Screenshot of the video
MINSK, 21 March (BelTA) – In The Honest Story project on BelTA’s YouTube channel, American brothers Jeffrey and Jason Blank who moved to Belarus explained why they support the policy of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko.
“The thing that we appreciate the most is the economy catering to people’s needs. Especially state-owned enterprises and factories. This is the foundation of Belarusian society, this is the most important thing. President Lukashenko protected the economy. In the past, there was a very strong pressure to pivot towards neoliberalism, wild capitalism. Wall Street, World Bank – these organizations of capitalists were pushing for wild privatization in the Soviet Union. President Lukashenko shielded Belarus from that. Belarus became an island of democracy, socialism, socially oriented economy. Russia went through wild capitalism, the situation in Poland was even worse, the state of things in Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine was a disaster. The West and Russia have always been in the grips of wild capitalism,” Jeffrey Blank said.
Jason Blank noted that what he saw in Belarus confirmed what he had read about Aleksandr Lukashenko. “When you see with your own eyes the results of how he runs the country, you get a deeper understanding of what is happening here. He saved the country, and if it wasn’t for him, I think we would not live in Belarus. Some people love to travel around Africa, where living conditions are very bad, it is the third world. We are not such people. If Belarus was not a comfortable place, we would not live here. Maybe we would visit it once, and that’s it,” the man said.
“People in America think that we are struggling, that we have a very hard time in Belarus, that we simply hate America, hence we moved here. But we have a very comfortable, nice life here, the city is very beautiful, compact, everything functions well, public transport is very good,” added Jason Blank. He emphasized that it is fundamentally wrong to think that the brothers hate America: “No, we love America, they are just destroying it.”
“I was impressed by the Pershy National Mall that sells only Belarusian brands. I see it as a dream come true, because no other place in the world has such a thing, a large mall where every store sells products of a particular domestic enterprise. Where else can you see this? In Europe? No, they don't do this,” said Jason Blank. “It used to be the same in America. I always cite the example of the Champion brand, it's a world famous clothing brand, their clothes used to be made in New York State, in the city of Rochester. But everything is gone, the company does not have a factory there anymore.” The man remarked that he was advised to buy Finnish clothing for a child, supposedly because they are of the highest quality: “I went shopping, prices were around Br500-600 and the clothes were ‘made in China’. If I buy Finnish clothes, I want them to be made in Finland.”
The brothers were pleased to note that now almost all the clothes they wear are made in Belarus.
“The thing that we appreciate the most is the economy catering to people’s needs. Especially state-owned enterprises and factories. This is the foundation of Belarusian society, this is the most important thing. President Lukashenko protected the economy. In the past, there was a very strong pressure to pivot towards neoliberalism, wild capitalism. Wall Street, World Bank – these organizations of capitalists were pushing for wild privatization in the Soviet Union. President Lukashenko shielded Belarus from that. Belarus became an island of democracy, socialism, socially oriented economy. Russia went through wild capitalism, the situation in Poland was even worse, the state of things in Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine was a disaster. The West and Russia have always been in the grips of wild capitalism,” Jeffrey Blank said.
Jason Blank noted that what he saw in Belarus confirmed what he had read about Aleksandr Lukashenko. “When you see with your own eyes the results of how he runs the country, you get a deeper understanding of what is happening here. He saved the country, and if it wasn’t for him, I think we would not live in Belarus. Some people love to travel around Africa, where living conditions are very bad, it is the third world. We are not such people. If Belarus was not a comfortable place, we would not live here. Maybe we would visit it once, and that’s it,” the man said.
“People in America think that we are struggling, that we have a very hard time in Belarus, that we simply hate America, hence we moved here. But we have a very comfortable, nice life here, the city is very beautiful, compact, everything functions well, public transport is very good,” added Jason Blank. He emphasized that it is fundamentally wrong to think that the brothers hate America: “No, we love America, they are just destroying it.”
“I was impressed by the Pershy National Mall that sells only Belarusian brands. I see it as a dream come true, because no other place in the world has such a thing, a large mall where every store sells products of a particular domestic enterprise. Where else can you see this? In Europe? No, they don't do this,” said Jason Blank. “It used to be the same in America. I always cite the example of the Champion brand, it's a world famous clothing brand, their clothes used to be made in New York State, in the city of Rochester. But everything is gone, the company does not have a factory there anymore.” The man remarked that he was advised to buy Finnish clothing for a child, supposedly because they are of the highest quality: “I went shopping, prices were around Br500-600 and the clothes were ‘made in China’. If I buy Finnish clothes, I want them to be made in Finland.”
The brothers were pleased to note that now almost all the clothes they wear are made in Belarus.
