How to be fearless in the face of authoritarianism
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0:01 - 0:04On August 12, 2020,
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0:04 - 0:07two groups of girls
went out to protest in Minsk, -
0:07 - 0:10the capital city of Belarus.
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0:10 - 0:11They put on white clothes
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0:11 - 0:14and went barefoot out into the street.
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0:15 - 0:16In the morning,
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0:16 - 0:20some went to Komarovskiy Market
in the center of town. -
0:20 - 0:21Later that day,
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0:21 - 0:23the other group gathered with flowers
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0:23 - 0:27at the eternal flame
under the victory monument. -
0:27 - 0:29They stood together holding hands,
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0:29 - 0:32and they started to sing
the Belarusian lullaby, -
0:32 - 0:35waiting for the police cars to arrive.
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0:36 - 0:40They knew the police
would pick them up just like that: -
0:40 - 0:43barefoot with flowers in their hands,
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0:44 - 0:47that they would take them
to the police station, -
0:47 - 0:50beat them up and try to humiliate them.
-
0:51 - 0:54And yet they did it anyway.
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0:55 - 0:57This year, something changed in Belarus,
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0:57 - 1:01a country of more than nine million people
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1:01 - 1:05that has been ruled
by an authoritarian leader since 1994. -
1:06 - 1:11These young women were protesting
the latest rigged election result, -
1:11 - 1:14which had taken [place]
just a few days earlier. -
1:15 - 1:20Their small expressions of protest
very quickly expanded -
1:20 - 1:24into massive, peaceful,
women-led demonstrations -
1:24 - 1:25all across the country.
-
1:26 - 1:28Within just a few days,
-
1:28 - 1:32a few hundred thousand people
took to the streets -
1:32 - 1:36and demonstrations
have continued ever since, -
1:36 - 1:39the likes of which
Belarus has never seen before. -
1:40 - 1:43All this despite the fact
-
1:43 - 1:46that the president proclaimed
himself reelected -
1:46 - 1:50and that more than 10,000 people
have been detained, -
1:50 - 1:52hundreds tortured
-
1:52 - 1:54and at least six killed.
-
1:55 - 2:01Many people wonder why the people
of Belarus are speaking up now. -
2:01 - 2:04What makes them keep taking to the streets
-
2:04 - 2:08despite unprecedented police violence,
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2:08 - 2:10despite state lawlessness?
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2:11 - 2:13The answer I hear the most
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2:13 - 2:16is that people have become fearless,
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2:17 - 2:20and it's something
we have become together. -
2:22 - 2:26Because fear is the province of one.
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2:26 - 2:29It feeds on isolation.
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2:29 - 2:30It doesn't discriminate:
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2:30 - 2:33men, women, children, elderly --
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2:33 - 2:36all of us can feel fear,
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2:36 - 2:39but only as long as we are on our own.
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2:41 - 2:43Fearlessness takes two.
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2:43 - 2:47It only works if and when
we show up for each other. -
2:48 - 2:50Show up so that your neighbor,
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2:50 - 2:53your colleague, your friend has courage.
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2:54 - 2:57And they will do the same for you.
-
2:58 - 3:02A lot has been made of my own role
in the presidential election -
3:02 - 3:04of August 2020.
-
3:04 - 3:08How I stepped in to run for my husband,
Sergei, when he was jailed -
3:08 - 3:14and it became clear that the authorities
would deny him his chance to run himself; -
3:14 - 3:16how I rightfully won the election
-
3:16 - 3:19and became the elected leader
of a democratic Belarus, -
3:19 - 3:23but the official results
only gave me 10 percent of the vote -
3:23 - 3:27and I was forced
into exile with my children; -
3:27 - 3:30how I still fight
for those who voted for me -
3:30 - 3:33and whose voice the regime wants to steal;
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3:33 - 3:36how "fearless" I am.
-
3:37 - 3:41But there were many moments
when I was frightened, -
3:41 - 3:43and I wanted to step down.
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3:43 - 3:44I was threatened
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3:44 - 3:48and forced to believe
that I'm alone in this fight. -
3:49 - 3:52And yet the more cities I visited,
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3:52 - 3:55the more people showed up for the rallies,
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3:55 - 3:57the less fear I had.
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3:57 - 4:01And then in the days
before the election in Minsk, -
4:01 - 4:0560,000 people came
to show their support for me, -
4:05 - 4:08and I was no longer afraid.
-
4:09 - 4:12I never wanted to do any of this.
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4:12 - 4:13I was never overly political,
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4:14 - 4:16and I never planned to run for office.
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4:16 - 4:19I wanted to be a mom and a wife.
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4:20 - 4:23But by fate and the will of my people,
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4:23 - 4:25I was elevated to this position.
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4:26 - 4:30And I accept this
with a sense of duty and pride. -
4:31 - 4:33I will not give up.
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4:34 - 4:38And I will show up for people,
because they show up for me. -
4:39 - 4:41Our courage is born from unity.
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4:42 - 4:45Our solidarity is our strength.
-
4:47 - 4:52I also now understand
that being fearless is a commitment. -
4:52 - 4:55It is a decision you make
every single day. -
4:55 - 4:58It is a responsibility you take --
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4:58 - 5:01responsibility for one another.
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5:01 - 5:06In this regard, I'm no different
from my fellow Belarusians. -
5:06 - 5:08Their support is tangible.
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5:08 - 5:12Their solidarity grows in progression.
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5:12 - 5:14When there are two of you,
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5:14 - 5:16you are daring.
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5:16 - 5:18When you're 100, you are brave.
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5:19 - 5:21When there are thousands of you,
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5:21 - 5:23you are fearless.
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5:23 - 5:26And once you are tens of thousands,
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5:26 - 5:28you become invincible.
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5:28 - 5:30Thank you.
- Title:
- How to be fearless in the face of authoritarianism
- Speaker:
- Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
- Description:
-
How do you stand up to authoritarianism? And what does it mean to be "fearless"? In this powerful talk, housewife-turned-politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya describes her unlikely bid to defeat Belarus's long-time autocratic leader in the nation's 2020 presidential election. Painting a vivid picture of how small acts of defiance flourished into massive, peaceful demonstrations, she shares a beautiful meditation on the link between fearlessness and freedom, reminding us that we all have what it takes to stand up to injustice -- we just need to do it together.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 05:44
Oliver Friedman edited English subtitles for How to be fearless in the face of authoritarianism | ||
Erin Gregory approved English subtitles for How to be fearless in the face of authoritarianism | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for How to be fearless in the face of authoritarianism | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz accepted English subtitles for How to be fearless in the face of authoritarianism | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for How to be fearless in the face of authoritarianism | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for How to be fearless in the face of authoritarianism | ||
Leslie Gauthier edited English subtitles for How to be fearless in the face of authoritarianism | ||
Leslie Gauthier edited English subtitles for How to be fearless in the face of authoritarianism |