Hello!
My name is Igor Kravtsov. I am a former political prisoner.
I am forced to ask for help because of a serious financial problem our family is facing. We had to flee Belarus because of political persecution. I with my wife and two children, the youngest of whom has developmental disabilities, found myself in Poland with a very small amount of money.
My son's diagnosis is atypical autism. He hardly speaks, eats very selected foods, cannot learn hygiene skills. He needs constant psychological and pedagogical support and taking a course of medications as recommended by the doctor. He needs aba-therapy*, but this also requires money — both consultation with a specialist and the classes themselves.
I still hardly understand how my wife survived my imprisonment, left alone with two children in her arms, one of whom requires constant care. Perhaps it was even easier for me behind bars.
I was arrested, surprisingly enough, not for participating in the marches in 2020, but for a correspondence that one of my colleagues had with me. The content of the correspondence became the material for several criminal articles, under which I was awarded 3 years and 6 months in a penal colony. The arrest came as a surprise to me, and as a shock to my family, to whom the law enforcers had not explained anything in detail. My wife was able to find me in the TDF only on the fourth day.
In June 2024, I was released from prison, but it didn't get any easier. I was put on the police register. This meant constant checks at all hours of the day and night, and on Sundays I had to go to the police station for educational activities. But the most unsolvable was the problem of getting at least some paid work. I was an engineer-geologist by profession and worked as a geophysicist in Belorusneft. Because of the political article, under which I was in jail, all vacancies, wherever I applied, everywhere was rejected.
After suffering for 2 months and having exhausted all financial reserves, my wife and I decided to flee to Poland in the hope of ensuring our safety and finding a job. We had to pack urgently, because the attention of the police had increased. Probably because of our activity in changing passports and unsuccessful attempts to sell the apartment we had to leave behind.
As a result, at the moment we have only a small amount of money and we have to ask for help in order to survive while the process of registration and obtaining international protection is going on, because without documents the access to the labor market is very limited. The situation is also complicated by the disability of my youngest son, who requires constant attention. Because of this, my wife has to stay at home with the child, and only I will be able to work part-time for the first time.
I ask not to pass by our difficult situation!
We will be grateful to everyone who will help us to find a financial support under our feet!
*abba therapy stands for “applied behavior analysis” and is a remedial method for children with autism. The therapy focuses on building essential missing skills in a child with autism.
How much is needed?
€6000
€2500 — rent for 3 months for our family (including deposit and utilities).
€1500 — household expenses for 3 months (fees for the older child to school, the younger one to a special class for special children, payment for meals at school, medicines and vitamins for the younger son, medicines for bronchial asthma and chronic gastritis for the older one).
€1200 — language courses for me and my wife and my eldest son.
€800 — individual lessons with a defectologist and neuropsychology for the younger son