My name is Valentin Tishko, I am a former Rukh za Svaboda activist and LGBT activist from Molodechno.
It has always been important for me to speak out about injustice and try to change something myself. In 2019, I ran for parliament from Rukh za Svaboda and the United Civil Party. In 2020, I could not stay away from what was happening in the country. I was an election observer, participated in the protests as an unequal-hearted Belarusian, and wrote about them as a journalist for Kraj.by.
At the end of 2020, my colleagues started to come after me, including the detention of Aliaksandr Mantsevich, editor-in-chief of the Molodechno-based “Rehiyanalnaiai Gazeta”. Then I realized that the arrest was just a matter of time. That's why I left for Ukraine. It is the closest state geographically, and by culture and language too. I applied for refugee status. When the war started, I stayed there. I was a volunteer, helped evacuate people, worked with the military.
But the Ukrainian migration service stopped considering my application at some point. I was summoned and told that they would deport me because I was in the country illegally. So in February 2024, I moved to Germany and applied for refugee status there.
But I was denied refugee status on the basis of the Dublin Agreement. The thing is that I came to Germany through Poland and on a Polish humanitarian visa. So they decided to deport me.
In December 2024, I found myself in Poland with three suitcases. This is all I have for four years in exile. First I lived in a camp near Warsaw, now I am in the shelter of a Polish LGBT organization. But, unfortunately, I can only stay here until the end of February.
I applied for international protection in Poland. Due to the fact that I have to wait for the decision of the migration service again, I am in limbo. This is more depressing than anything else. For more than a month now I have not been able to get a good sleep schedule. Of course, I hope that I will not be expelled, but no one can be sure.
Waiting for an answer from the migration service takes several months, and I can only live in the shelter until the end of February. So I need to rent a room. Also I need money for expenses for the first time: food, medical services, transportation.
How much is needed?
€2000
€1200 — renting a room for three months,
€800 — expenses for food, medical services, communication and transport necessary to communicate with the state authorities about legalization.