"I'm Lucky That My Kids Don't Ask Questions Like That."
- 2.11.2026, 11:32
- 3,494
Why are Belarusians leaving their home country?
A Belarusian woman who now lives in Białystok, Poland, addressed our compatriots on the social media platform Threads.
“My daughter asked, ‘Why did we leave Belarus and why do we live here now?’” she writes. “How would you answer that question?”
Belarusians cited the main reasons for emigration. The website Charter97.org lists some of the responses:
“I’m lucky—my kids don’t ask questions like that. On my last day in Belarus, police stormed into my apartment and scared my children. Six of Lukashenko’s scumbags came to take my phone for inspection. After that, the children said they no longer wanted to live in Belarus.
— I told them the whole truth—about the regime, about how Dad would be in prison in Belarus just for his profession, and I sometimes talk about human rights and how they’re respected. And even in Poland, during class, teachers say outright when they’re talking about neighboring countries: “This is the state flag of Belarus, and this is the national flag. Few people respect the state flag because of the atrocities that took place under it.”
— I want to live in a free and safe country. What’s so hard to understand about that?
— I’m talking about the chance to hike in the mountains on the weekends, get in the car, and take a day trip to Germany or the Czech Republic. Because of the opportunities that are available to them here. They’ll grow up and decide where they want to live—Belarus, Poland, or somewhere else.
— Just say that you didn’t want to live under a dictatorship and in one of the poorest countries in Europe, so you left for Poland.
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