Hello!
For fear of losing the few possessions I have left in Belarus, I have to hide my name. Until I have adapted in a foreign country, this property is the only valuable thing left for me in Belarus. And you will understand why.
For my participation in peaceful protests in 2020, I went through many detentions, interrogations, searches, and was sentenced under a criminal article to 2 and a half years of “home chemistry ”*. And my young child, whom I am raising alone, became an instrument of pressure on me and my political position, and suffered no less than I did.
During the whole term I went through a huge number of night inspections, “educational” activities, which were accompanied by threats of physical violence, the establishment of a criminal case for resisting the police and the replacement of punishment with a colony. The inspectorate created such harsh conditions under which it was impossible to take care of the child and take him to kindergarten without violating the restrictions. I had to violate the regime, being in constant fear and tension that I would be caught. I was constantly threatened that I would be deprived of parental rights as an “unreliable extremist” and the child would be placed in an orphanage.
But these humiliations and sufferings are nothing compared to the pain my loved ones caused me. I still haven't gotten over it. My parents did not support the protests, they approved the repressive actions of the law enforcers as justified measures, including in relation to me, and wrote statements against me to the police. My father kept saying that I got what I deserved, that “zmagars” like me were a threat to the state, that we were criminals, Nazis and the dregs of society, and that when Russia came here, we would be “cleaned up”. My mom supported him in everything.
When I got to the detention center in 2020, I was the only one of all political prisoners, and my parents did not give me a single piece of mail. I served my 24 hours in what I was detained in. When I returned home, dirty and thin, my parents ignored my return and didn't even ask what was happening to me. They didn't show up to my trial either.
During “home chemistry” I had to live with my parents because my child, who had survived several searches, was afraid of the police and even more afraid when I was taken away unexpectedly, especially at night. He was afraid that I wouldn't come back and cried all the time. It was an ordeal. At that time my father kindly communicated with the police officers who checked me and cooperated with them, wrote statements to the police against me, which made me suffer even more. It was very painful, even more painful than threats of beating and intimidation, because I had no close people and I was left all alone with my troubles.
Under conditions of constant psychological pressure and stress, lack of help and support, I developed serious health problems, severe depression, panic attacks, high blood pressure problem. When the sentence was over, due to the threat of further criminal prosecution, I left Belarus with my child. I did not have enough money to move, but it was important for me to save myself and the child from that nightmare.
I ask for financial help for the first time to adapt in a new country. I have almost no support other than the huge responsibility for myself and the baby. We need money for rent for the first time, for the child's clothes and shoes for school, some seasonal clothes for us and necessities.
Despite everything I've been through, I believe in good, I remember our great solidarity in 2020 and I really hope for help in my difficult situation.
*“Home Chemistry” is a type of punishment where the convict remains free, but with restrictions. The convict has a schedule for both work and personal activities, including going to the store or throwing out the trash. The police can come every day and at any time to check on them.
How much is needed?
€3500
€2200 — rent (for 3 months + deposit)
€500 — to collect a child for school, including a child's table and chair, school clothes
€400 — clothes and shoes in season for me and the child
€400 — household essentials