Many innocent people suffer from the actions of those in power.
The phrase has revolved around the last few days as the world champion in swimming Aljaksandra Gerasimenjan away when he has looked at how people view the current world situation in his place in Poland.
– Belarusians face a lot of anger. People are no different Lukashenkan administration from the people of Belarus, Gerasimenja, 36, says Urheil via video call.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko is a close ally of his brother-in-law in Ukraine Vladimir Putin with. Russia has prepared its troops in Belarus and invaded Ukraine via Belarus.
According to Gerasimenja, many Belarusians do not support Lukashenko or the war in which the president has messed up his country.
Many opponents of the government have gone into exile. So did Gerasimenja.
Shortly after the top swimmer publicly condemned the actions of the Lukashenko regime, a propaganda campaign began on state channels accusing Gerasimenja of endangering national security. The former national hero was threatened with years of imprisonment.
A lawsuit is currently underway in which the authorities want to take from Gerasimenja his plot of land in Belarus and a detached house built on it. The state management donated the plot to Gerasimenja in 2018 as a thank you for its good sports success.
A new getaway
Gerasimenja moved to Vilnius in the autumn of 2020. After a few months, she continued her journey to Kiev with her husband, little daughter and mother in search of better job opportunities.
The family managed to live in their new hometown for about a year. Early in the morning of February 24, Gerasimenja saw the news that Russia had invaded Ukraine.
– The first question that arose was what we were doing now. We could not return home to Belarus. We were simply in shock. It’s hard to think clearly when there are military planes flying over there and the sounds of explosions are heard hundreds of meters away. In a panic, we packed our bags until we thought about it. Hundreds of thousands of people fled at that moment, Gerasimenja recalls.
The family decided to stay in Kiev and observe the situation. Gerasimenja agreed to take turns sleeping with her husband so that the family would have time to run to the bomb shelter in time to get to the right place. However, getting sleep was impossible.
With Russian troops tens of kilometers from the residential area of the Gerasimenja family, it was time to leave.
Left behind was an apartment in Kiev and many friends who refused to leave the city.
– They said why they should leave their homes. They no longer react to alarm sounds or explosions, because if they do all the time, they will die of stress. The human mind adapts even to inhumane conditions.
The drive from Kiev to the Polish border took 12 hours. Military vehicles met on the way, explosions and shooting were heard nearby. Gerasimenja’s three-year-old daughter asked where the votes came from.
– Fortunately, he’s still so small. We tried to lie that it was just lightning, all right. But he felt something was going on.
The road to the Polish border was blocked by a lot of cars. The alternative was to stay in a creepy congestion queue and get in the middle of a shootout or drive into the oncoming lane. The Gerasimenja family chose the latter option in many other ways.
– It was scary. Road-crashed cars crashed into the crashes every kilometer along the way. I don’t know what people might have been left behind like that. However, we had to drive like that, otherwise the trip would have taken 6-7 hours longer.
The consuming journey was followed by a long wait at the Polish border. The queue was several kilometers long and it was not worth resting even at night while waiting for your turn.
– If he fell asleep, someone tried to queue up. When the distance to the border crossing was less than a kilometer, fighting began. People were nervous, Gerasimenja says.
Gerasimenja commends the volunteers who came from Poland for bringing food and drink to people waiting at the border and diapers for the children. Many had left their homes without having to take anything with them.
According to Gerasimenja, there were thousands of children at the border whose fate broke their hearts.
– Some put their children on foreign cars to get them across the border. There were screams, cries, farewell sounds everywhere … The border guards had no time to do anything but see that the passport had a roughly correct picture.
The great need to help
Currently, Gerasimenja has settled with her family in Poland, where she heads the Belarusian Athletes Association BSSF (Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation) (move to another service) activities. The organization was originally set up to help the country’s top athletes who have fallen into the teeth of those in power in Belarus, but in the current global situation, sport has lagged behind.
The organization is now focusing on helping Ukraine and Ukrainians.
– Sports are now secondary. What sport can we even talk about when people die?
According to Gerasimenya, Alexander Lukashenko has found it difficult to sell his people the war started by Putin. Many have refused to go to war against their brotherly people. Some of the BSSF’s Belarusian athlete members like a former handball player Konstantin Yakovlev are currently fighting in the ranks of Ukrainian forces.
Of course, there are still enough supporters for Lukashenko, but the war in Ukraine and the associated sanctions have tested people’s confidence.
– There are people who have woken up with this situation and see the real face of the Lukashenko regime. Especially those who realize they may have to go to war. People feel that there is no point in attacking brothers who have done us nothing, Gerasimenja says.
The former star swimmer therefore hopes that not all Belarusians will be convicted of the actions of Lukashenko and his supporters.
– We have been fighting the Lukashenko regime for 1.5 years. We have fought for our freedom and have repeatedly said that Lukashenko is dangerous not only for us but also for our neighbors. Unfortunately, we were not consulted. Now it is our job to explain that Lukashenko is not the same as the Belarusians.
The BSSF is currently in discussions with Polish sports federations to get even children and young people involved in sports.
– Many Belarusians living in Poland have been here for some years. These people have had a reason to leave their country. Today they live and work in Poland, their children have grown up in Polish culture. Punishing them is not right, Gerasimenja says.
The former star swimmer wonders where the support and solidarity of the Europeans promised to the Belarusians against Lukashenko was still a year and a half ago.
– At the moment we are refugees that no one wants or recognizes.