Gražina Bielousova has been living in the United States for nine years. She made a decision to share her thoughts publicly in the Lithuanian language and became a much needed progressive voice in the rather conservative Lithuanian media. Gražina is a contributor at NARA, LRT.lt and Bernardinai.lt sharing her insightful, brave and well-researched essays.
"I need to be a public intellectual for the common good. I have been given the tremendous gift of 13 years of education. So what do I do with it?" she reflects in the NARA podcast conversation with Karolis Vyšniauskas as they speak in the city of Durham.
Last year on the January 13th Gražina wrote how she was bullied in school and called "occupier" because she had a Russian family name – even though her father was defending the parliament with hundreds of fellow Lithuanians. Many Russian-Lithuanians related to that experience. Some of her classmates apologized. After 30 years, the change was made.
"The story of independent Lithuania is complicated – and some of the complications collide in me“
This episode is a part of the series Rethinking Lithuania focusing on people who initiate progressive changes in Lithuanian society, despite not living here physically.
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