So that this country is worthy of us, and we are worthy of this country. Because without such a responsible path as building a free, fair and truthful Belarus, in which all institutions will work, in which heroes will not be forgotten, these sacrifices will be in vain.

At the end of the discussion, Natallia Radzina asked priest Viachaslau Barok about the upcoming Dziady holiday. How Belarusians scattered around the world can worthily celebrate the day of remembrance of their ancestors:

— You just need to remember the heroes and move forward on their path. We will definitely reach Belarus, our victory. But God forbid that you take a break on this road. In 1994, Belarusian society took a break. And heroes died, people gave their lives, they laid them on the altar of their homeland.

As we remember our ancestors, let us remember these examples that inspire us.