Everything Is Going To Be Alright

Belarusians do not give up - and this is a fact.

Let's face it and think positively. Belarusians do not give up and this is a fact. For a long time now, our struggle has been constantly transforming and evolving. Meanwhile, the regime is in a state of complete degradation. Lukashenka, with his mental actions, threw the country back for many years. Here is the migration crisis, and the act of international terrorism, and the prison terms, unimaginable for the 21st century, which the hangers-on gave to the new political prisoners.

But on the bright holiday of Christmas I would like to remind all Belarusians about our achievements this year. We all together gave a worthy rebuff to the Lukashists.

There are thousands of stories of our solidarity. And they all show how much the people of Belarus want to live in a free democratic country.

For me personally, a special moment in 2021 was the announcement of a strike by Siarhei Dyleuski. In August, the leader of the Belarusian Workers’ Association announced a pre-strike situation in the country. They put forward 10 requirements for the regime. His video message spread throughout all kinds of Internet resources, including foreign media. And the management of the enterprises organized a “promotional campaign”, promoting the strike among all workers. Workers in the shops laughed: “Well, since the management forbids a strike, then this is something good.”

The beginning of the strike was accompanied by a huge number of letters and photos in social networks with the hashtag #Iamhome! About a million people joined the action and stayed at home for various reasons. The creativity of the photographs was, as always, at the highest level.

Even Belarusian sports stars supported the strike movement and called on Belarusians to prepare for a strike.

Free athletes SOS_BY and the Sports Solidarity Foundation issued a statement on why it is so important to go on strike throughout the country.

And the way Belarusians from foreign countries supported the strike is simply amazing. The knock of helmets, which is a symbol of the strike, thundered in Warsaw, Berlin, London, Vilnius, Kyiv, and many other cities.

Belarusians do not forget about national heroes either. So many people support political prisoners, write letters to them that certainly help them in a difficult situation. Thousands of letters were sent to Belarusian prisons. Perhaps that is why our heroes behave more than worthy at the trials. Mikalai Statkevich and Siarhei Tsikhanouski, despite the inhuman confinement conditions, continue to believe in Belarusians and do not bow their heads, but on the contrary, being behind bars, they repulse illegal trials and believe that we will soon release them.

Undoubtedly, the Belarusian protest will go down in history as one of the most innovative in the world. We are always creative. Whether it was a poster, a song, a verse - anything in the heads of Belarusians turned into a protest. This is our superpower. While our methods were constantly changing, the regime always had only one option - to force love.

Fortunately, this only has the opposite effect. Belarusians are beginning to love their culture more, study their history in more detail, and hate the dictator even more.

At the end of 2021, Belarusians were inspired by Anatol Shalkovich, who very creatively explained to the security officials why he liked the combination of white and red colors. This immediately caused a boom among Belarusians of different ages. Instagram feeds and stories were replenished with another flash mob from Belarusians - salad “Tomatoes with sour cream”. And already the traditional marches of Belarusian women have acquired a new attribute - in a transparent string bag there were tomatoes and a can of sour cream.

Difficult times always force you to think outside the box. In 2020, we marched to the song “Long live Belarus” by the TOR BAND along the main streets of our cities. Now we have changed, become wiser, more mature. And when the next moment of truth comes, we will achieve our goal. The experience we have gained during all this time will definitely help us achieve our goal. We will win anyway. Everything is definitely going to be alright.

Long live Belarus!

Artsiom Chernikau, specially for the Basta! Telegram channel