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Transcript/Script
(PLAYBOOK SLUG: BELARUS-US-MIGRANTS
HEADLINE: Belarus Activists Flee to the US, Say Europe Not Safe
TEASER: A Continuing Crackdown on Dissent by Lukashenko, Causes an Increase in the Number of Asylum Seekers at the US-Mexico Border
PUBLISHED AT: 2/1/2022: 3:20pm
BYLINE: Igor Tsikhanenka
CONTRIBUTOR:Aline Barros
DATELINE: New York City
VIDEOGRAPHER: Aaron Fedor
PRODUCER: Igor Tsikhanenka
SCRIPT EDITORS: Newhouse, MAS
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA, Wires
PLATFORMS: WEB_X_TV_X__RADIO___
TRT: 3:20
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TV
UPDATE: ))
((INTRO))
[[The continuing crackdown on pro-democracy activists following the 2020 presidential elections in Belarus has spurred a wave of political asylum seekers. VOA’s Igor Tsikhanenka spoke with some who undertook a long and uncertain journey to Mexico and on to the United States in recent months. Some of them say they had no other choice because they no longer feel safe even in the European Union.]]
((NARRATOR))
Speaking to VOA in his New York apartment, 34-year-old Dmitry Savchenko recalls the prosperous life he once had.
((Dmitry Savchenko, Asylum Seeker (n Russian))
“In Belarus, we had everything. My wife had several cafés. I had 2 businesses myself, some real estate, an apartment, a car.”
(((Mandatory Courtesy: NEXTA))
((NARRATOR))
All of that was put in jeopardy when the apolitical businessman decided to register as an independent observer for the country’s 2020 presidential elections.
After chronicling numerous irregularities in his precinct and seeing police attack peaceful protesters following elections that outside observers called “undemocratic,” Savchenko had enough.
((Dmitry Savchenko, Asylum Seeker (–in Russian))
“I decided that I will bring them to justice no matter where I am. “
((Mandatory BYPOL logo))
((Mandatory YouTube logo?))
((NARRATOR))
He sent the incriminating evidence to BYPOL, an independent union of Belarusian ex-security officers who keep a registry of crimes committed by the Lukashenko regime.
((End Courtesy))
The state’s crackdown drew international condemnation, but Savchenko says authorities continued to methodically target critics in civil society and independent media.
((Dmitry Savchenko, Asylum Seeker (–in Russian))
“Slowly but surely, they got to the people who were election observers.”
((NARRATOR))
For days, he was harassed, then detained and beaten by the police. He says authorities threatened to send his 5-year-old son to an orphanage.
((Dmitry Savchenko, Asylum Seeker (–in Russian))
“We were faced with a dilemma: either go to prison or run and hide in another country.”
((NARRATOR))
And so, they ran. All the way to Mexico City, then to Tijuana, then to the United States, where they are seeking political asylum.
Immigration lawyers say there are many others like the Savchenko family.
((Elizabeth Krukova, Immigration Attorney))
((Mandatory Courtesy: SKYPE))
We’ve seen a number of these cases and a big increase in the number of cases coming from Belarus specifically.
((NARRATOR))
((Nats here?))
VOA spoke with several Belarusian asylum seekers who arrived in the United States from the southern border following the postelection crackdown. They all spoke of intimidation, detainment and beatings by police back home.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows a steady increase in the number of encounters of Belarusian migrants by officers on the southwest border from October of 2020 through September of 2021.
Savchenko says the reason he chose the U.S instead of Europe is safety.
((Dmitry Savchenko, Asylum Seeker (–in Russian))
“There is a network of Russian and Belarusian agents that are active in the countries neighboring Belarus, as well as in some EU states.”
((NARRATOR))
Belarussian officials forced a civilian Ryanair flight to land in Minsk last year
((Mandatory Courtesy: Radio Free Europe/Radio Libery))
to arrest an opposition blogger.
((End Courtesy))
Another exiled Belarusian activist was found hanged in a park near his home in Kyiv, an unsolved case widely seen as another victim of Minsk’s clandestine services.
((John Sipher, Security Expert))
((Mandatory Courtesy: SKYPE))
“For the most part, they are probably safe traveling to Europe but it’s not irrational to worry about the Russian and Belarusian security services.”
((NARRATOR))
With Russian troops now massing in Belarus, and more on the border of Ukraine, experts see the region’s authoritarian leaders becoming more collaborative, putting their critics at greater risk.
((John Sipher, Security Expert))
((Mandatory Courtesy: SKYPE))
…since Lukashenko’s crackdown in the last year or so, he is going to be looking for more opportunities to assist Putin and Putin is going to be looking for means to work with Belarusians on these issues.
((NARRATOR))
Dmitry Savchenko is adapting to life on the run.
Experts say whether an activist is in danger depends on how high their name is on Belarusian KGB’s priorities list. But it’s a guessing game no one on the list wants to play.
((Igor Tsikhanenka, VOA News, New York))
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