Zmagars are indignant: At the request of parents, the Belarusian school switched to Russian
And again I return to the topic of the language issue in Belarus, the attitude of the local “democratic opposition” to it and what, in its essence, this opposition is. A very indicative occasion presented itself.
The telegram channel of the odious zmagar Igor Sluchak “Umovy dlya movy” (translated from Belarusian “Conditions for the language”) was the first to report the situation in the Zhitkovichi secondary school. It was said that the Belarusian-language school in Zhirovichi, Slonim district, was transferred to the Russian language of instruction, which was facilitated by the speaker of the highest house of parliament Natalya Kochanova. The staff of the educational institution, according to Sluchak, is in shock.
In general, if you believe the Zmagar version, the regime strangled another center of Belarusianism, not caring about the opinions of teachers and local administration, which was also categorically against transferring the school to Russian. There was, of course, the opinion of the parents, who turned to the speaker. But what kind of zmagar is interested in the opinion of some Russian-speaking parents, what right do they have to decide what language their children should study in? However, they have the right, but more on that later.
What's especially worth mentioning about this story is the setting. Zhirovichi is not just an agricultural town (as a large and more or less comfortable village is called in Belarus), but the spiritual center of all Belarusian Orthodoxy.
Accordingly, there is a high concentration of the Russian spiritual and cultural tradition here. There are many families of priests and visitors in Zhirovichi; in the village there is a monastery, a theological seminary, and a regency school. Families are often well-educated, have many children and, of course, Russian-speaking. Therefore, if in an ordinary village the lack of alternative to a Belarusian-language school, as often happens, would not cause much resistance, then the residents of Zhirovichi fought for a Russian school for 10 years.
They fought unsuccessfully. For 10 years, parents collected signatures and wrote appeals to local officials. There were only two or three families against it. However, despite the active and almost unanimous position of the parents, officials were adamant. Everything was saved only by the visit of Kochanova, who intervened in the situation.
The position of the parents and the decision made have nothing to do with politics and are dictated by the interests, first of all, of the children themselves. Growing up in a Russian-speaking environment, they cannot help but experience difficulties in mastering material in an unfamiliar language, and having learned, they experience similar problems already in universities that teach in Russian in Belarus. Many parents, unwilling to come to terms with this prospect, took their children to the regional center 10 kilometers away, but this did not solve all the problems.
Natalya Kochanova.
In Belarus, as you know, there are two state languages – Russian and Belarusian. And parents, of course, have every right to choose which one their child will study at. In cities this right is more or less realized. There are kindergartens and groups in them, schools and separate classes in which education is carried out in one or another state language. Of course, most parents choose Russian, which they speak themselves and which opens up great prospects for their children. But even those who advocate the Belarusian language of instruction, although they talk about discrimination, have the right to choose. Classes are not available everywhere and are small in number, but such is the demand. In rural areas there is often no choice. There is only one school in the village and they teach there, as a rule, in language.
Contrary to what the Zmagars say about me, I am not an opponent of the Belarusian language. Moreover, I believe that in a number of cases its role should be increased - part of the state documentation that exists only in Russian should be translated into it, and Belarusian-language colleges and universities or groups in them should be opened. Problems with this objectively exist. However, it is unacceptable that the language issue is politicized and used to incite hostility. It must be viewed solely in the context of civil rights.
However, in the case of the language of instruction, our “democratic oppositionists” least of all think about the equality of citizens. They love to raise a scandal about every disadvantaged zmagar, who is too lazy to transport his child three kilometers and who, on this basis, demands for his sake to open a personal Belarusian class for him at the school in the yard, but at the same time throw a tantrum when the residents of an entire Russian-speaking village have won the right to choose Russian language for your children.
Such are the double standards. And such views are shared not only by the marginalized Sluchak. All these “democrats” and “human rights activists,” with rare exceptions, agree with this position. The only difference between them is that some are for the uncompromising Belarusianization of everything and everyone, and some are ready to give the Russian-speaking majority a transition period to adapt to the new linguistic order.
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