With uncertainty in the world growing, the number of people learning about resilience to threats and civil resistance in Lithuania is increasing.
Red Cross volunteer Gabija Plungytė teaches people what should be in their emergency bags and where to hide in a crisis.
“People who want to know, come. I myself volunteer out of the fear of day X, and I’m happy to educate the public about it,” she says.
“We notice that people are more interested now. We have been running our course for more than half a year, but the groups were not full before,” adds Milda Vibrantytė of the Red Cross.
The Red Cross courses take place almost every day. According to volunteers, people are not only interested in how to take care of themselves but also how to look after their pets in case of emergency.
Interest in the civil resistance courses organised by the Defence Ministry has also increased. Last year, around 30,000 people listened to the course. This year, the numbers are already up, with almost 115,000 people signing up in two months.
This figure is boosted by the fact that civil servants are required to attend an introductory course on mobilisation and civil resistance, but courses for the general public are also full.
“A huge number of civil servants both want and need to complete the course. We are also seeing initiatives from citizens to join the civil resistance course, the drone training course,” said Deputy Defence Minister Tomas Godliauskas.
Photographer and activist Neringa Rekašiūtė has also joined the civil resistance course.
“So that I am not a burden to others,” she said about her motivation. “I’m a relatively young person, I can take care of others, not only myself, so I think everyone can learn and be useful.”
In 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Rekašiūtė organised several artistic performances. Now, she says, it is important to act, to form communities, to spread the right information.
“Defending yourself from the enemy doesn’t mean that everyone has to go into the trenches with a gun. [...] There are many ways, and it is important to talk about them,” Rekšiūtė noted.
As public anxiety started to grow again, following the shift in US foreign policy, the Armed Forces reassured the society that the enemy is not yet behind the gates, although Russia is a constant threat to Lithuania.
In a post on Facebook, the Armed Forces stressed that it is normal to be afraid, but fear should not be our guide.
“So what to do? Prepare. Soldiers need to arm and train to do their job, civilians too. Each one of us, from the singer to the schoolboy, plays an important role in the life of society, and if we continue to play that role, regardless of our fears, we are creating the very real universal defence that is so talked about now,” it said.
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