Language Partisans

"Language as Resistance"

Summary

Two activists, Alina and Ihar, have been fighting for a stronger presence of the Belarusian language for over a decade. In Belarus, Belarusian, despite being a state language, has been marginalized and excluded from most public spheres. Writing appeals to state institutions and companies to enforce a current law has been for Alina and Ihar the main form of resistance against the dominance of the Russian language. This activism has put them in danger, when after the 2020 rigged elections in Belarus repressions reached an unprecedented level. Escaping persecution, Alina and Ihar have fled their house and gone into hiding inside their own country – the choice the danger of which would be rethought only much later.