“Drive away” in sign language
Andre Sharondo, Brest
Sharondo and his wife Paulina are European Belarusian activists, the organization is run by the former presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov in exile in London. Polina Sharendo-Panasyuk was arrested in January and sentenced to two years in prison in June for allegedly using violence against a policeman and insulting the President of Belarus. In court, Sharendo-Panasjuk stated that the accusations against her were politically motivated and that “fighting robbers is a glorious duty of citizens”.
The Belarusian authorities suspect that Sharendo harms national interests because the media quoted him as saying that it cannot negotiate with terrorist dictators. He has been under house arrest since the end of May and cannot access the Internet, but he can go shopping and take his two sons to the kindergarten.
At the end of June, Sharondo was allowed to visit his wife in prison. The visitor’s room is separated by a soundproof glass wall. He reports that you have to talk on the phone, and there are four supervisors in each half of the room. He was instructed not to talk about the situation in the country or other prisoners, but only about private affairs. He told his wife that the children missed them and they would be supervised. Only then did she understand that he was also threatened by imprisonment, and she said to him in sign language: “Go away.” A guard immediately knocked on the table and said that gestures are forbidden.
One night, Sharondo crossed the green border into Lithuania, where he also encountered illegal immigrants from Iraq, Syria and Africa. Now he lives in Vilnius. He said his children are safe and they will come to him soon. He thanked the Belarusians for their help, but hoped that the political prisoners in his hometown would be released as soon as possible and be able to return to his country.
Conflict with children
Jelena Prichodko, Minsk
Jelena Prichodko lives with her husband who works in a construction company and their four daughters in the small town of Svetlogorsk in eastern Belarus, where the ecology is polluted by cellulose plants. Media workers report that people are angry at the authorities’ denial of environmental problems. As a volunteer, she cares for drug users and victims of domestic violence. Last year, when she was collecting autographs for the presidential candidate Victor Barbarico, she met many people of different ages and social statuses who wanted to support Barbarico. People in important positions sign their names in a hidden place to avoid being seen.
When protests and arrests began after the election, the family moved to Minsk to live with Prichodko’s in-laws. She said that children are a weakness. She agreed with her husband that he would stay away from any citizen’s initiative. If she is imprisoned, the daughters should have a father. Her 14-year-old daughter Martha blamed her for her promise, worrying that she and her sisters might be allowed into the home. The children feel that they are controlled by their mother’s civic attitude.
