My name is Viktoryia Chuyvid. In 2020, I took part in peaceful protests in the Serebryanka district of Minsk – one of the most brutally suppressed. I was lucky then: I wasn’t detained. But on 25 March 2021, the Investigative Committee came to our home. They carried out a search, but I managed to erase all the data from my phone. They found nothing – but my civil partner was detained and, after three days in the Minsk temporary detention facility (Okrestina), a criminal case was opened against him for organizing mass riots.
People we had protested with were still being arrested, and we realized the same awaited us. On 13 June 2022, a search was carried out at my mother’s home. That same day, we fled – we crossed the border into Lithuania illegally and applied for asylum.
We lived on our savings for the first few months. Then I was hit by a car while cycling. I didn’t file a complaint against the driver, but the consequences showed up later: I began suffering from severe back pain. Doctors diagnosed a herniated disc and a protrusion.
The Lithuanian migration service did not respond for a long time. We didn’t even know if our documents were being considered, so I took part in a three-day picket outside the Department of Migration in Vilnius. Soon after, my partner was granted permanent residence, while I was denied asylum.
I filed an appeal, and the court ordered the case to be reconsidered – but I was denied again. In despair, I went to Austria, hoping for a different outcome, but I was returned under the Dublin Regulation. Due to the holidays, I didn’t manage to submit my documents on time, and I was sent to a closed refugee camp, where a decision was made to deport me to Belarus.
Five weeks in the camp – it was hell. Fortunately, the Supreme Administrative Court overturned the deportation. I’m once again at the beginning of my exile – I have asylum seeker status and have submitted another appeal, while the Lithuanian Supreme Court has started a new review.
After all this, I developed an anxiety disorder, sought help from a psychotherapist, and was prescribed antidepressants. My relationship didn’t survive this ordeal, and we broke up. Now I’m alone, without a work permit or insurance. Despite participating in protests, being summoned for interviews, and being featured in independent media, the Lithuanian authorities consider this “insufficient evidence” of threat.
Now more than ever, I need your support and solidarity – to avoid ending up on the street and to recover my health. Without a work permit or insurance, I cannot earn a living, pay for housing, or receive even the most basic medical care.
Fundraiser Goal:
€2500
€1000 – rent for 3 months
€1000 – treatment with a manual therapist
€300 – medications
€200 – transport, food, and hygiene items