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A new report published by Libereco documents the challenges Belarusian civil society faces in exile. For the first time, it details the difficulties in Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Georgia, where almost 250 Belarusian activists and people from 18 Belarusian NGOs were interviewed.
Since August 2020, a large part of Belarusian civil society has become exiled. In the aftermath of the falsified elections and following protests, thousands of Belarusians have been repressed, imprisoned, and forced to leave their homes. And then?
Grounded in participant observation, interviews, and a survey among almost 250 refugees and 18 NGOs, this report investigates challenges for Belarusian civil society activists in exile. It scrutinizes the motives behind displacement, the trajectory of relocation, and the obstacles encountered upon arrival in the host country and the following months and years.
With a particular focus on psycho-social and humanitarian concerns, the report outlines the factors contributing to the hardships experienced by Belarusian civil society activists. It is based on information gathered between September 2021 and December 2023 and was funded by the German Foreign Office. The post-production and printing of this report was supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.
