According to her, 17 September is a historical date that brought the people together, united a common culture and a common home, and reunited Western Belarus with the Belarusian SSR. But most importantly, it is a holiday of respect and remembrance of ancestors, of caring for each other, and of responsibility for the future of one's country.
“Vasily Korzh, Sergei Pritytsky, Vera Khoruzhaya, Maksim Tank. This list could go on for a long time. We remember and honor those who fought for their land and culture. We remember the trials and bitterness of loss that our families endured. We will never forget these names, so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Memory is our guide,” said Olga Chemodanova.
She called for remembering the values that unite: language, traditions, hard work, land, and the Motherland.
The chairperson of the Belaya Rus party noted that on the eve of the Day of People’s Unity, it was proposed to declare the memorial zone of the former Bereza Kartuska concentration camp a nationwide site of memory for the victims of the Polish occupation. This was a concentration camp where from 1934 to 1939, thousands of prisoners were subjected to torture and suffering. The main goal of the Polish regime was to bring people to an extreme psychological and physical state, to erase them as individuals, so that they would feel useless, voiceless, and, most importantly, unable to participate in any political struggle at that time. “This is a human grief that cannot be erased from the memory of our people,” she emphasized.
Olga Chemodanova is convinced that unity is not born by itself; it is built on trust, on honest conversations, and on mutual understanding. “Today, when everything is changing, and there are many challenges and threats around us, the time has come to unite. Not by coercion, but by choice. For the sake of our children’s peace. For the stability and development of the economy, culture, and education,” she emphasized. “Each of you can do this through your small actions, which turn into a great force. And this force - quiet, daily, persistent - makes our country unshakable.”
he chairperson of the Belarusian party Belaya Rus concluded: “May unity be not just a holiday on the calendar, but a living force that will lead us forward.”
