WEBVTT 00:00:01.083 --> 00:00:03.809 On August 12, 2020, 00:00:03.833 --> 00:00:07.268 two groups of girls went out to protest in Minsk, 00:00:07.292 --> 00:00:09.726 the capital city of Belarus. 00:00:09.750 --> 00:00:11.434 They put on white clothes 00:00:11.458 --> 00:00:14.000 and went barefoot out into the street. 00:00:14.833 --> 00:00:16.101 In the morning, 00:00:16.125 --> 00:00:19.601 some went to Komarovskiy Market in the center of town. 00:00:19.625 --> 00:00:20.893 Later that day, 00:00:20.917 --> 00:00:23.226 the other group gathered with flowers 00:00:23.250 --> 00:00:26.809 at the eternal flame under the victory monument. 00:00:26.833 --> 00:00:29.143 They stood together holding hands, 00:00:29.167 --> 00:00:32.476 and they started to sing the Belarusian lullaby, 00:00:32.500 --> 00:00:35.333 waiting for the police cars to arrive. 00:00:36.333 --> 00:00:40.393 They knew the police would pick them up just like that: 00:00:40.417 --> 00:00:43.476 barefoot with flowers in their hands, 00:00:43.500 --> 00:00:46.726 that they would take them to the police station, 00:00:46.750 --> 00:00:50.083 beat them up and try to humiliate them. 00:00:50.958 --> 00:00:53.625 And yet they did it anyway. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:54.542 --> 00:00:57.434 This year, something changed in Belarus, 00:00:57.458 --> 00:01:00.601 a country of more than nine million people 00:01:00.625 --> 00:01:04.958 that has been ruled by an authoritarian leader since 1994. 00:01:06.500 --> 00:01:11.268 These young women were protesting the latest rigged election result, 00:01:11.292 --> 00:01:13.750 which had taken [place] just a few days earlier. 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:19.643 Their small expressions of protest very quickly expanded 00:01:19.667 --> 00:01:23.893 into massive, peaceful, women-led demonstrations 00:01:23.917 --> 00:01:25.375 all across the country. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:26.417 --> 00:01:28.351 Within just a few days, 00:01:28.375 --> 00:01:31.768 a few hundred thousand people took to the streets 00:01:31.792 --> 00:01:35.559 and demonstrations have continued ever since, 00:01:35.583 --> 00:01:39.208 the likes of which Belarus has never seen before. 00:01:40.208 --> 00:01:42.726 All this despite the fact 00:01:42.750 --> 00:01:46.393 that the president proclaimed himself reelected 00:01:46.417 --> 00:01:50.184 and that more than 10,000 people have been detained, 00:01:50.208 --> 00:01:52.059 hundreds tortured 00:01:52.083 --> 00:01:54.208 and at least six killed. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:55.417 --> 00:02:00.851 Many people wonder why the people of Belarus are speaking up now. 00:02:00.875 --> 00:02:04.476 What makes them keep taking to the streets 00:02:04.500 --> 00:02:07.518 despite unprecedented police violence, 00:02:07.542 --> 00:02:09.708 despite state lawlessness? 00:02:10.958 --> 00:02:13.143 The answer I hear the most 00:02:13.167 --> 00:02:15.958 is that people have become fearless, 00:02:17.333 --> 00:02:20.375 and it's something we have become together. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:21.625 --> 00:02:26.101 Because fear is the province of one. 00:02:26.125 --> 00:02:28.643 It feeds on isolation. 00:02:28.667 --> 00:02:30.434 It doesn't discriminate: 00:02:30.458 --> 00:02:33.434 men, women, children, elderly -- 00:02:33.458 --> 00:02:35.726 all of us can feel fear, 00:02:35.750 --> 00:02:39.208 but only as long as we are on our own. 00:02:40.750 --> 00:02:43.101 Fearlessness takes two. 00:02:43.125 --> 00:02:47.208 It only works if and when we show up for each other. 00:02:48.125 --> 00:02:50.434 Show up so that your neighbor, 00:02:50.458 --> 00:02:53.292 your colleague, your friend has courage. 00:02:54.167 --> 00:02:56.542 And they will do the same for you. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:58.333 --> 00:03:02.059 A lot has been made of my own role in the presidential election 00:03:02.083 --> 00:03:04.184 of August 2020. 00:03:04.208 --> 00:03:08.226 How I stepped in to run for my husband, Sergei, when he was jailed 00:03:08.250 --> 00:03:13.934 and it became clear that the authorities would deny him his chance to run himself; 00:03:13.958 --> 00:03:15.976 how I rightfully won the election 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:19.268 and became the elected leader of a democratic Belarus, 00:03:19.292 --> 00:03:23.059 but the official results only gave me 10 percent of the vote 00:03:23.083 --> 00:03:27.143 and I was forced into exile with my children; 00:03:27.167 --> 00:03:30.143 how I still fight for those who voted for me 00:03:30.167 --> 00:03:33.351 and whose voice the regime wants to steal; 00:03:33.375 --> 00:03:35.500 how "fearless" I am. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:36.875 --> 00:03:40.684 But there were many moments when I was frightened, 00:03:40.708 --> 00:03:43.184 and I wanted to step down. 00:03:43.208 --> 00:03:44.476 I was threatened 00:03:44.500 --> 00:03:48.083 and forced to believe that I'm alone in this fight. 00:03:49.167 --> 00:03:52.226 And yet the more cities I visited, 00:03:52.250 --> 00:03:54.809 the more people showed up for the rallies, 00:03:54.833 --> 00:03:57.268 the less fear I had. 00:03:57.292 --> 00:04:00.601 And then in the days before the election in Minsk, 00:04:00.625 --> 00:04:04.809 60,000 people came to show their support for me, 00:04:04.833 --> 00:04:07.583 and I was no longer afraid. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:08.917 --> 00:04:11.601 I never wanted to do any of this. 00:04:11.625 --> 00:04:13.476 I was never overly political, 00:04:13.500 --> 00:04:15.934 and I never planned to run for office. 00:04:15.958 --> 00:04:18.583 I wanted to be a mom and a wife. 00:04:19.542 --> 00:04:22.518 But by fate and the will of my people, 00:04:22.542 --> 00:04:25.167 I was elevated to this position. 00:04:26.208 --> 00:04:30.208 And I accept this with a sense of duty and pride. 00:04:31.083 --> 00:04:32.833 I will not give up. 00:04:33.625 --> 00:04:37.833 And I will show up for people, because they show up for me. 00:04:38.875 --> 00:04:41.333 Our courage is born from unity. 00:04:42.333 --> 00:04:45.208 Our solidarity is our strength. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:46.667 --> 00:04:51.559 I also now understand that being fearless is a commitment. 00:04:51.583 --> 00:04:55.226 It is a decision you make every single day. 00:04:55.250 --> 00:04:57.934 It is a responsibility you take -- 00:04:57.958 --> 00:05:01.184 responsibility for one another. 00:05:01.208 --> 00:05:05.643 In this regard, I'm no different from my fellow Belarusians. 00:05:05.667 --> 00:05:08.184 Their support is tangible. 00:05:08.208 --> 00:05:11.976 Their solidarity grows in progression. 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:13.768 When there are two of you, 00:05:13.792 --> 00:05:15.518 you are daring. 00:05:15.542 --> 00:05:17.875 When you're 100, you are brave. 00:05:18.750 --> 00:05:20.851 When there are thousands of you, 00:05:20.875 --> 00:05:22.559 you are fearless. 00:05:22.583 --> 00:05:25.559 And once you are tens of thousands, 00:05:25.583 --> 00:05:28.393 you become invincible. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:28.417 --> 00:05:29.667 Thank you.