My name is Anastasia. I was detained at the end of January 2022. During the detention I was subjected to physical abuse and cruel moral pressure by GUPOBiK, then I was sent to Okrestina. After that to the detention center, where I was kept waiting for almost 4 months.
I left Belarus in May 2022. Of course it is very scary to leave when you don't know how it can end. In every sight you look for an enemy. I got to Georgia. I wanted to start a new life, but it didn't end there. A month after I left, they started actively looking for me. They came to my registered address several times and kept coming back with summonses to appear. I had to go to a talk, then to the investigative committee. Then I was summoned to court (a civil suit under Article 342 Part 1). In the end I was found guilty and forced to pay a fine of 33,771.63 BYR. I was put on the list of extremists, I received calls on Viber from different numbers (I can't know exactly who called), but they kept looking for me in Minsk.
I was always in an active position. I have been a volunteer psychologist at the Foundation for the Relief of Belarusians for almost 10 months. I was also engaged in “right” propaganda. My struggle never ended.
In 2023, an extreme situation occurred when I realized that I was not safe in Georgia. Several officers came to my grandmother's house. Where my grandmother lived I had not been registered for about 8 years. They were looking for me, demanded she tell them where I was and how to find me. My grandmother is 68 years old and this is a very scary experience for her. She survived a heart attack and is on disability, she and I don't even share the same last name.
At that time the issue of the law “On Foreign Agents” was raised in Georgia, and I realized that I could lose my citizenship. Just like any other Belarusian. So I made a decision and left for Europe quite quickly, but I was not prepared for that at all. I had to leave my job, arranged rental housing and life, which I built from scratch in 10 months.
At the moment I am in Vilnius. It is a question of renting a house and transporting my belongings from another country. I want to get international protection (refugee status), so I can't get an official job now, but I am still volunteering as a psychologist, helping people, and I am not going to stop.
I really need financial support right now, I am still recovering my health and mental state after all the horror I have been through.
How much do you need?
1850€ — rent (two months' rent and a deposit), to bring my luggage from another country and the rest of the money to live on (permanent medication prescribed by a psychotherapist, food, hygiene products).