How a guy from Mozyr went to Lukashenka's rallies for money, and discovered his Belarusian identity in Switzerland

Photos provided by the 'Salidarnasts' interlocutor

Ales moved to Switzerland in 2009 as an intern in the UN system in Geneva. Before that, he studied for two years for a master's degree in international law in Sweden. He married a German woman he met in Minsk. And 19 years later, he helps his compatriots and actively participates in diaspora affairs.

— I've been in emigration since I was 22. At that time, I had a kind of emotional rollercoaster. I wasn't even 18 yet when I, a simple guy from Mozyr, ended up in Minsk, having entered the BSU Law Faculty. Over time, I began to feel: what we were studying—law and justice—didn't correspond to the reality we lived in.

On the one hand, we hear from the mouths of true luminaries of Belarusian legal science about the direct action of the Constitution, along with the freedoms and rights enshrined in it, about the priority of generally recognized norms of international law and its principles over national law. How important it is to be guided by the principle 'everything that is not forbidden is allowed.' And we also hear that the right to participate in voting is also a right, not an obligation.

And at the same time, the deputy dean came to our student dormitory and demanded that we vote early. This was about the 2006 elections.

I felt a strong internal protest. I didn't understand how they could shove this down our throats, us, future lawyers.

Students hid in their rooms, trying to avoid the administration's eyes. They heard threats that if they didn't vote early, they wouldn't be allowed into the dormitory. Because they should be grateful that they live very cheaply in Minsk and, please, 'thank' us.

Павялічыць

I had the opportunity to verify reality from both sides of the barricades.

In 2006, almost every evening, my friends and I went to Kalinoŭski Square (October Square), and upon returning to the dormitory, I watched the news about 'paid marginal protesters'.

On the other hand, a student activist approached me and offered to 'earn a little money.' He said that students were going to go to the Lithuanian embassy to protest against the Lithuanian Republic's interference in our internal affairs. 'And there will be a small bonus for this.'

I signed up for this action purely out of curiosity. It was a very unpleasant experience when you see that it was all organized by the university.

Afterwards, a bonus was indeed paid to my card, which was a rather significant addition to my scholarship. And I had the opportunity to see: who was actually paid. Who went genuinely, and who was forced to come along.

I spoke there with a guy who told me that he had accumulated many 'tails' (outstanding exams) during the session, and he was forced to participate because it was the only way not to be expelled from the university. After that, all illusions about what our government truly is, and what my prospects were as a lawyer, vanished.

— Weren't you afraid that because of your curiosity, you might be listed among the regime's supporters?

— I had two emotions. Firstly, I knew that the legislation prohibited any demonstrations or mass gatherings within 500 meters of embassies. So, by law, we should have been dispersed.

The organizers of the event from university structures were effectively leading students into an offense, which was even rewarded. And I once again understood all the hypocrisy and deceitfulness of the education system and the authorities in general.

Secondly, there was this endless feeling of shame. It was a really very unpleasant episode in my life, which I haven't spoken about publicly, and of which I will never be proud.

When we were going to the Lithuanian embassy, the curator instructed us not to speak to journalists without permission. Accordingly, when a representative of the embassy came out to us and tried to establish a dialogue, the crowd of these unfortunate students, as if wound up, shouted: 'Lackeys to soap, Lukashenka is power!' And other pre-learned chants dictated from above.

At that rally, there were about 20-25 students and a curator from BSU. After the dispersal of Square-2006, the authorities tried to use all possible means to continue propagating the idea that our people wanted no changes, and that all of it was planned by 'hostile Western forces.' Around this time, they were sawing a 'log of friendship' near the Polish embassy.

— And how much were you paid then?

— About 20 dollars were transferred to my card. My scholarship, along with a 50% Chernobyl bonus, wasn't much more at the time. I didn't even want to touch that money. But that's how it was.

Павялічыць

— And where did you meet your wife?

— In the dormitory of the Minsk Linguistic University, where she was studying Russian for a year (when I was in my 5th year of law school). After my master's degree in Sweden, I came to Zurich, where she had moved to work, and in the autumn of 2009, I started an internship at the UN in Geneva. After it ended, we got married and were already expecting a child.

But when people meet, that's one story; when they live together and mutual obligations arise, it's a completely different matter. We were married for less than three years, but its main result is our wonderful daughter.

When I first applied for studies in Sweden, I had to write a motivational letter and explain why I was suitable for participation in the master's program. It concerned international law and human rights.

I honestly stated that human rights in Belarus were very complicated, and I wanted to work for the benefit of my homeland. When I continued my life abroad, this mission I had set for myself remained relevant to me.

I always stayed in context, writing my master's thesis on the Constitutional Court of Belarus. It concerned the application of internal Belarusian law in the context of the international legal obligations of the state of Belarus.

I attended UN Human Rights Council meetings dedicated to the periodic review of human rights in Belarus. I had the opportunity to compare the reality with how it was presented from the UN tribunes.

Unfortunately, I couldn't continue my career in international law because I couldn't financially afford new unpaid internships. It's difficult, especially when you have a family. For the first one and a half years after my daughter was born, I looked after her and managed the household.

It was a difficult period in my life. Because there's a stereotype that a man should earn money. I actively searched for any job and found one in Lugano, 200 kilometers from Zurich, where I lived. It was a secretarial position with basic legal knowledge in a pharmaceutical company.

I still work for the same company, but over time I've specialized in supply chain management: order processing, organizing cargo delivery, and preparing accompanying documents.

— And you travel 200 kilometers to work every day? Almost like from Minsk to Mogilev!

— Yes, for 14 and a half years now, I've been commuting almost daily through the Alps. Initially, it took more than 3 hours each way. Now, they've built railway tunnels in the mountains, so it's a little over two. It's still not close, but the job is in a very beautiful resort town with plenty of sun and an Italian vibe.

— But that's also money for travel, you could spend your entire salary on commuting.

— I have an annual travel pass, which includes almost all public transport within Switzerland, costing about 4000 francs (approximately 5000 dollars) per year. In my free time, I travel around the country, distribute books, can deliver something to someone, or do good deeds in various corners of Switzerland.

Павялічыць

— How strong is the Belarusian community in Switzerland? I've been told in other diasporas that even abroad there's a lot of fear, people are afraid of photographs against the backdrop of our flags, and political events. How is it with you?

— For a long time, we only had one formal community, the Association of Belarusians in Switzerland, which has been active since 2012 and was later renamed the Belarusian Association in Switzerland.

I was a board member of this organization since 2015; my activism coincided with the thaw when there were almost no political prisoners in Belarus, and a kind of liberalization was taking place. We organized concerts by Lyavon Volski, J:Mors, and other performers, celebrated Dzyady (Forefathers' Day), as well as Mother Language Day and Belarusian Written Language Day.

The Belarusian Association in Switzerland, in a good sense and pragmatic way, cooperated with the Embassy of Belarus, especially actively during the period when Mr. Pavel Matsukevich was Chargé d'affaires ad interim.

And here, indeed, we have nothing to be ashamed of: until 2020, the then embassy staff came to us for Hukannie Viasny (Calling of Spring), for Kupalle (Midsummer), actively supported the initiative to install a monument to Kościuszko, and participated in the ceremonies for the unveiling of the monument to our famous compatriot in the city of Solothurn.

Павялічыць

Some of our events took place within the embassy walls with the participation of people whom it's hard to suspect of Lukashenka-ism: dictations for Belarusian Written Language Day were held in the Belarusian embassy building with the participation of Mr. Uladzimir Arloŭ and other prominent figures.

2020 became a kind of Rubicon for me, and since then, I promised myself that under no circumstances would I cross the threshold of that building again.

The votes of Belarusians in the 2020 elections were stolen, but not in Switzerland. Here, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya won the elections by a landslide.

Thanks to the exit poll, we know that out of 279 voters, only 6 people voted for Lukashenka, and 233 for Tsikhanouskaya.

These data almost coincided with the official voting results according to the protocol that was posted at the embassy on August 10 or 11, 2020.

The discrepancy only concerned a group of people who might have voted for Lukashenka but bypassed the exit poll. These were about two dozen individuals, possibly from the Belarusian UN mission in Geneva or embassy staff who used a different entrance to the building.

Ms. Tsikhanouskaya subsequently visited Switzerland repeatedly. In May 2021, we had a large demonstration in Geneva, where Ales Bialiatski, who was attending a session of the UN Human Rights Council, was present. And it was very touching when Ms. Sviatlana joined us, then spoke and answered questions.

A year later, she and her team visited Solothurn, where they laid flowers at the Kościuszko monument and visited the Kościuszko museum. We then participated in an anti-war rally. And in 2024, we met in Bern.

— And how did our 'democratic,' as you called it, embassy behave after the 2020 elections?

— Employees called the police on people who brought flowers to the embassy after Raman Bandarenka's murder. After those elections, the embassy noticeably reduced communication with the Belarusian diaspora in Switzerland.

Павялічыць

During this time, another community was created – the Belarusian-Swiss association RAZAM.CH. Activists of the community organized solidarity actions, met with politicians, talked about events in Belarus, and the need for further efforts to release Ms. Natallia Hersche (a citizen of Belarus and Switzerland, sentenced in Belarus in September 2020).

There is a mistaken, in my opinion, common belief that the RAZAM.CH Association engages in 'politics.' But the emphasis here is not on the political situation, but rather on the humanitarian one. Because there is no politics in Belarus; in Belarus, there is a great misfortune that needs to be spoken about all over the world.

As for fear, after almost all informational resources of the RAZAM.CH Association were declared 'extremist' by the Lukashenka regime, it is difficult to count on active participation from people. And there aren't many Belarusians in Switzerland itself. I've heard statistics that there are about 5-6 thousand people with Belarusian roots here in total.

The main thing is not to succumb to this fear and not to play by someone else's rules. Because if even here, in safety, we cannot feel like ordinary free people—that is truly horrible.

As for sadness in emigration, when I was still living in Sweden, it helped a lot that I specifically began to work on my Belarusian identity abroad. I didn't want to be part of a wide circle of Russian-speaking people. So I listened to Belarusian music, read articles and news in Belarusian. And it was at that time that I fully felt myself to be Belarusian.

We did not become victims of the regime and, being safe now, we can be carriers of a healthy Belarusian culture that we preserved within ourselves and brought across the border.

We can create an alternative Belarus here and now. Those practices, professional skills and knowledge, even models of free existence—all of this will definitely contribute to the restoration of our new Belarus someday.

Therefore, it's important not only to preserve oneself in emigration but also to multiply 'Belarusianness,' doing everything so that this seed yields rich sprouts. To share this with the new Belarus, which will surely happen one day.

It would be great if every Belarusian, wherever they are, defined something for themselves that is an indicator of Belarusianness. In my case, it's our flag and a T-shirt with the Pahonia (coat of arms), which I often took with me on trips long before the events of 2020.

Павялічыць

I understand all the threats at home—so let it be a straw spider under the ceiling, or some linen towels in the room, or the tradition of baking babka or draniki on Fridays. But it's very important that each of us, despite all fears and obstacles, can make or carry something of our own, something truly Belarusian and very native.

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