How to be fearless in the face of authoritarianism | Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

Reviewer: Nika Kotnik

Dvanajstega avgusta, 2020,

sta se dve skupini deklet odpravili protestirati v Minsk,

glavno mesto Belorusije.

On August 12, 2020,

Nadele so si bela oblačila

in bose odšle na ulico.

two groups of girls went out to protest in Minsk,

Zjutraj

the capital city of Belarus.

so nekatere odšle v Komarovskiy Market, v centru mesta.

They put on white clothes

and went barefoot out into the street.

Kasneje tega dne

se je druga skupina zbrala s cvetjem

In the morning,

ob večnem ognju pod spomenikom zmage.

some went to Komarovskiy Market in the center of town.

Stale so skupaj z roko v roki

Later that day,

the other group gathered with flowers

in začele peti belorusko uspavanko,

at the eternal flame under the victory monument.

čakajoc na prihod policijskih avtov.

They stood together holding hands,

Zavedale so se, da jih bo policija prijela kar tako:

and they started to sing the Belarusian lullaby,

bose s cvetjem v rokah,

waiting for the police cars to arrive.

da jih bo odpeljala na policijsko postajo,

They knew the police would pick them up just like that:

pretepla in jih poizkušala ponižati.

barefoot with flowers in their hands,

A vseeno so to storile.

that they would take them to the police station,

beat them up and try to humiliate them.

Letos se je v Belorusiji nekaj spremenilo,

v državi z več kot 9 miljonov prebivalcev,

And yet they did it anyway.

ki ji je vladal avtokratski voditelj od leta 1994.

This year, something changed in Belarus,

a country of more than nine million people

Te mlade ženske so protestirale proti zadnjemu prirejenemu rezultatu volitev,

that has been ruled by an authoritarian leader since 1994.

ki so potekale pred samo parimi dnevi.

These young women were protesting the latest rigged election result,

Njihov majhen izraz protesta se je zelo hitro razširil

which had taken [place] just a few days earlier.

v masivne, miroljubne, s strani žensk vodene proteste

Their small expressions of protest very quickly expanded

po celi državi.

V samo nekaj dneh

into massive, peaceful, women-led demonstrations

se je nekaj sto tisoč ljudi podalo na ulice

all across the country.

in demonstracije so se nadaljevale od takrat naprej,

Within just a few days,

takšne, ki jih Belorusija še ni videla.

a few hundred thousand people took to the streets

and demonstrations have continued ever since,

Vse to kljub dejstvu,

da se je predsednik razglasil za ponovno izvoljenega

the likes of which Belarus has never seen before.

in da je bilo več kot 10,000 ljudi pridržanih,

All this despite the fact

na stotine mučenih

that the president proclaimed himself reelected

in vsaj šest umorjenih.

and that more than 10,000 people have been detained,

Mnogi se sprašujejo, zakaj ljudje v Belorusiji povzdigujejo glas sedaj.

hundreds tortured

and at least six killed.

Zaradi česa se odpravljajo na ulice

Many people wonder why the people of Belarus are speaking up now.

kljub policijskemu nasilju brez primere,

kljub državnemu brezpravju.

What makes them keep taking to the streets

Odgovor, ki ga najbolj pogosto slišim,

despite unprecedented police violence,

je da so ljudje postali neustrašni,

despite state lawlessness?

in to je nekaj kar smo postali skupaj.

The answer I hear the most

is that people have become fearless,

Ker strah, je provinca enega.

and it's something we have become together.

Hrani se z izolacijo.

Ne razlikuje:

Because fear is the province of one.

moški, ženske, otroci, starejši --

vsi lahko čutimo strah,

It feeds on isolation.

ampak le, dokler smo sami.

It doesn't discriminate:

men, women, children, elderly --

Neustrašnost potrebuje dva.

all of us can feel fear,

Deluje samo, če in ko drug drugemu stojimo ob strani.

but only as long as we are on our own.

Stojimo ob strani, da ima vaš sosed,

Fearlessness takes two.

vaš sodelavec, vaš prijatelj pogum.

It only works if and when we show up for each other.

In enako bodo oni storili za vas.

Show up so that your neighbor,

Veliko se sliši o moji vlogi v predsedniških volitvah

your colleague, your friend has courage.

avgusta 2020.

And they will do the same for you.

Kako sem vskočila in kandidirala za mojega moža Sergeja, ko je bil zaprt

A lot has been made of my own role in the presidential election

in ko je postalo jasno, da bo oblast njemu preprečila kandidaturo;

of August 2020.

How I stepped in to run for my husband, Sergei, when he was jailed

kako sem zakonito zmagala na volitvah

in postala izvoljena voditeljica demokratične Belorusije,

and it became clear that the authorities would deny him his chance to run himself;

ampak uradni rezultati so mi pripisali le 10 procentov glasov

how I rightfully won the election

in sem bila prisiljena v izgnanstvo z mojimi otroki;

and became the elected leader of a democratic Belarus,

kako se še vedno borim za tiste, ki so glasovali zame

but the official results only gave me 10 percent of the vote

in čigar glas želi režim ukrasti;

and I was forced into exile with my children;

kako "neustrašna" sem.

how I still fight for those who voted for me

A veliko je bilo trenutkov, ko sem bila prestrašena

and whose voice the regime wants to steal;

in sem želela odstopiti.

how "fearless" I am.

Grozili so mi

But there were many moments when I was frightened,

in me prisilili verjeti, da sem v tem boju sama.

and I wanted to step down.

In vendar več mest kot sem obiskala,

I was threatened

več ljudi se je pojavilo na shodih,

and forced to believe that I'm alone in this fight.

manj strahu sem imela.

In potem v dneh pred volitvami v Minsku,

And yet the more cities I visited,

the more people showed up for the rallies,

mi je 60,000 ljudi prišlo izkazati podporo,

the less fear I had.

in nisem se več bala.

And then in the days before the election in Minsk,

60,000 people came to show their support for me,

Nikoli nisem želela storiti nič od tega.

Nikoli nisem bila preveč politična

and I was no longer afraid.

in nikoli nisem načrtovala kandidature.

Želela sem biti mama in žena.

I never wanted to do any of this.

I was never overly political,

Toda po usodi in volji mojega ljudstva,

and I never planned to run for office.

sem bila povzdignjena v ta položaj.

I wanted to be a mom and a wife.

In to sprejemam, z občutkom dolžnosti in ponosa.

But by fate and the will of my people,

I was elevated to this position.

Ne bom se vdala.

In ljudem bom stala ob strani, ker oni meni stojijo ob strani.

And I accept this with a sense of duty and pride.

Naš pogum izvira iz enotnosti.

I will not give up.

And I will show up for people, because they show up for me.

Naša solidarnost je naša moč.

Our courage is born from unity.

Sedaj tudi razumem, da je biti neustrašen zaveza.

Our solidarity is our strength.

Je odločitev, ki jo sprejmeš vsak sleherni dan.

I also now understand that being fearless is a commitment.

Je odgovornost, ki jo prevzameš --

odgovornost drug za drugega.

It is a decision you make every single day.

V tem pogledu nisem nič drugačna od preostalih Belorusov.

It is a responsibility you take --

responsibility for one another.

Njihova podpora je oprijemljiva.

Njihova solidarnost progresivno narašča.

In this regard, I'm no different from my fellow Belarusians.

Ko se najdeta dva,

Their support is tangible.

si drzen.

Ko se vas najde 100, si pogumen.

Their solidarity grows in progression.

Ko se vas najde na tisoče,

When there are two of you,

si neustrašen.

you are daring.

In ko se vas najde na desettisoče,

When you're 100, you are brave.

postaneš nepremagljiv.

When there are thousands of you,

Hvala.

you are fearless.

And once you are tens of thousands,

you become invincible.

Thank you.