On August 12, 2020, two groups of girls went out to protest in Minsk, the capital city of Belarus. They put on white clothes and went barefoot out into the street. In the morning, some went to Komarovskiy Market in the center of town. Later that day, the other group gathered with flowers at the eternal flame under the victory monument. They stood together holding hands, and they started to sing the Belarusian lullaby, waiting for the police cars to arrive. They knew the police would pick them up just like that: barefoot with flowers in their hands, that they would take them to the police station, beat them up and try to humiliate them. And yet they did it anyway.
Dvanajstega avgusta, 2020, sta se dve skupini deklet odpravili protestirati v Minsk, glavno mesto Belorusije. Nadele so si bela oblačila in bose odšle na ulico. Zjutraj so nekatere odšle v Komarovskiy Market, v centru mesta. Kasneje tega dne se je druga skupina zbrala s cvetjem ob večnem ognju pod spomenikom zmage. Stale so skupaj z roko v roki in začele peti belorusko uspavanko, čakajoc na prihod policijskih avtov. Zavedale so se, da jih bo policija prijela kar tako: bose s cvetjem v rokah, da jih bo odpeljala na policijsko postajo, pretepla in jih poizkušala ponižati. A vseeno so to storile.
This year, something changed in Belarus, a country of more than nine million people that has been ruled by an authoritarian leader since 1994. These young women were protesting the latest rigged election result, which had taken [place] just a few days earlier. Their small expressions of protest very quickly expanded into massive, peaceful, women-led demonstrations all across the country.
Letos se je v Belorusiji nekaj spremenilo, v državi z več kot 9 miljonov prebivalcev, ki ji je vladal avtokratski voditelj od leta 1994. Te mlade ženske so protestirale proti zadnjemu prirejenemu rezultatu volitev, ki so potekale pred samo parimi dnevi. Njihov majhen izraz protesta se je zelo hitro razširil v masivne, miroljubne, s strani žensk vodene proteste po celi državi.
Within just a few days, a few hundred thousand people took to the streets and demonstrations have continued ever since, the likes of which Belarus has never seen before. All this despite the fact that the president proclaimed himself reelected and that more than 10,000 people have been detained, hundreds tortured and at least six killed.
V samo nekaj dneh se je nekaj sto tisoč ljudi podalo na ulice in demonstracije so se nadaljevale od takrat naprej, takšne, ki jih Belorusija še ni videla. Vse to kljub dejstvu, da se je predsednik razglasil za ponovno izvoljenega in da je bilo več kot 10,000 ljudi pridržanih, na stotine mučenih in vsaj šest umorjenih.
Many people wonder why the people of Belarus are speaking up now. What makes them keep taking to the streets despite unprecedented police violence, despite state lawlessness? The answer I hear the most is that people have become fearless, and it's something we have become together.
Mnogi se sprašujejo, zakaj ljudje v Belorusiji povzdigujejo glas sedaj. Zaradi česa se odpravljajo na ulice kljub policijskemu nasilju brez primere, kljub državnemu brezpravju. Odgovor, ki ga najbolj pogosto slišim, je da so ljudje postali neustrašni, in to je nekaj kar smo postali skupaj.
Because fear is the province of one. It feeds on isolation. It doesn't discriminate: men, women, children, elderly -- all of us can feel fear, but only as long as we are on our own. Fearlessness takes two. It only works if and when we show up for each other. Show up so that your neighbor, your colleague, your friend has courage. And they will do the same for you.
Ker strah, je provinca enega. Hrani se z izolacijo. Ne razlikuje: moški, ženske, otroci, starejši -- vsi lahko čutimo strah, ampak le, dokler smo sami. Neustrašnost potrebuje dva. Deluje samo, če in ko drug drugemu stojimo ob strani. Stojimo ob strani, da ima vaš sosed, vaš sodelavec, vaš prijatelj pogum. In enako bodo oni storili za vas.
A lot has been made of my own role in the presidential election of August 2020. How I stepped in to run for my husband, Sergei, when he was jailed and it became clear that the authorities would deny him his chance to run himself; how I rightfully won the election and became the elected leader of a democratic Belarus, but the official results only gave me 10 percent of the vote and I was forced into exile with my children; how I still fight for those who voted for me and whose voice the regime wants to steal; how "fearless" I am.
Veliko se sliši o moji vlogi v predsedniških volitvah avgusta 2020. Kako sem vskočila in kandidirala za mojega moža Sergeja, ko je bil zaprt in ko je postalo jasno, da bo oblast njemu preprečila kandidaturo; kako sem zakonito zmagala na volitvah in postala izvoljena voditeljica demokratične Belorusije, ampak uradni rezultati so mi pripisali le 10 procentov glasov in sem bila prisiljena v izgnanstvo z mojimi otroki; kako se še vedno borim za tiste, ki so glasovali zame in čigar glas želi režim ukrasti; kako "neustrašna" sem.
But there were many moments when I was frightened, and I wanted to step down. I was threatened and forced to believe that I'm alone in this fight. And yet the more cities I visited, the more people showed up for the rallies, the less fear I had. And then in the days before the election in Minsk, 60,000 people came to show their support for me, and I was no longer afraid.
A veliko je bilo trenutkov, ko sem bila prestrašena in sem želela odstopiti. Grozili so mi in me prisilili verjeti, da sem v tem boju sama. In vendar več mest kot sem obiskala, več ljudi se je pojavilo na shodih, manj strahu sem imela. In potem v dneh pred volitvami v Minsku, mi je 60,000 ljudi prišlo izkazati podporo, in nisem se več bala.
I never wanted to do any of this. I was never overly political, and I never planned to run for office. I wanted to be a mom and a wife. But by fate and the will of my people, I was elevated to this position. And I accept this with a sense of duty and pride. I will not give up. And I will show up for people, because they show up for me. Our courage is born from unity. Our solidarity is our strength.
Nikoli nisem želela storiti nič od tega. Nikoli nisem bila preveč politična in nikoli nisem načrtovala kandidature. Želela sem biti mama in žena. Toda po usodi in volji mojega ljudstva, sem bila povzdignjena v ta položaj. In to sprejemam, z občutkom dolžnosti in ponosa. Ne bom se vdala. In ljudem bom stala ob strani, ker oni meni stojijo ob strani. Naš pogum izvira iz enotnosti. Naša solidarnost je naša moč.
I also now understand that being fearless is a commitment. It is a decision you make every single day. It is a responsibility you take -- responsibility for one another. In this regard, I'm no different from my fellow Belarusians. Their support is tangible. Their solidarity grows in progression. When there are two of you, you are daring. When you're 100, you are brave. When there are thousands of you, you are fearless. And once you are tens of thousands, you become invincible.
Sedaj tudi razumem, da je biti neustrašen zaveza. Je odločitev, ki jo sprejmeš vsak sleherni dan. Je odgovornost, ki jo prevzameš -- odgovornost drug za drugega. V tem pogledu nisem nič drugačna od preostalih Belorusov. Njihova podpora je oprijemljiva. Njihova solidarnost progresivno narašča. Ko se najdeta dva, si drzen. Ko se vas najde 100, si pogumen. Ko se vas najde na tisoče, si neustrašen. In ko se vas najde na desettisoče, postaneš nepremagljiv.
Thank you.
Hvala.