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Transcript/ScriptUSAGM SHARE
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV - BELARUSIANS-HELP-UKRAINE - Moskalkov
HEADLINE: Belarusian Diaspora Does What It Can to Help Ukraine
TEASER: Many volunteers fled Belarus after the harsh crackdown on protesters in 2020.
Now they are helping Ukrainians under assault from Russia.
PUBLISHED AT: 05/05/2022 at 8:20am
BYLINE: Maxim Moskalkov
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: Dana Preobrazhenskaya
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA + see script
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB___ TV_ X__RADIO___
SCRIPT EDITORS: KE; cobus
TRT: 2:46
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE: All interviews are Zoom, done on a personal PC and cleared for use))
((INTRO:))
[[After the regime’s crackdown on protesters in Belarus following the 2020 presidential elections, some 200,000-300,000 people fled Belarus ending up as refugees in Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, and a number of other EU countries. Now they’re helping Ukrainian refugees and Belarusians who are being forced to move, yet again. Maxim Moskalkov has the story.]]
((NARRATION))
Oksana Bukina was arrested in 2020 during a protest in Belarus. Later, a criminal case was opened accusing her of causing civil unrest.
She managed to flee to Ukraine, together with her young son; from there, she moved to Poland.
She knows what it is to be a refugee, so when the war in Ukraine started,
((Mandatory courtesy: Pyotr Petrovskiy))
she began volunteering to assist refugees with accommodation, money, and food, among
((End courtesy))
((Mandatory courtesy: Oksana Bukina))
other things. Dozens of other volunteers came to help too.
((End courtesy))
((Oksana Bukina, Volunteer)) ((IN RUSSIAN))
“Emotionally, it’s very tough to greet people and not lose composure. // I mean, who are we greeting? Women with children, elderly people, many are quite sick.”
((NARRATION))
Many of the volunteers here fled Belarus after the harsh crackdown on protesters in 2020.
((Mandatory courtesy: Pyotr Petrovskiy))
Now they are helping Ukrainians under assault from Russia.
((End courtesy))
((Daniil Garkavy, Diaspora Work Coordinator)) ((RUS))
“The volunteer movement of Belarusians abroad is focused on
((Mandatory courtesy: FreeShop Partyzanka + Telegram Logo))
a number of spheres — raising funds, collecting humanitarian aid, medications and collecting personal equipment for those Belarusians who are volunteering in Ukraine’s Armed Forces,
((End courtesy))
((Mandatory courtesy: Belwariors + Telegram Logo))
as well as for Ukrainian soldiers.”
((End courtesy))
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: Nadezhda Buzhan))
A Belarusian Youth Hub in downtown Warsaw is a cultural and educational space that has become home to over two dozen various initiatives.
Aleksandr Lapko who is heading the hub says his team is trying to help all refugees from Ukraine, but keeping a special eye out for Belarusians.
((End courtesy))
((Aleksandr Lapko, Belarusian Youth Hub)) ((IN RUSSIAN))
“All sorts of people come to us — Belarusians, Ukrainians, people with other citizenships…
((Mandatory courtesy: Nadezhda Buzhan))
We even had Syrians and Turks. // But our main focus is on helping Belarusians who are
((End courtesy))
fleeing Ukraine. There are many people for whom it’s the second time they’ve become refugees — first they fled the Lukashenko regime
((Mandatory courtesy: Nadezhda Buzhan))
to go to Ukraine, and now they are forced to leave Ukraine to come to Poland.”
((NARRATION))
The Belarusian Solidarity Center in Warsaw is another space where Ukrainian refugees can come and receive help.
((End courtesy))
((Anton Zhukov, Belarusian Solidarity Center)) ((IN RUS)) ((ZOOM))
“We rented a
((Mandatory courtesy: Nadezhda Buzhan))
hostel specifically for Ukrainian refugees, so that we can accommodate more people. Since the start of the war, we have already found homes for over 300 refugees.
((NARRATION))
The center is also providing legal services and psychological assistance for those who need them.
((End courtesy))
((Mandatory courtesy: Belarusian Solidarity Center in Warsaw + Telegram Logo))
((Maxim Moskalkov for VOA News, Washington))
((End courtesy))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMay 5, 2022 09:33 EDT
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
