Images of death and destruction have sparked worldwide outrage and rising criticism of western nations amid the worsening humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. In the face of the Russian invasion and knowing that many people in Belarus do not support Lukashenko’s complicity in this illegal war, we have teamed up with Minsk based dark alt post hardcore band ксилема (KSILEMA) to get their perspective on the crisis, and give you their grim 8-tracker “ксилема”
Formed in 2013, ксилема broke up three years ago and this year the band is back with their new recording, featuring songs recorded back in 2018.
“In these troubled times, we would like to convey words of support to people living and experiencing a real catastrophe in Ukraine, including those located in previously occupied territories.” – comments the band.
“Ukraine is a beautiful country, and it is absolutely impossible to believe that the world is collapsing for its inhabitants right at the time of writing these lines.”
𝑊𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝐵𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑅𝑢𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑎 𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙.
“We pity those who were born when it was impossible to change anything, and even more so — those who were born when there was virtually nothing to change.
However, there is a big question, what is the significance of spreading this word amongst an English-speaking audience. We’re sure that there is an absolute and unequivocal consensus between people living outside eastern Europe about what is going on. Everyone understands that war is war — real and deadly — and knows who is the main villain and tyrant.”
𝑆𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑅𝑢𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑢𝑠, ℎ𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟, 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚.
“It’s sad that in the country we live in (Belarus), a consensus also exists but non-verbatim. It is an expectation of total collapse, a flashlight that tears the sky and makes people stand still, unable to move, waiting for the blast wave to destroy everything.
The first notion of this helplessness appeared after a failed revolution in 2020–2021 when people without guns and shots tried to overcome 60,000 armed, brainwashed, frightened and psychologically broken army and police specially bred for this during 26 years of dictatorship. 100,000–150,000 people left a country prosecuted by the KGB and other special forces afterwards, more than a thousand people got real prison terms.
In 2021, a military training called ‘Union Dead-Set’ served as an excuse to occupy Belarus, not only with the army of Lukashenko but with Russia’s armed forces as well. Any activity is oppressed, people are kidnapped from their homes.
And so, we are where we are. But…
𝑊𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠
🔴 For more opinions on the current crisis and insider commentary from Ukraine, check out our special interviews series below:
