Eurodialog - BELARUS

Byelorussia's current situation requires action. Following the wish of Alexander Milnikiewicz the Polish government announced its intention to grant scholarships to 300 Byelorussian students willing to study in Poland.

A simple and wise response to actions undertaken by Byelorussian authorities with respect to participants of a demonstration. Training positions are also under consideration; also, a list of persons who will be denied access to EU countries has been created. While it seems that little more can be done by state and EU authorities, this, however, does not apply to people, societies and civic organizations. While avoiding big politics we can support our neighbors in a number of ways by establishing personal contacts. We can share experiences of a number of organizations, expand scientific and professional contacts, organize parish partnership programs. We can get to know them better in order to understand their culture, problems, expectations, difficulties and chances. And we can help people from the West to understand them better. There is little glamour in this work, this task is not spectacular - but very important if performed on a wide front. Hence, mass participation is vital.

Red. Alianksandar Nawicki (mp3/8,42 MB)- Polish version only

The conversation with Navicki - a summary: The difficulties that arise when the topic of Byelorussian culture is raised stem from the fact that this culture has been successively destroyed or eliminated during the last five centuries by the Russian and Polish cultures. Byelorussians never had their own state: initially, they "belonged" to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, later they were Polish subjects, and even later - Russian subjects. First, they were christianized by the Kievian Rus in the Eastern rite, later by the Polish Church in the Latin rite, later "atheised" by the Soviet system, which simply destroyed all culture. During the last few years Lukashenka systematically tried to eliminate the Byelorussian language from schools and public life by treating it as a Russian dialect. Hence today one could speak of "The Byelarussia Archipelago", of islands of Byelorussian culture on the sea of post-Soviet abjectness that - according to the Russian philosopher Yulij Antolyevich Shreyder - may be called an "anthropological catastrophe". This culture is not inheritable, it can be discovered of conquered - being an authentic Byelorussian requires courage and obstinacy. Hence such Byelorussian are strangers amongst their kin, they are the ones upon whose shoulders the development of culture rests, who seek new paths while having no prototypes or examples, unaware where this quest would lead. What develops best? Poetry! It is hard to say why, but this is the case. Byelorussians, people of the borderland, are historically linked to Europe - and should not be identified with Russians. It is hard to say what role they could play in this field, however their ability of coexistence and combination of different cultural trains may be quite helpful for present-day Europeans. However help is required, because they are still weak - although positive changes are visible; they should be assisted in the process of development of culture and citizens' society.

W also recall an interview that Eurodialog published at the beginning of Lukashenko's regime, which shows the then situation of Belarus and presents important problems of the Belarus culture.