Thread by @Hajun_BY

Alina, a 22-year-old woman who works as a shop assistant in Minsk, speaks only Belarusian. She told @gazetabycom about the life of a Belarusian-speaking person in the country, where the regime destroys the national identity.
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In 2019, Alina completely stopped speaking Russian and started using only the Belarusian language. Even at that time, she felt insecure, and after the 2020 rigged elections and brutal repression, this feeling just increased.
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Alina says that now she’s just scared to speak Belarusian in public places, including at work, because “you never know what customer it is, and where he/she can call to tell that a Belarusian-speaking person works here.”
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“Even if I walk down the street and my friend speaks loudly in Belarusian, I feel uncomfortable and scared. It’s already scary to live here, and if you still want to use your language and develop it, then you feel an additional risk,” the girl says.
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Alina noted that much more people started using Belarusian in Minsk. She believes that Belarusian must be the only official language in Belarus. She says that it’s important to show what may happen if there’s no transition to the Belarusian language as the only official.
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The woman says that Russians often come to her shop, especially after the mobilization was declared in Russia. When they ask her to speak Russian, she refuses and calls a Russian-speaking assistant.
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Russian soldiers with “Z” signs also came recently. She and her colleagues do everything possible not to serve them. “Though I don’t sell weapons, in this case it’s morally hard to be a good salesperson,” Alina says.
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“It’s scary everyday here. No matter how terrible it sounds, but in the evening you think that it was another day at large. But I try to do what’s important to me: I work on my music project and generally do music. I try to develop and help people,” Alina says.
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