Belarusian refugee in Latvia: from election observer to serious illness
Over six years, Belarusian woman Jeļena endured detention, Covid-19, fleeing to Latvia and helping soldiers in Ukraine, and now faces a rapidly progressing illness that could leave her unable to walk.
A Belarusian woman named Jeļena has faced a series of hardships over the past six years that have reshaped her life. She says that until 2020 she had little interest in politics, but the turning point came with the detention of opposition figure Sergei Tikhanovsky during a signature-gathering event.
Detention near Tikhanovsky
Jeļena recalls that during the event, women approached Tikhanovsky, asking provocative questions and pulling at his clothes. Police officers arrived, but other attendees prevented them from getting close to him. At one point, one of the officers fell to the ground, after which riot police used force to detain Tikhanovsky and several of his associates.
Deciding to become an election observer
Following this incident, Jeļena decided to become an election observer for the "Honest People" initiative. She gathered the required signatures, obtained accreditation, and went to a polling station when early voting began. She recalls being asked right away whether she was sure she wanted to go through with it, but she stuck to her decision and still believes she would do the same again.
Problems arose on the very first day of voting, when discrepancies were found in ballot samples across three voting booths at a school-based polling station. Jeļena herself was detained the day after early voting began.
The path to Latvia
In the following years, Jeļena suffered a severe case of Covid-19 and was eventually forced to leave Belarus, fleeing to Latvia as a refugee. There, she became involved in helping soldiers in Ukraine. Now she faces a new challenge — a rapidly progressing illness that could take away her ability to walk.
