of the people we knew were impacted by this. We couldn’t stay at home. Nadia: The police arrested a lot of people. They got ten or fifteen days in prison, I don’t remember.And when they were released from prison, people saw in what condition they were. They were blue from the beatings. They had broken noses, legs and arms. Some were raped. All this information was in the air. You could of course try to pretend that you did not see this. You could do this, and your life would be much easier. But you can’t do this if you’re a human being.We are humans.We were not able to shut up and to stay at home.We spoke out against it, in the way that we could. We are musicians.We put flowers on our bagpipes, as a sign of peace. We took to the streets and played. We supported the people who protested after this incredible evil happened. We had no chance to act differently,because we are humans. But youwere conscious that this was dangerous.Therewas always this threat of police violence. Vova: Of course.But it was also dangerous to stay at home or to go to the grocery store. The police worked in civilian clothes. They were everywhere. They arrested everyone they suspected of any opposition. It was really dangerous to just go outside. So it didn’t matter. We knew that we could be beaten, or that we could be imprisoned for several days. Nadia: In this period,the prison sentences were still days,not years. - 13 - Vova: We knew that our bagpipes would be destroyed. But it was not enough to stop us, because of what they did … Nadia: It was very scary to go there.We saw what happened, with our own eyes. It was very scary, but still we did it. I have also heard that theywere especially looking for the musicians at the protests. Were they really tracking the musicians, or just everyone. Nadia: No. I would say they were tracking everyone. People in Belarus are incredible.Doctors took to the streets in white coats and the symbols of doctors. IT professionals went to protest with keyboards. A lot of people made cool art and installations. There were a lot of funny signs. It was so creative and bright. It was scary, but at the same time it was beautiful and creative.There was a lot of humor.The protests were really peaceful. I don’t think that we attracted more attention than others. But of course the video where we were playing the bagpipes went viral.People inAmerica sawour video,and that was the reason they tracked us, I believe. It was too beautiful for them. You also recorded two new videos at that time of the protests. These were songs you had alreadywritten: ‘Kryly (Wings)’, which is really beautiful, and ‘Быў. Ёсць. Буду. (I Was. IAm. Iwill be)’.Did you connect these two songs to the protests? Vova: We did our best with our bagpipes at the protests, but www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be
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