Lithuanians organise for freedom and reach out to Russian mothers

2. Our guerilla fighters, or "The forest brothers", as we call them, were resisting the Soviet occupation until 1957 when the last leader of them was killed.

The everyday acts of bravery was also a proof of a great desire to decide our own way of living, to have our own culture and country in our hands. And today, the war in Ukraine also reminds us of a feeling of being forgotten, left alone, abandoned by the western world.

Even until now, being a member of EU and NATO, Lithuania has been trying to prove its existence to the western countries: we are not that monolithic "Eastern bloc", we are not the exoticized or stereotypical version you show on your entertainment TV, portraying us as criminals and hookers. We live and breathe the same ideals and the same inner-conflicts. Our generation can't imagine a world where we're not free. Same as yours. But the inner conflicts don't matter anymore because Ukrainians are fighting for something you all take for granted. And the former president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko is fighting alongside his competitor Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Poets and ballet dancers are fighting alongside politicians. Because you can't discuss feminism, equality, lgbt+ rights when you are being bombed by the enemy. You have to unite against it.

We, here, are rich in culture, technology, and great thinkers. Right now, to be divided or neutral is a privilege we cannot afford. A conflict happens between two equal sides. It occurs when we debate how to name a street or who to elect for a city council. This is not a Ukrainian conflict. This is war. This war is between the oppressor and the oppressed. And this war isn't just happening on a heroic battlefield where two armies are marching towards each other; the russian military is destroying Ukrainian universities and hospitals, bombing beautiful city of Kyiv to the ground.

The heart of Europe now beats in Kyiv. If they're brave enough to fight for it and protect it, be brave enough to call this what it is - a war. And be brave enough to act as if your own people, ideals, and culture are being destroyed. Because it is.

PS

We believe in the power of art to embolden and empower people. For those, who are unfamiliar with the culture that is under attack right now, we provided a short (and definitely not conclusive) list that will struck a chord:

Listen: DakhaBrakha, Katarina Gryvul, Nikolaienko, Kalush, Alina Pash, Go_A, Vivienne Mort, Haydamaky.

Read: Ilya Kaminsky, Lyuba Yakimchuk, Serhiy Zhadan, Olga Bragina, Kolya Kulinich, Vasyl Makhno, Halyna Kruk, Kateryna Mikhalitsyna, Borys Khersonsky.

Watch: Oxygen Starvation (1992) by Andrii Donchyk; My thoughts are silent (2019) by Antonio Lukich; Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965) by Sergei Paradjanov; The guide (2014) by Oles Sanin; Maidan (2014) by Sergei Loznitsa; Gamer (2011) by Oleg Sentsov; Julia Blue (2020) by Roxy Toporowych.