While many of us joined the campaign against Lukashenko in 2020 after the so called presidential “elections” the movement for a free Belarus has been ongoing since the 1990s when Lukashenko snatched power from the hands of the people.
In 2020 we got close to toppling Lukashenko. Following the rigged elections the people took to the street in the greatest show of solidarity seen to date. It was obvious that Lukashenko didn’t with 80%.
People took to the streets, people took their children, people smiled, relaxed. People had hope. It wasn’t long that the regime, fearing the power and solidarity of the Belarusian people, cracked down on its own citizens.
So many of us, our friends and colleagues have become victims of the regime. Most of us have at least been arrested, interrogated, lost jobs or been sent to prison camps. The regime is frightened of the solidarity of the Belarusian people.
The most famous incident was the so-called “student case”, where the KGB arrested and later charged 12 students. The day came to be known as “Black Thursday” for Belarusian students. They were sentenced and imprisoned for at least two years.
They were shipped like cattle to remote prison colonies and left to suffer. Forced to work, rain or shine with no medical support. Political prisoners were left to die.
Even in these dark times, Belarusian solidarity was unbroken. Our activists, while awaiting trial, received thousands and thousands of letters of support from every corner of the country. Belarusians are resilient people, and now in our resolve we will pick ourselves up, for our future and for our Belarus.
Now we’re focused not only on freeing Belarus, we also spend much of our time supporting prisoners, helping those currently interred and those who have been released. So many young Belarusian have had their futures taken away from them, many kicked out of university or banned from working the jobs that pay.
We’re supporting activists to get back on their feet, get their lives going again after prison. We help them move into exile, we help them campaign for freedom again.
This is why we have set up a fundraising platform to ensure that activists fighting for freedom and their futures have the resources they need to end the suffering. We are fundraising directly to empower activists, the people who have been on frontline fighting against the dictatorship. A dictatorship backed by Putin, the same man who has instigated terrible war crimes in Ukraine.
Please support us fight against both Lukashenko and Putin and empower Belarusian activists.
Europe is in danger, Belarus and Ukraine are the frontline.
Help us carry on the fight
Donate to the Belarusian Solidarity Movement