Our Life Is Meaningless Without Freedom

The priest answered the main questions that concern Belarusian society today.

In Warsaw on October 28, an event was held in memory of volunteer Eduard Lobau and other Belarusian soldiers who died in the war in Ukraine. About 100 people gathered at the Free Belarus Museum.

After the showing of the film “The Eternal Battle of Eduard Lobau”, which was produced by the Belsat TV channel, a discussion took place with the participation of Eduard’s mother Maryna Lobava, the film’s director Volha Voranava, priest Viachaslau Barok and a volunteer of the public organization “Euromaidan”, famous journalist Yevhen Klimakin. The moderator was Natallia Radzina.

During the discussion, Viachaslau Barok touched upon very important topics for Belarusian society. Why did people take to the streets in 2020? How to stop the war? What are Belarusians fighting for in Ukraine? How can we win?

The website Charter97.org quotes Catholic priest’s speech:

“Those who die are not those who adapt in their lives and “land on all fours.” Those who die are those who think not about themselves but about others.

Those who die in the line of fire they cover with their bodies the bullets that fly from the aggressors towards the victim. Those who die are not those who say that “war is a dirty business.” Those who say that “this is my business” die. If not me, then who? Who will change this world?

Eduard Lobau did not become a hero because he died in Ukraine. He once served a four-year prison term in Belarus, back when many did not know what evil they were bringing to life. Those who took to the streets in 2020, when Ed was in prison, built this system receiving money for it. That's when he became a hero - when he saw in advance what evil was and began to fight it.

His colleague Zmitser Dashkevich is still in prison. For what? Because he is a real Christian and adheres to Christian principles. They convicted him once, then and then sentenced him to another year. Why? Because he did not succumb to the “regime's ideas.” Because he is a hero.

Heroes are dying, but heroes are seeds, like Christians. Faith is born even among those people who do not believe in victory thanks to the flowing blood.

Why did the 2020 events happen? Where did the people come from? Why did people wake up? Because there were people like Eduard Lobau, like Dashkevich, like others. Because there were heroes, because they were dying, because they were shedding their blood. As long as a person lives on this earth, it is normal to fight for freedom. Because without freedom this life has no meaning. That's why heroes die so that we can live.

I don't believe that the deaths of heroes are in vain. I believe that we will wake up and think. There is a lot of disappointment today. No matter who you talk to, everyone is depressed and everyone is disappointed. My answer is simple - read the Bible. I read the Bible to the end, I know that everything will be fine in the end. Happy is the one who today stands on the side of good in this struggle.

Let's unite based on the fact that Belarus is valuable to us. The value is not only your life, salary, family, but also Belarus. When this thought is in the mind of every politician, analyst and citizen, then we will be fine. Our heroes will inspire us with their feats, they will show that life without freedom is meaningless, and we will achieve what we strive for - we will build a new Belarus.

I once told a man when he asked what to do, I said: “Go to the front.” Then some brothers in faith accused me: “How could you, priest, say: go to the front? What about the commandment: Thou shalt do no murder?” You see, the one asks such questions when the war has already begun and when the bullets are going by already. Is the one thereby trying to justify evil?

But for a believer, there is no question when there is a war: “What to do?”. The war must be stopped. How to stop the war? Praying is good, you need to pray, fasting is good, it’s very important. But how to stop the war? If you want to stop the war, you need to stop the bullets that are already going by. How can you stop them? If you don’t go to the line of fire, you won’t stop the bullets, they will hit civilians. Who is responsible for this? Each of us since we know that bullets are already going by.

Anyone who doubts what to do should ask a rhetorical question to people like Saint Jiovanna d'Arco. What to do when an aggressor attacked your country and occupied it? Here is Saint Jiovanna d'Arco in the 15th century in France, being a very young girl, she did not ask herself this question: “What to do?” Her spirit was at the highest level, but she took a sword to fight.

For example, blessed Stefan Wyszyński, when there were war events in Poland during the Second World War, he went to war, he was a chaplain. Yes, being a priest, he did not take up a gun, but he was at war. He did not say that war is a ‘dirty business’. He was with human beings. What to do? To fight as you can. Don't hide but stop evil. That's when the war will end. There is no other way. For an aggressor, war is always a crime. For those who are victims: Belarus, Ukraine, war is a sacred duty to defend native lands. Belarus is occupied. How else to defend it without defending Ukraine? Eduard Lobau thought not only about Ukraine, he thought about Belarus. And all the other Belarusians who are fighting there. We have common interests now. This is how we fight for our free Belarus. There is no other way.

We will definitely approach Belarus and win. But God forbid that you take a break on this path. Belarusian society took a break in 1994. Our heroes died because of that, people sacrificed their lives for their homeland.

There is no need to be afraid of death. We must be afraid to take a break and live our lives without fighting for freedom."