By Tom Tunny, Hamilton
The contested election in the Eastern European country of Belarus has been in the news recently. I would like to give my perspective on this important development. The current President, Alexander Lukashenko, has been in control of the country for the past 26 years. He is known as “the last Dictator of Europe.”
My wife and I lived in Minsk, Belarus for three years, from 2009-2012. I was the Director of the International School of Minsk (ISM) and Alene was our Grade 4 teacher.
I am writing this letter in an attempt to make people aware of the wonderful country Belarus could be were it not for the “last Dictator in Europe,” Mr. Lukashenko.
Our school served as the only school in Belarus with an American-type education. We served students from about 30 different countries whose parents were stationed there for one reason or another, but we were never allowed to enroll any students of Belarussian citizenship. The Government did not want their children to be influenced by American teachers and other students from “free” countries around the world.
One-half (15) of our teachers were from “abroad” (US) and the rest were Belarussian citizens. The “local” teachers were graduates of local Universities and all had studied English to a great extent. They were excellent teachers: intelligent, inquisitive, good-natured, caring, and well-versed in their subject matter. They taught computers, art, music, physical education, as well as various grade levels. Many of them were recognized professionals in their own fields.
Having them on staff was the one concession the local government gave us, but since we did not have local children in the school, that threat did not exist. We trained the teachers in the American curriculum, style of learning, and classroom decorum and routines since most of them had come out of traditional Belarussian schools.
The local teachers were great fun and we all mixed together quite well. My wife and I always said that the worst countries had the best schools and staffs and this was undoubtedly true in Minsk. Alene and I lived and worked in such countries as Venezuela, Pakistan, Burma (now Myanmar), Brazil, and the Republic of Georgia. These were all, in their own way, dangerous countries but the local people were consistently kind and supportive.
The one thing our Belarussian teachers missed was the freedom that came with living in a democracy! They had lived under the dictatorship of Lukashenko for many years and prior to that under Soviet control.
The people of Belarus deserve our support and our help as they strive for their freedom. People in the US think of them as “communists” because of their Soviet past but that is not the case. They love and want the freedom that they see in other parts of the world. Let’s help them achieve their goals.
Tom Tunny
Hamilton
Roger Mitchell says
“Despite this, preliminary results showed that Lukashenko received approximately 80% of votes, while the opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya received about 10% of the ballots. Over 4% of voters chose the “against all candidates” option. The election turnout was 84.23%. Even if one imagines mass falsifications during the election process, that may lead to a 15-20% increase of the result of Lukashenko, the election became a major failure for opposition forces.”
According to this quote, (https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/crisis-belarus-sign-global-division), it appears that Lukashenko actually received a huge amount of the vote in a democratic election. Whether it was fair or not is unknown and is a matter of opinion and speculation. It probably was no more unfair than many others held around the world, including some of those held in supposedly “free” countries.
The real question is how you propose that “we” help the Belarussian people achieve their goals and advance their freedom. Military invasion? Color revolution? Political coup? Assassination? Financial sanctions? Interference by other countries in the elections? Perhaps you ought to begin by defining exactly who “we” are.
Perhaps “we” ought to recognize that these people might want to associate closely with Russia and avoid being swallowed up by NATO. It is, after all, a possibility and that should be their decision. It certainly is not ours. Shouldn’t “we”, as freedom-loving people who don’t want interference by others in our own affairs, be willing to grant the Belarussians that same opportunity?
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”–Jesus Christ