Paul
Goble
Staunton, February 18 – In many
countries around the world, people routinely laugh at governments which build “bridges
to nowhere” that connect no one to anyone else except perhaps through the
pockets of contractors. That is unfortunate, but there is a worse case, one in
which infrastructure collapses cutting people apart and no one in the
government cares.
That may strike many as a story too
small to care about, but as W.H. Auden reminds us in his poem, “The Fall of
Rome,” it is precisely the small things that drive the population mad and
ultimately convince it that something is profoundly wrong with the regime they
live under. They may not revolt immediately, but they have already decided that
their government is revolting.
A bridge across the Pripet has
collapsed making it impossible for residents on one side to reach their jobs on
the other. The only alternative left to them is a 300 kilometer detour one-way,
a route that takes so long that many can’t get to and from their jobs or
medical appointments (news.tut.by/society/582904.html?f).
Residents have
complained but officials who are responsible have done nothing. Earlier they promised repairs or even a boat
to ferry people across but that hasn’t happened. And residents clearly don’t
expect much: in December, a bridge nearby collapsed. Officials promised
repairs, but it is still closed for cars and for pedestrians.
A local news agency reports that “the
lack of automobile and pedestrian paths across the Pripet has paralyzed the
life and economy in the region. True, local residents have been promised a
pontoon bridge.” But since those promises were made, the temperature has
plunged, the river has frozen and the proposed alternative route “can’t work.”
It would be bad enough if this were
the only transportation problem Belarusians face. In fact, it isn’t. Not only
are there more infrastructure problems that haven’t been fixed and that are
impassable for even the most adventurous and desperate, but the regime has
adopted a new transport law that means for Belarusians, you can’t get there
from here.
To save money, the government has
reduced the number of bus routes, making it impossible for many to get a seat
and get to work, and it has required people to show up many kilometers from their
homes to meet one rather than at the closest major street of highway (nn.by/?c=ar&i=205450&lang=ru
and auto.tut.by/news/exclusive/582768.html).
As of this week,
there are no tickets available on many lines – people can’t get to work or to
school – a situation that residents say recalls being in “a besieged city.” Train service in many places has been
non-existent for some time, and now there are no buses either even to the capital
or other major cities.
Belarusian
officials justify their actions by insisting that “there is no demand for bus
routes,” something that sold out routes – one can reserve a seat online 30 days
in advance – and the complaints of people who can no longer get to work to earn
money to feed their children or visit them in university show are hollow.
And the bus drivers are now on the
side of the population. Officials say that many buses are old and out of
service. But the drivers insist and the news agencies show that many of them
are new and quite capable of handling more passengers and more routes than the
authorities suggest.
People waiting in line for bread in
St. Petersburg in February 1917 grumbled and sparked a revolution in the
Russian Empire. People waiting in line for buses or for some way around collapsed
bridges could easily spark one in Belarus, something officials who think
nothing will ever change would do well to remember.
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