Valiantsina and Anatol* found themselves trapped in exile. Fleeing political persecution in Belarus, they managed to protect their daughter, but their son was arrested and sentenced to a long prison term under a political charge. In Poland, due to their age and health condition, they ended up in a desperate financial situation and are asking for help.
“Our ‘dark streak’ began in 2021 when the authorities became interested in me,” says Valiantsina*. “By that time I had been running an account for many years, sharing important political information for people of my age, so they could have an alternative view to the propaganda from TV. Because of the content of my account, I was summoned for a ‘friendly chat’ at the police department. Fearing detention, I didn’t go to the police, but hid with acquaintances, not returning home. Then a criminal case was opened against me for distributing extremist materials.”
A few months later, early in the morning, the anti-extremism unit broke into Valiantsina and Anatol’s house. They came for their son, and at the same time detained their underage daughter. After holding the girl for more than 15 hours for interrogations, she was released home. The son, however, was arrested, later sentenced to a long prison term in a general-regime correctional facility, and was recognized by human rights defenders as a political prisoner.
Valiantsina could not stay in hiding for long, realizing that sooner or later she would be found. Moreover, her son, through his lawyer, told her to leave. She did not delay and through Russia and Ukraine managed to reach Poland.
“My husband and daughter stayed behind; they were constantly summoned for interrogations, our house was searched five times during that period. Later my husband was also invited for a ‘friendly chat’ at the police department, as they recognized him from photos of protests. Referring to Covid, my husband promised to come later and then left to join me. Our daughter was still studying and didn’t want to leave.”
Valiantsina found a job, and she and her husband applied for international protection. It was harder for Anatol to find work; he searched for odd jobs on construction sites, although it was very hard for him physically, as he had suffered a stroke several years earlier. They even tried to support their son and daughter, sending prison care packages and transferring money to their daughter. Only after a year did they manage to persuade their daughter to move to them, to be safe.
However, all these stresses took a toll on the health of Valiantsina and Anatol. Considering their age and health condition, many jobs are not available to them. Anatol submitted documents to ZUS to apply for retirement benefits, but the process is very long, and it is not yet clear what the response from the Belarusian side will be. Even if everything goes well, the pension will be minimal.
According to Polish legislation, Valiantsina must wait another two years to apply for retirement benefits. In Poland there is one good but at the same time bad law: if you have 4 years left until retirement, you cannot be laid off or fired, but the downside is that employers don’t want to hire or sign contracts with people of pre-retirement age.
“In August there was another search in our house. A new case was opened against me – they recognized me from photos at the marches,” shares Valiantsina. “This is already the second criminal case against me.”
The situation for Valiantsina and Anatol is very difficult. “My husband hardly finds any odd jobs now, his blood pressure rises badly, he manages only with pills. Sometimes I substitute as a caregiver, sometimes I clean, sometimes I weed vegetable beds, once I even shelled nuts.” From these occasional odd jobs they can only afford food, but they can no longer pay rent.
“I understand that there are Belarusians whose situation is even worse than ours, and everyone has the same problem with rented housing, and there are families with children. But if anyone can help us, we will be very grateful.”
*This is an anonymous story. For security purposes, we have changed the hero's name. The image is generated using AI.
Fundraising goals
€3000 – rent for 6 months (including utilities, the rent costs us €500 per month. We need time not to end up on the street, to restore our health, and to find stable income)