Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “You know, my daughter often asks me about what life was like in Belarus. She is curious about where I went to school, how I met her dad, and what we did for a living. She knows that we are living far from home. She understands that home is a place we cannot go to now, even if we really want to. She has spent almost half her life in a foreign country. It hurts me that I don’t have an answer to her most frequent question: “When can we go back home?”
My son had to mature very early. I try to give him a normal childhood, but it is not always easy. While his peers discuss computer games and their first crushes, he misses the life that was taken from him.
Our children deserve a different youth. Because now, grandparents cannot spend summer vacations with them, and friends cannot invite them to play in the yard of their home. Instead of learning true Belarusian history, our children are taught how to handle guns. Instead of reading important books by Vasil Bykau, Yanka Kupala, and Svetlana Alexievich, they are exposed to propaganda videos.
But our children are resilient enough to withstand the regime’s horrors. Fear or deceit can’t break them. They see the entire truth, clear as day, and laugh at those who try to convince them otherwise.
Dear friends! The future of Belarus lies with our children, and we must set an example for them. Only through openness, support, and conversations can we protect them from the ideology spread by those who have taken away their carefree childhood. I am convinced that parental love and care are always stronger than imposed propaganda”.
