Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Last Friday a man called me during my public phone-in. He has been fascinated by the history of Belarus his entire life. His father cultivated this love for it. The man was outraged by the regime's recent attempts to rewrite our history, hide the real facts, cross out our national heroes from the textbooks, leaving only the times of the so-called "Russian brotherhood".
The regime has been rewriting our country's history in its favor for years to make us forget our roots. Recently, it has once again announced its plans to "bring discipline" to science. This means that more teachers and researchers, whom Belarus already lacks, will be laid off. Even more books will get on the list of "extremist materials."
But real discipline does not come from a pile of orders and guideline books. Real discipline comes when everyone is busy doing what they should do. When bureaucrats do not dictate rules to academics. When ideologists do not interfere in the work of tour guides and museum workers trying to impose a specific version of history.
Our history is what unites generations of Belarusians and allows us to learn from our mistakes of the past to build a common future. National revival and educational reforms will be one of the priorities in new Belarus. Representative of the Office on Education Tatiana Shchyttsova and Representative of the Cabinet on National Revival Alina Koushyk are already preparing for our future.
But while the regime rewrites our history, we must do everything to guard it. We should cultivate a love for our roots and the history of our country in our children. Fortunately, social media now have still more Belarusian channels, and lots of exciting content comes from independent initiatives and bloggers about Belarusian culture and history. Let your children join you in reading about our national heroes, watching documentaries and videos. Tell your children about your own family's history.
We must not allow the regime take our identity away from us. And together we will do everything for our children to live in a free Belarus, and be proud of the history and culture of their country”.
