BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

26/10/2007

Gleason: Belarus still seeks identity

By: Larry Binz

There are flickering signs that Belarus, which endured the atrocities of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, is gradually moving toward independence, the Rev. Bill Gleason reports.

"Belarus has no natural borders. It's been difficult for the country to find its own identity," Gleason said this past week when he spoke to the Clarksdale Noon Lions Club.

Gleason, the pastor of First Presbyterian Church, reported on his trip to Belarus which was part of his ministry work in foreign countries.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of Communism, Belarus found itself without an economic base and with a population depleted by the Nazi and Soviet purges, Gleason said.

"All of the Jews were either run off or killed," Gleason said. "Belarus lost a third of its population during World War II."

Whenever the underground killed a Nazi soldier, the Third Reich would retailiate mercilessly, he said.

For example:

"A German officer was killed by a sniper. A Nazi leader ordered his troops to track the people from that town, have them put in a barn and the barn burned," Gleason said.

Records indicate that more than 2.2 million Belarians were murdered by the Nazis.

For the record, Gleason said, Belarus is comprised of "very intelligent people."

Many have master's and doctorate degrees, he added. Unfortunately, there is high unemployment in Belarus.

"You could see a person with a graduate degree doing manual labor like sweeping the sidewalks," Gleason said.

The ripple effect from high unemployment in the post-Soviet era has been a high incidence of alcoholism, divorce and family abuse.

"The Soviets de-emphasized family life," Gleason said.

Today, one could find many of the young women in Belarus dressed well but unmarried.

"The young people are afraid of getting married," he said.

Moving through his power point presentation, Gleason pointed to a vast amount of latter-day construction in Minz, for example.

"Belarus is just now being rebuilt from the devastation of World War II," Gleason said.

Life under the Soviets was not any better, he stated, citingcited one recorded incident of 40 truckloads of people being force to dig their own graves before the Soviets shot them en masse.

There are still reminders of the horrors of WWII and the Soviet oppression, Gleason said.

"There is a 150-foot solid granite monument that honors the memory of heroes who fought against the Nazis," Gleason said. "The wreath is changed daily."

Among the more notable individuals who have lived in Belarus is Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated President John Kennedy, Gleason said.

There are only about 100 Americans living in Belarus because "most Americans don't want to go there," Gleason continued.

He and his wife stayed with associates and worked with the faculty at Minz Bible College.

Christianity is slowly making its return since the death grip from Communist Russia, Gleason said.

"About half of the country's 10 million population is still either atheist or agnostic," Gleason said.

About 70 percent of those who believe in Christianity are Russian Orthodox, Gleason said.

About 10 percent are Roman Catholic and about five percent of the people are either Protestant, Muslim or Jews, he said.

"The people are becoming more open to Protestants," Gleason added.

Source:

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18960352&BRD=2038&PAG=461&dept_id=230617&rfi=6