Pavel Seviarynets: The Belarusian People Have Made A Huge Step Forward

Lukashenko's regime is in a very dangerous state for him.

Ex-political prisoner, opposition politician Pavel Seviarynets, forcibly deported by Lukashenko's regime on December 13, gave a great interview to the website Charter97.org. The former prisoner of conscience told about the first days at liberty, how Belarusians have changed over the past five years and addressed to those who have lost hope.

- You celebrated your birthday and the New Year at liberty for the first time in five years, and even together with your family. Tell us how it was.

- It was fantastic. I could only imagine that I would celebrate the holidays with my family in my wildest dreams. And now it turned out that I was in Vilnius, in a room, together with Olechka, together with František, then with friends. I also managed to gather friends for New Year's Eve. It's a miracle, of course. After that, even those who don't believe can say: God's miracles happen.

- The world has changed a lot in the five years you were in prison. What has surprised you? How do you adapt to new technologies and how do you fill the information vacuum formed during this time?"

- The new state of the world struck me very much. The world has become much tougher. There is a war in the world. This war directly concerns Belarus. And we can see that Belarusians are getting used to living in these new conditions. It was impossible to imagine before 2020. All these drone flights, air alerts, border conflicts related to aviation or some military threats. The actual threat of war - that was impossible to imagine. So, of course, I'm not completely used to it yet, but I'm already trying to accept it. Also very striking is the development of technology, artificial intelligence, flying cabs. I read about it, but it was impossible to imagine it in the colony.

I was also very struck by numerous stories - thousands of stories of Belarusians who were forced to flee or leave Belarus. People who were imprisoned literally for a like or a comment on the Internet. Belarusians who found themselves separated from their families. This pain fills the new world. And it is impossible to get used to it, but you have to accept it.

I was very inspired by the fact that Belarusians have grown up during this time. During these five and a half years the Belarusian people have made a huge step to take their worthy place among the peoples of the world. Over these five and a half years, the Belarusian people have made a huge step towards realizing their place in the modern world.

I also mean personal strength. Today the Belarusians understand much more clearly and sharply the place of Belarus in the world, the value of the Belarusian language, culture, national consciousness, state position. The level of political awareness has grown tremendously. Compared to 2020, it is heaven and earth. The majority of active Belarusians now absolutely clearly realize that the Belarusian state is the greatest value. It struck me very much.

I was also struck by the development of the language. The rapid development of Belarusian-language culture, initiatives, Internet - both in Belarus and abroad. Despite the regime inside the country and despite the life in emigration - it is incredibly impressive.

I had a great pleasure to watch new programs, Belarusian-language television, bloggers' projects. It's gorgeous. It's a very high level, a beautiful language. It's a huge growth. Maybe you can't see it from day to day, but if you get out after five and a half years in prison, it is immediately noticeable.

- The capture of dictator Maduro became a high-profile event at the beginning of the year. What hopes does it give to Belarusians?

- Belarusians need to understand: not everything is so gray, not everything is so hopeless and unpromising as we used to think. At some point, the world can change just instantly. You go to bed and wake up in a different world. The dictator who oppressed tens of millions of Venezuelans is simply gone and awaiting trial. This can happen to any dictator in the world. That needs to be clearly understood. And in this case, geopolitical arrangements may not matter. There is a God in the world.

One man dies and everything changes. Dictators concentrate all the power on themselves, and any personal problems or their death disperse the regime like smoke. Belarusians need to realize: God's miracles exist. And they are waiting for us. The main thing is to be ready for them.

- Since the 90s, you were among the people who went out to protests under the white-red-white flag. You were arrested until August 2020, when hundreds of thousands of Belarusians came out under it. What do you feel now, when you revisit these photos?

- It is, of course, an uplift, it's joy, close to euphoria. Because for tens of years we have been fighting for the Belarusians to finally come out - to come out under the flags of Christ, to come out together, to defend freedom, democracy, independence of Belarus. And it finally happened.

The fact that there was a reaction after that is already a history. Nothing catastrophic has happened and is not happening. The overall dynamics remains in favor of Belarus. I repeat once again: during this year, during 2020 and the following years, Belarusians have hardened themselves so much that a whole generation of the elite, which has passed through prisons, formed and polished in prison, has been formed. This is a huge charge that will work for decades to come. And the growth of Belarus, the growth of its subjectivity, the "Belarusian file" in the world politics - today they are among the first, they are in the foreground.

There is the war in Ukraine, where Belarus plays a geopolitically huge role. There is also the general change of the world map. And here, of course, Belarusians need to know and understand: big history, big goals correspond to big challenges. What we are going through now - colossal difficulties, difficulties that concern almost every Belarusian - testifies only to one thing: we have a great mission, a great goal in history, and we are following this path. We are going in a way that sometimes does not happen even in Hollywood movies.

- How did you experience the events of August 2020 while in detention?

- Then I found myself on Okrestina. Okrestina all summer long, especially in August 2020, was the epicenter of those events. And I had to hear there how dozens of people were crammed into cells - 50 people were crammed into a cell designed for 5-6 people; how people were beaten, how they were driven through the corridors with batons. The walls of the prison were literally shaking. One had to hear protesters being persuaded to repent, protesters responding: "No" or "We'll see." Didn't break, so to speak. All of this was there, all of this I had to hear.

The protests were also very impressive. Echoes of the protests reached me already from the end of August 2020 through the lawyer - printouts, photos, news. And when I was on Volodarka for a criminal case, we heard protesters every night, heard people coming up close. We heard the police on the loudspeaker warning those who were going to protest, we heard songs, we heard shouts, we heard: "Zhyve Belarus!" All this, of course, will not be forgotten for the rest of my life.

Why did we fail to win? Most likely, there is a very serious hardening of Belarusians in God's plans. Just to go out into the street, march a few dozen times and bring down the system that has been built for decades would probably be too easy. Happiness is not given easily. Happiness has to be fought for, happiness has to be paid for, happiness has to be tested. And perhaps the years we have now are the price our people are paying for a free democratic Belarus.

Polanders have been fighting for generations for what they have now. Belarusians are even closer to the empire, even closer to the Horde's darkness. This poses the need for us to understand: we will walk. It is hard to rise, to fall, there will be recessions, there will be rises. Perhaps this way is not for one year and maybe not even for ten years. But in the end we will reach - we will reach Belarus.

- What supported you in prison all these years?

- First of all, in prison, of course, God supported me. I have never had such miracles and revelations as I have experienced in these five and a half years. I hope that I will be able to publish the books that I have been writing in my head, partly in letters, and share these revelations with Belarusians. And, of course, the support of relatives, support of close people, support of brothers and sisters in Christ, support of those who prayed and helped. International support also played its role. Here I am very grateful to everyone who supported, fought and those who showed solidarity.

- You were actually deported from your native country. How do you feel about the new practice of Lukashenko's regime?

- The regime exports people in exchange for some kind of lifting of sanctions. And this is, in fact, a simple export of hostages. Just people are taken and exported to the European Union. Apparently, this is already a major budget item - exporting people. While some people are being released, others are being taken hostage, that is, arrested. We are talking about thousands of people, and this is already just an established business. Unfortunately.

That is why, of course, the attitude is extremely negative. At the same time, if God allows it, we should ask ourselves questions - for what? Why did hundreds of thousands of Belarusians end up outside Belarus? We should look and take the best from the experience of those countries, which we see in front of us, where we live now. Because the experience of Poland, the experience of Lithuania, the experience of Ukraine is extremely valuable for the future Belarus. We should take here all the valuable things that we see with our own eyes. Perhaps, that is why we are here.

- What is the state of Lukashenko's regime today? It is clear that you were very limited in information, but perhaps you saw with a fresh eye what we do not see.

- The regime is in a very dangerous state. Everyone has a state of complacency, self-confidence - say, we are doing everything right, we are doing everything perfectly. This is a dangerous indicator. The fall, as the Bible says, is preceded by pride. The pride of the mode: "We did well in the twentieth year, we put things in order." This is a sign of hubris, which inevitably ends in collapse. Such hubristic systems fall very quickly and dissipate like smoke. We will see that in the end there is just emptiness when it all collapses.

- Many people are disappointed today because they have failed to overthrow Lukashenko in five years. What words would you address to these people?

- Dear Belarusians, what we are experiencing today, the darkness in which we find ourselves day after day, is the harbinger of dawn. The light in the darkness shines, and the darkness has not embraced it. May our hearts shine to others. We, those who understand what is going on, are called to be stars, beacons for others: for our relatives, for our friends, for those people whose eyes have not yet opened.

The Lord God shines through us. We, Belarusians, are children of light. And the light will win in the end. The day will come in the end. Believe, mozham, peramozham!

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