Help a Family of 9 Flee Dictatorship in Belarus

Hello, my name is Sarah and I am creating this gofundme on behalf of my friend who can't do so herself because of fear of possible prosecution in her home country Belarus. This post is to help her dear friend Sergiy who recently fled Belarus with his family for safety after a recent arrest simply for being vocal about his opposing political views and being a Christian.

For some context, Belarus is facing an ongoing human rights crisis, largely in part through their 30-year dictatorship regime under Lukashenko, known as “the last dictator of Europe”. Under Belarus’ current government, there is a complete loss of freedom. Human rights advocates, lawyers, political opposition, and peaceful protesters are being threatened, detained, and violently abused by the thousand. These mass detainments are particularly concerning as Belarus is the only European country that still administers the death penalty.

Sergiy has been detained and tortured multiple times already since the uprising of protests in 2020. (See this BBC article - Sergiy is in a yellow shirt, being interviewed: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53780685). After the last yet another deeply traumatic instance of detainment he had experienced this year, his family had no choice but to flee for their lives to a neighboring country.

A humble father of 7, political activist, lifelong Protestant Christian (which makes him part of the religious minority in Belarus), husband, son, and friend, Sergiy is urgently in need of support for his family. His oldest child is 20 and his youngest child is 5 years old. His beloved wife of over 20 years was also questioned, threatened with detainment and kids being taken away just for being his wife and activist as well.

In May, the family fled to Georgia with the bare minimum supplies, having to leave their jobs, home, and beloved dogs behind. The family now moved to Poland and is seeking financial support to meet their basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter.

Any donations and shares are greatly appreciated. By helping Sergiy and his family, you not only help this particular family, you show support to the idea of freedom and democracy worldwide. Thank you for taking the time to read this, please share and donate if you can!