‘I Savor The Teacher’s Every Phrase’

How Belarusians are forced to make repairs in schools for free.

A Charter97.org reader from Minsk told how parents at the school where their child is studying are forced to make repairs:

— “Hello, dear parents! So it's time for repairs in our classroom!”

Sounds like the beginning of Max Konoval's stand-up. But no, it's not him at all, it's a community of our class in one of the messengers. The tasks are set, how many strong and dexterous men are needed to remove and carry out all the furniture, then you need to find a specialist who can tint the paint and paint the classroom! The third day is a persistent discussion of who can do what and when.

I'm not getting into this chatter, I'm watching from the sidelines. I savor every phrase of the teacher, Belarusians keep surprising me!

A reader of Charter97.org is surprised how quickly Belarusians forgot about 2020:

— How quickly they got back into the shafts and pulled this cart further in the direction of 1937. It hurts, it hurts, I want to scream: real Belarusians are tortured and killed in prisons! And you again became slaves of this system! Serve it well again.

Wake up, shake off the dust of slavery. Well, is it really impossible in this simple situation to at least say that summer is a time for rest, that I will not do what the state should provide resources for, both financial and labor? Understand one thing, that your free work will be used, and the funds will again go to the repressive apparatus.

In this situation, I remembered the verses of Maksim Bahdanovich.