Volunteers of "A Country to Live in" foundation Tatyana Ostrovskaya, Anton Stashevsky, Yulia Syrykh have been behind bars for more than two hundred days. They are there because they have helped people because they care. We want to introduce you to these beautiful people - our friends.
Today, mates will tell about Tatyana Ostrovskaya. We have been changed their names for security reasons.
Vera: "Tanya is in prison for helping people."
"She is a very active girl, energetic, very responsive. There was a similar story in 2020. Someone sent a post that a grandmother is lying in the apartment and needs help. Some distant relatives left, but they work during the day and cannot help. So you have to come in the morning, cook porridge, feed at least. So even though Tanya had to go to work early in the morning, she got up at six and went to this grandmother, cooked porridge there, and fed her because Tanya is so responsive and cannot pass by people who need help.
She has a 5 year old son who has been a very active boy with a masculine character since childhood. And she knew how to communicate with him. He rode the carousel for hours. Tanya could wait. It's okay. He wants to spin - it means he will be a pilot, nothing, ok, I'll wait. My patience would have already burst. I would say: "Enough, as much as possible, let's go home." And she is not. She said that he needed to get enough of this spinning, and after that, he calmly went home so as not to break the child through his knee.
Tatyana is very caring, very attentive, and gentle with children. She worked in the kindergarten as an assistant teacher, but she was also a teacher during the coronavirus when everyone was sick. She got along very well with the children. And caring, a lot of patience, and finding a common language. She likes. Not every one will work in a kindergarten for a miserable salary. Everyone knows that they don’t pay anything there, but Tanya continued to work.
She has an older son. The significant age difference between children. But I heard her talking to him on the phone, and I understand that she is ready for anything for both the older and the younger.
She has a loving husband. He takes care of her in this situation. He replaced the child's mother at home. Carries transfers to Tanya buys everything, writes letters. You will not hear any complaints from him, nothing. Tanya sends letters to him - they come two or three times a week, several at a time. They have a perfect relationship.
She and her husband run the household together. He is so generous and always ready to help. She was cooking. Tanya`s cutlets are a hit of the program. Everyone knows about them (laughing). At the same time, you can’t call her a homebody or a housewife. She certainly paid enough attention to the house. It was essential for her that it was beautiful and cozy - she has excellent taste. External appearance pays a lot of attention. For her, beauty in life is very important. And, of course, empathy for people.
What pushes people to volunteer is a high level of empathy, empathy for people. When it is impossible to remain indifferent to the suffering and pain of others. In Tanya, all this is developed at the highest level. So she wrote letters, sent parcels. And very brave, of course, because not everyone was ready, and now even more so, to wear gear in a pre-trial detention center.
She is in prison because of the kindness of her heart because everyone who supported the people who suffered from the repressions of the authorities is considered enemies. Suppose a person sympathizes with the pain of others and wants to help those who are in need, who are in prison without any support, who have no relatives or elderly parents. This man is considered an enemy of the people.
She still does not understand {why she is in prison}. She was extended until the eighth of March, and the case stands still. There is no movement, no judgment on the horizon.
Tanya has not received letters for the last month, not because people do not write, but because they do not give her back. And since the middle of December. Even from relatives, she received maybe a couple of letters. There have been no emails for the past few weeks. Not to her, not to the other prisoners. Letters are significant. They are what political prisoners need".
Anna: “Tanyusha loves people, life, and coffee with milk very much!”
"We met in 2021 during dance classes.
Tanyusha is a very bright, bright kind, open and positive person. It's impossible not to love her, and it's impossible not to be angry with her (smiling). There were times when I wanted to grumble a little, but when you hear or see her, you forget about everything, and the smile does not leave your face. I hope that Tanya will soon read these lines and smile in the same way.
At the first meeting, I thought: energizer, not a girl! But she did not slow down in terms of activity in the future. I have always wondered how you can do so much because there are only 24 hours in a day.
Tanya is very attentive and caring. She will always come to your aid 24/7 at the same time, without asking too many questions. And it doesn't matter if she needs to listen to you or help in trouble on the other side of the country. She makes you feel at ease and ease. We went through and experienced a lot during our acquaintance, and it seems that I have already known this Person all my life.
Tanya has a beautiful family. She is a wonderful wife and mother. On weekends, even if there are things to do somewhere, she tries to be with her youngest son and husband. The eldest son is already an adult and lives separately.
Previously, Tanyusha worked as a colorist for the selection of car enamels. This is her element. She can talk about it incessantly and has virtually repainted my car at least ten times. Unfortunately, for health reasons (paint is chemistry), she was forced to stop this kind of activity.
Recently she has been working with children in a kindergarten, where her youngest son is also being brought up. Children love Tanya very much. But, as far as I know, there were not the calmest children in her group, and only Tanya managed to cope with them.
July 2021 turned the lives of Tatiana's family and friends upside down, including mine. One Friday evening, she stopped communicating. I rushed to her house, reassuring myself that she did not hear or had lost her phone. But unfortunately, I heard a muffled voice: “Tanya was detained…”
Why were they detained? For what? There were many questions and no answers. After all, she never did anything wrong to anyone. But, as it turned out later, she was detained for providing moral and food assistance to political prisoners.
Tanya was, is, and will be a caring person with a sense of justice. She, like many Belarusians, spent all her free time helping people. Tanya wrote letters and sent parcels whenever possible. She could give the last thing she has. And it's not a secret for anyone that over the past 1.5 years, there have been a lot of people who were imprisoned for their own point of view.
18 months have already passed since she was imprisoned, and I am still shocked by all this insanity. Sorry, I can't find another word.
I believe that Tanya is about to be released. That something will change, or someone will see the light and understand - it’s impossible! Every morning I look at the phone, hoping that she will call, and I will wait. All relatives and friends love her very much and wait for Tanya every day!
Even though Tanyusha is very positive and does not lose heart, she needs support and attention. Recently, she complains that letters have ceased to reach her. It would be great if there were an opportunity to send a postcard or a telegram. Something will come through anyway".
Sofia: "Tanya will never pass by injustice."
"We were introduced to Tanya by a mutual friend. At that moment, we were both on parental leave, agreed on the topic of children, and became friends. Even at the first meeting, I realized that Tanya is a kind, decent, sympathetic person who will never pass by injustice. She has always been and remains so.
Tanya loves good natural coffee and chocolate. At home, Tona is an excellent hostess, a caring mother, and a loving wife; at work, she is a very responsible employee who shows initiative.
She is in prison because she needed it most of all. When everyone was hiding and silent, she spoke loudly, what she thought. She was not afraid to help those in need.
I hope that she will be released soon - common sense must prevail. I urge everyone not to be cattle, to be honest, at least to yourself, not to betray yourself and believe in our Belarus".
Please write to the Foundation's volunteers.
Tatyana Sergeevna Ostrovskaya, Anton Alexandrovich Stashevsky, Yulia Eduardovna Syrykh: SIZO-1, 220030, Minsk, st. Volodarsky, 2.
And we also call on all Belarusians of goodwill to solidarity - help those who are especially hard today. Do it in any way possible for you.
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