Kurapaty - Minsk, Belarus - To Witness and remember...

In a spirit of Independence, and a belief that it is important to have some understanding of the history of Belarus – with Kurapaty right at the edge of the village where we live, it is important to  understand what happened there.  That in the 30’s-40’s, during Stalin’s time, when the NKVD (secret police) were functioning at a high, if you were educated, religious, scientific or had an opinion – it was not uncommon to “disappear.”  Disappear meaning that your family had no idea what had happened to you, except that you disappeared, never to return again.  It was not until the late 80's to early 90’s that Kurapaty, a forested area, it was discovered to be a mass grave of approximately 250,000 individuals – those who had “disappeared.”  Kurapaty, still a forested area, now is full of crosses, to memorialize those individuals lost, a place for family members to remember.  While you cannot fully understand the significance of walking through Kurapaty, it still felt  important to walk through, to witness, to remember.  A chance at freedom from oppression is what the people of Belarus are still fighting for.