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On August 12, 2020,
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two groups of girls went out
to protest in Minsk,
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the capital city of Belarus.
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They put on white clothes
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and went barefoot out into the street.
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In the morning,
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some went to Komarovskiy Market
in the center of town.
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Later that day,
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the other group gathered with flowers
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at the eternal flame
under the victory monument.
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They stood together holding hands,
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and they started to sing
the Belarusian lullaby,
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waiting for the police cars to arrive.
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They knew the police
would pick them up just like that:
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barefoot with flowers in their hands,
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that they would take them
to the police station,
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beat them up
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and try to humiliate them.
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And yet they did it anyway.
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This year, something changed in Belarus,
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a country of more than nine million people
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that has been ruled
by an authoritarian leader since 1994.
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These young women were protesting
the latest rigged election result,
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which had taken just a few days earlier.
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Their small expressions of protest
very quickly expanded
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into massive, peaceful,
women-led demonstrations
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all across the country.
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Within just a few days,
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a few hundred thousand people
took to the streets
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and demonstrations
have continued ever since,
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the likes of which Belarus
has never seen before.
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All this despite the fact
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that the president proclaimed
himself reelected
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and that more than 10,000
people have been detained,
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hundreds tortured
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and at least six killed.
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Many people wonder why the people
of Belarus are speaking up now.
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What makes them keep
taking to the streets
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despite unprecedented police violence,
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despite state lawlessness?
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The answer I hear the most
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is that people have become fearless,
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and it's something
we have become together.
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Because fear is the province of one.
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It feeds on isolation.
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It doesn't discriminate:
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men, women, children, elderly --
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all of us can feel fear,
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but only as long as we are on our own.
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Fearlessness takes two.
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It only works if and when
we show up for each other.
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Show up so that your neighbor,
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your colleague,
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your friend has courage.
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And they will do the same for you.
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A lot has been made of my own role
in the presidential election
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of August 2020.
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How I stepped in to run for my husband,
Sergei, when he was jailed
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and it became clear that the authorities
would deny him his chance to run himself;
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how I rightfully won the election
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and became the elected leader
of a democratic Belarus,
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but the official results
only gave me 10 percent of the vote
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and I was forced
into exile with my children;
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how I still fight
for those who voted for me
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and whose voice the regime wants to steal;
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how "fearless" I am.
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But there were many moments
when I was frightened
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and I wanted to step down.
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I was threatened
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and forced to believe
that I'm alone in this fight.
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And yet the more cities I visited,
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the more people showed up for the rallies,
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the less fear I had.
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And then in the days
before the election in Minsk,
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60,000 people came to show
their support for me,
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and I was no longer afraid.
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I never wanted to do any of this.
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I was never overly political
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and I never planned to run for office.
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I wanted to be a mom and a wife.
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But by fate and the will of my people,
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I was elevated to this position.
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And I accept this with a sense
of duty and pride.
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I will not give up.
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And I will show up for people
because they show up for me.
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Our courage is born from unity.
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Our solidarity is our strength.
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I also now understand that being
fearless is a commitment.
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It is a decision you make
every single day.
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It is a responsibility you take --
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responsibility for one another.
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In this regard,
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I'm no different from
my fellow Belarusians.
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Their support is tangible.
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Their solidarity grows in progression.
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When there are two of you,
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you are daring.
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When you're 100,
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you are brave.
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When there are thousands of you,
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you are fearless.
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And once you are tens of thousands,
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you become invincible.
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Thank you.