Do you remember when this question was commonly asked in job interviews? Where do you see yourself in five years?It’s a question about personal ambitions, dreams, and the future — not just about your career, but also about where you want to live, the kind of home and city you imagine yourself in.
Right now, all of us face an even bigger question: What kind of country do we want to live in? Who do we want to be in that country? What opportunities, prospects, prosperity, freedoms, and rights do we aspire to have?
So, where do you see yourself in five years? I encourage you to ask yourself this question right now.
In any normal country, in any properly functioning state, the most important and highest-ranking position is that of the voter. It is the voter — through their voice, their needs, their will, and their decision — who determines the direction of the country, who decides who will be hired to implement their vision, and whether those in power deserve to have their contracts renewed based on their performance.
The voter governs the country and entrusts power to those they believe can be trusted with the future of the state — and with their own future.
It is crucial that today, we all remember this and ask ourselves: Who do we see ourselves as in five years? What kind of country do we envision?Because we are the voters. And that is a position of immense responsibility. This is our country. This is our state.
Of course, what is happening in Belarus today cannot be called an election. What the Lukashenko regime is organizing does not meet even the most basic criteria of a real democratic vote. It is nothing more than a fraud and an imitation.
And yet, we must make a choice. Because otherwise, that choice will be made for us — just as it has been during Lukashenko’s 30 years of rule. Now, he wants to extend this lawlessness, this disregard for people, this mockery of society, the repression, the torture, the destruction of our rights and freedoms, the obliteration of Belarus’s international relations, economy, security, independence, and future.
Lukashenko is destroying healthcare and education, trade and business, culture, law, and justice. And he plans to continue doing so. For another five years. And then another five. And another. For as long as he lives, as long as he rules, our country, our future, and our chances for a normal life will continue to disappear.
Lukashenko has stolen 30 years from us. And now he wants to steal five more. For a country trying to develop as an independent state, this is not just a pause — it is a catastrophic regression, setting us back not just 30 years, but perhaps even further.
So maybe it’s time to stop heading toward the abyss?
Some might remember that Lukashenko’s first campaign slogan in 1994 was "To Lead the Country Away from the Abyss". But in reality, for 30 years, he has only led Belarus in circles along its edge. Today, we are closer to that abyss than anyone in 1994 could have imagined.
Yes, resisting and fighting back today is dangerous. But doing nothing is even more dangerous.
At the very least, each of us can do something. We can mark "against all" on the ballot. We can express our will. We can remember who we are. And we can ask ourselves one simple question: Who do I want to be in five years?
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