Belarusians did not even wonder under what banner they were to unite. As if memory and respect for the white-red-white colours always lived in their hearts, and now, through pain and torment, they woke up and inspire the nation to move forward.
When Ina Zaytsava saw how the flags are brutally confiscated during the marches, she decided to become the flag herself – she painted a red stripe on her wedding gown. At that time, it became a bright symbol of protest for Belarusians. Drawings with the white-red-white bride, as she was called, appeared on the walls in Minsk, and girls from other cities began to take their wedding gowns to paint a red stripe on them.
The white-red-white flag like never before has become a national symbol in the defence of which people are ready to sacrifice themselves. Here is one group of young people tying white-red-white ribbons on the fence of their housing estate, another – decorating their square with lamps to listen to a lecture on the history of the white-red-white flag… In a tailor’s workshop, girls sew flags, and someone goes at night for a rehearsal of dancing with white, red and white props.
September 2020 to February 2021 is a crucial time for Belarusians, when for the historic white-red-white national symbols one can now be punished not only with an unreasonably high fine but also with death.
In memory of Raman Bandarenka.
The documentary directed by Nastassia Erameyeva, Belarus, 2021
