Supporting the ”Childhood in Exile” project

After the 2020 protests, people in Belarus were repressed en masse. At the moment there are more than a thousand political prisoners in the country, and according to the official data of the authorities, from 2020 to 2021, there are 60,614,000 fewer inhabitants of Belarus. People, fearing criminal prosecution, who suffered from Lukashenko′s regime, fled the country. Children fled together with the adults. In Belarus the removal of children from the family is one of the tools of political pressure for civic position and dissent. According to the Ukrainian Border Guard Service, 100,000 Belarusians crossed the border between August 2020 and August 2021. Belarus has become a co-aggressor country, so many children have faced discrimination on the grounds of nationality. Unable to ignore this problem, together with the team we decided to tell the story of these children through the project ”Childhood in Emigration”. Objectives we have are to show the vulnerability of refugee children in re-emigration; to draw public attention to the problems of refugee children from Belarus; to make visible children who, like adults, have been affected by the Lukashenko regime; to engage various NGOs/NGOs, European organisations and human rights organisations to help Belarusian refugee children; to reduce discrimination on ethnic grounds in society. In order to give a voice to the stories of children who suffered under a repressive regime and war — our team needs support. We would be grateful to everyone who helps us implement this initiative and make visible the children who survived what they shouldn′t have.