"To be Able to Fall Asleep Peacefully"
Belarusian political refugees in Poland
Over a million Belarusian citizens live outside the country’s borders, which is about 10 per cent of the population. A significant number of them have left their homeland in recent years. The first mass migration took place in 2020 after the rigged presidential election. Alexander Lukashenko used repression against his political opponents in a way that was unprecedented in Belarus’s recent history. The second wave happened after 24 February 2022, when the Russian Federation, with the support of Lukashenko’s regime, started a full-scale armed invasion of Ukraine.
Together with journalist Iryna Arakhouskaya, a Belarusian political refugee, I decided to portray her compatriots who, like her, are trying to build a new life in Poland. My collaboration with Iryna adds credibility to the project and builds tension resulting from the differences in our experiences. The protagonists of the exhibition are people of different ages and social status. Their common experiences include pro-democratic activities in Belarus, fleeing their homeland to escape persecution, and now trying to find their place in a new reality.
