Belarus: Masking the virus

Belarus: Masking the virus

Belarus’s all-powerful President has focused global attention on his country by ostentatiously downplaying the coronavirus pandemic. Alexander Lukashenko has allowed shops, markets and restaurants and football stadiums to remain open and is encouraging people to go out to work. In early May he laid on a grand military spectacle celebrating victory in WW2, in defiance of social distancing advice. He told Belarussians they could stay healthy by drinking vodka and driving tractors in the fields and dismissed concerns over the virus as “psychosis.” But medics and bereaved families say otherwise. And with a doubling of infections every two or three days, there is not much to laugh about in Belarus. Medical staff have allegedly been sacked and even detained for speaking out about poor conditions in hospitals and the inaccurate death certificates.

Assignment explores what lies behind President Lukashenko’s position. We hear from community activists, war veterans, tech-wizards and many other diverse people in Belarus. Lucy Ash pieces it all together with reporting by Ilya Kuziatsou.

Produced by Monica Whitlock

(Image: Jana Shostak’s Angry Mask. Human Constanta, a Belarusian human rights organisation, asked eight artists to design facemasks focusing on the coronavirus pandemic. Credit: Jakub Jasiukiewicz)

Jaksot(2000)

Marawi: The story of the Philippines’ Lost City

Marawi: The story of the Philippines’ Lost City

Marawi in the southern Philippines is a ghost town. In 2017, it was taken under siege for five months by supporters of Islamic State who wanted to establish a caliphate in the predominantly Muslim cit...

5 Syys 201926min

Detours 5: The last cola in the desert

Detours 5: The last cola in the desert

A small Costa Rican surfing city is the unexpected final home for people leaving Asia and Africa in search of a better life in the US. Hosted by Academy Award-winning documentary film-maker Asif Kapad...

4 Syys 201927min

Detours 4: Imran is stateless

Detours 4: Imran is stateless

Imran fled violence in Myanmar – now he is in detention on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, with no papers and no idea what will happen to him. Hosted by Academy Award-winning documentary film-maker ...

4 Syys 201927min

Detours 3: Eighteen Greeks a week

Detours 3: Eighteen Greeks a week

Follow the dead bodies – 18 each week – that travel along the mountain passes in northern Greece for cremation in another country. Hosted by Academy Award-winning documentary film-maker Asif Kapadia (...

4 Syys 201927min

Detours 2: Where the homeless elephants go

Detours 2: Where the homeless elephants go

Wild elephants surround a village in Assam, India. And they’re hungry. Spend time with the night watch, trying to keep people safe. Hosted by Academy Award-winning documentary film-maker Asif Kapadia ...

4 Syys 201927min

Detours 1: Doctor Fake News

Detours 1: Doctor Fake News

Fake news pays. Medical student Elena ran out of money, so she joined her friends in Veles, North Macedonia, writing fake stories for cash. Hosted by Academy Award-winning documentary film-maker Asif ...

4 Syys 201927min

Michelle Bachelet: Chile's first female president

Michelle Bachelet: Chile's first female president

Michelle Bachelet's father died after being detained and tortured during the first year of General Pinochet's dictatorial rule in Chile. More than 40 years later, Michelle became Chile's first female ...

3 Syys 201927min

Museum of Lost Objects: The fire that scorched Brazil’s history

Museum of Lost Objects: The fire that scorched Brazil’s history

It’s been a year since Brazil’s National Museum burned down in a fire. Not only was its collection one of the most extraordinary in the world, but Brazil’s entire history ran through the museum. On th...

1 Syys 201959min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

olipa-kerran-otsikko
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
i-dont-like-mondays
poks
kolme-kaannekohtaa
aikalisa
kaksi-aitia
antin-palautepalvelu
sita
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
mamma-mia
rss-murhan-anatomia
meidan-pitais-puhua
rss-nikotellen
loukussa
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
lahko