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If there is one thing I know how to do, it is to love.
It doesn't seem so special, but I am proud of it.
We have had to fight for our love.
Even in our country - where the rights, so it seems, have been sorted out for those who love differently from the majority,
even here, every young gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender,
every young life is a new battle to be able and to be allowed to become who he or she must become.
In approximately 76 countries love like ours is forbidden. In 7 countries it is punishable by death.
In a world where gay rights are so rarely a matter of course, Putin's law is a dangerous step backward,
legalising homophobia and violating human rights.
And when that law came into force, I was convinced that the Games in Sochi would not go on.
And still, there we are: Putin’s party is starting.
And the Netherlands join him in this celebration with a heavy delegation.
In doing so, our government lends validity and glory to a dangerous and repressive regime
that forbids people to speak openly about how they love and about whom they love.
Shaking hands with someone who preaches hate and violates human rights,
shaking hands before the eye of the camera, is wrong.
King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima and prime minister Rutte celebrate with Putin.
They didn't succeed to imagine themselves in the position of a vulnerable, threatened minority in Russia.
We shall have to continue our protest, even when the Holland House will erupt in joy.
We shall have to keep on asking for understanding.
We shall have to keep on telling how the LGBT community in Russia suffers under that law.
And this is something *we* can do. If there is one thing we have learnt, all of us together, it is to fight.
And if there one thing we can do, it is to love.
We can!
If there is on thing I know how to do, it is to love.