Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Today is the International Day for Monuments and Sites. Countries around the globe honor their historical heritage by restoring and reconstructing ancient churches, castles, and buildings. Every country preserves its monuments that testify to its history and heroes.
Unfortunately, it's not the case in today’s Belarus. The government preserves everything Soviet and Russian and destroys everything Belarusian. A few weeks ago, they destroyed a monument to the Belarusian poet and figure of the BNR Rada, Larysa Heniyush. She fought for the independence of Belarus, went through torture in Soviet prisons, and was a role model for Belarusian activists of the late 1980s. The government destroys monuments on the graves of soldiers of the Polish Home Army to take revenge on Poland for supporting Belarusians. The government does not see 'historical value' in monuments or buildings associated with the Belarusian Democratic Republic, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and all Belarusian history that do not favor Russia.
But Belarusian culture is what makes us a nation. It preserves our national identity and prevents us from becoming a part of the 'Russian world,' as the regime wants. Therefore, we must preserve and expand our culture every day. After the victory, we will definitely bring back monuments to great Belarusians for tourists from all over the world to come and see them. Children in schools will again be taught real Belarusian history, told about our heroes, read poems by Bahdanovich and Heniyush, and libraries will have more Belarusian literature.
I know that despite all the obstacles, you preserve Belarusian culture in yourselves. Belarusians in Belarus increasingly speak Belarusian, read books by our poets and writers, organize tours of historical sites, and tell their children about all of this. Belarusians abroad write books, make films, sing in Belarusian, and create initiatives that share our culture, language, and real history. And I am grateful to each of you who contributes to our common cause and does not let the world forget that Belarus is an independent country with its own language, history, and culture.”
In the photo: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Natallia Hersche at a meeting with Belarusians near the monument to Tadevush Kastsiushka in Switzerland, March 2022.
