Hi, everybody!
My name is Daria. Three years ago I was a student of the BSU Geography Department, and now I am a former political prisoner in exile.
In 2020, I was confident in the solidarity of Belarusians and their desire for change when I went on marches. I expressed my civic position and I don't regret it. However, it cost me dearly. I was very traumatized by the experience of two and a half years in the penitentiary, and the emergency departure from the country without my belongings and money further aggravated my moral state. At this difficult time I really need your help to start building a new life in a foreign country.
I was detained in early March 2021 just on the street. I had 5 minutes to walk to my house when suddenly several men came up to me and demanded to go with them. They were in plain clothes and I didn't immediately realize who they were. It was so unexpected and scary — it is impossible to convey! In the ROVD, six GUBAZiK men interrogated me for 5 hours, not allowing me to answer my parents, who kept calling my phone. It broke my heart! The enforcers showed me the comments I had left in the first days of the 2020 protests in a local chat room in the city. Then they made me sign an official warning that I had been given a “preventative interview” and promised to never participate in protests again. In the end, they took my phone, supposedly for “examination” and assured me that that was the end of it.
But it turned out that this was not all. A week later the investigator called me and informed me that a criminal case had been opened against me under Article 369 (Article 369 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus — insulting a representative of the authorities), and then Article 342 (Article 342 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus — organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them) was added to it. And that was just for comments!
I was expelled from the university without any explanation simply by returning my school certificate. Then for several months I lived in chronic stress during the investigation and 5 court sessions, and despite the appeal I received a sentence — 2 years and 6 months of “chemistry” with a direction.
“Chemo” with a referral is a type of punishment where a convict is sent to an open-type correctional facility. People live in housing units similar to dormitories. They are under constant supervision and are obliged to fulfill the rules of internal order, while paying for accommodation, buying food at their own expense, cooking, washing and cleaning themselves. At the same time, all convicts are required to work, and are often assigned to low-skilled and low-paid labor.
BYSOL Note
On August 30, 2021, I began counting down the endless months in IUOT-10, where I had to live in incredibly difficult conditions, among those convicted of real crimes and under the continuous control of the police. I was employed in physically demanding jobs (as a cleaner of workshops at industrial enterprises, as a seamstress of industrial products), I was denied medical care, because of which I had big health problems at the age of 22.
I was released on February 29, 2024 and by that time I already knew that usually former political prisoners are not left alone. They are not allowed to study or work, and in time they start a new criminal case to put them back in jail. So I decided almost immediately to leave and not to wait for new persecutions. I could not go back to this terrible place where I had lost almost three years of my life. After receiving a new passport in early May 2024, I left the country.
Because of what happened, I didn't finish my studies at BSU, I didn't get a profession and an opportunity to work. I left the country without money even to rent an apartment here at least for a month, and besides that there are other expenses, such as food, medicines and vitamins, seasonal clothes, household items, educational courses. I will start studying at a Polish university only in the fall, and by that time I need to rent an apartment and start earning a living, as well as deal with legalization issues.
Of course, I'm looking for ways to support myself. I used to be able to do manicures, and I was very good at it. But in order to get a job in a nail salon, I need to learn conversational Polish and improve my skills as a manicurist. So far I'm taking free Polish courses for beginners, but alas, it's not enough. I'm doing my best, but I realize that I can't do without your help.
I am writing with the hope that the collected funds will help me in rehabilitation after political persecution, serving my sentence and release from imprisonment. I am sincerely grateful to each and every one of you for any help! Zhyve Belarus!
How much is needed?
€3000
€1000 — rent with a deposit (at least for 2 months, until I start to receive a stable income).
€1000 — manicure courses for getting a profession as soon as possible.
€500 — food, essentials, seasonal clothing and footwear
€500 — unforeseen expenses (translation of criminal prosecution documents into Polish, notarized copies of documents, etc.).