home ground, home ...
I just sit in Vilnius at the airport in the departure lounge and I must wait, go to my flight, I now have time to write back a bit for my blog. Tomorrow is Christmas, I'm on the way home. The last few days have been pretty nerve-wracking. Once because of all the tense situation because of the elections, but for me especially, because my visa and my residence permit was ready.
The reports and pictures of the demonstrations and the government's action against the protesters should probably know the most. Did the press conference by President Lukashenko and the penalties for those arrested was an issue in the German media, but now appears to Europe and the rest of the world Belarus forgotten how it looks so in Belarus itself?
seems Outwardly, everything should go on as if Sunday had not been elected, and as it had the demonstrations not given. But if you talk to the people, many are disappointed because their hopes for change have not been met. Also, many people are appalled by the brutality of the government. Many people are very sad and also seem to have lost their hope.
However, these are rather few, many have hoped at all that anything will change and a lot of people know only what spreads the State Fernsehn on the demonstrations and the opposition: This is a bunch of drunken hooligans Sunday wanted to take a chance to cause chaos. These were then mostly photos of a car shown by the alleged explosives, iron bars, Gasoline and the like was and it had stopped on the way to Independence Square. We report on the militia, which had intervened heroic and would even be so handled still mild with the demonstrators. Often an interview with the chairman of the OSCE was shown Sunday night meant more rashly, there were no signs of voter fraud, the official opinion of the OSCE was then not even mentioned anymore. Also, any criticism from Europe by the Fernsehn and simply ignored by Lukashenko, seen only the good wishes of other countries such as China, which stressed that the elections judged free and democratic have to be shown. So you could now many examples of the manipulation of people by showing the television. However, I also noticed that Europe have shown mainly the images point to which the escalation of the demonstrators ions and almost nothing in advance of the peaceful demonstrations.
For me the most frightening was the violence with which the militia is proceeded. I also had the feeling that not Minsk on Sunday evening, the city where I live for three months.
What has frightened me in the last few days at most, was to determine whether the state decision about us volunteers white. The visit of the militia on Saturday was an indication of the fact that the questions were not really questions, but officials already knew the answers. I was upset but then pick up, especially when I came yesterday to the office for my visa and I had not said a word and the officer just said to me: "Ah, Joan, Ulitsa Knorina, House 10a, Flat 15th You come pick up her visa. "I thought it for a couple hours agonizing how he knew me so exactly, when he is in charge in our neighborhood for a few thousand people after all. When he then also asked for Saturday, when the militia was with us, now I have the suspicion that he was the official who Saturday when we did, but I was excited Saturday to remember his face to me and I know it's not so sure. In any case, it was strange ... My visa was not ready and then the way I needed to and then again in the afternoon was finally finished and I was able to leave this morning without problems.
Now I'm looking forward to first Christmas at home and out look on my family and friends again. Right now I find it difficult to imagine but, in a few hours (actually 1 ½, due to the time difference actually 2 ½) in Germany to be. Germany was in the last three months in my thoughts so far away that I imagine is difficult can, as it will be there. The thought to be two weeks away and not to work, I am also a little sad because I know that I will not see my babushkas and the children in Novinki two weeks.
first Now I hope that my flight is not delayed further, there are just 15 minutes, for another flight from Dublin, comes too late and the German Railway and all its problems has done with the snow ( By the way Belarus had made the trip from Minsk to Vilnius no problems although there is lots of snow and it's cold ...;)).
That's now so far from me first, because I have no Internet, I will, however, this entry has only been possible to publish evening at home.
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