Some stays with you for a long time. On 14 September in Miami, the Belarusian community had a chance to meet in person someone whose fate has become a symbol of a whole people’s struggle — Siarhei Tsikhanouski.

Only a few months ago he walked out of a Belarusian prison after five years inside. He had been sentenced to eighteen years. He was held in complete isolation — more than two years without a single word to his family. Prison staff told him: “You will die here.” His weight fell from 135 to 79 kilograms. At the meeting, his own daughter did not recognise him.

And still — he came out. Alive. With an unbroken spirit. With a voice.

“I still count on the democratic forces to win. Belarus will be free!” — Siarhei Tsikhanouski, after his release.

In 2020 he travelled Belarus with a camera — letting people say out loud what they had kept silent about for years. His channel “A Country for Life” drew hundreds of thousands of views. He gave a voice to those who had had it taken away. For that he was arrested before the elections even began.

Now he is in Miami. He is learning English. He meets the diaspora. He tells the truth about what went on behind the walls of Belarusian prisons. And he is building again what he believes in.

For those of us who live here, far from Belarus, this meeting was not just an event. It was contact with living history.

In Belarus today thousands sit behind bars for the same thing Sergei did — they told the truth. Every gathering we hold here, every voice we raise is also a voice for them. We are here — they are there. But we are still one people.

Thank you, Siarhei. Thank you for your strength.
Long live Belarus!