The women drew the attention of law enforcers by openly expressing their sexual orientation. After Hera was summoned to the police station, the couple decided not to take any risks and flee Belarus. They have only been in the new country for a few months and are starting their lives over.
My name is Hera, I am 23 years old. My girlfriend Lina is 19. Although I took part in the protests back in 2020 and was detained, we only left recently, when the threat became too real. And this time, it was not because of the protests.
Before emigrating, I worked as a coffee trainer, while Lina worked as a tea seller. Even before I met her, law enforcers summoned me for questioning and asked me, including using a polygraph, about my sexual orientation, social media, and online activity. They made it clear that I was being monitored and forced me to delete my blog. It was very frightening at the time.
In 2025, I started actively using social media again, and that was how I met Lina. In 2026, we began openly appearing together as a couple. We talked about LGBTQ+ issues, supported other people, and maintained social media accounts. I took part in Pride events in other countries and volunteered: providing psychological support to LGBTQ+ people in Belarus and abroad.
We both received threats because of our activities. And in June 2026, after new restrictions related to LGBTQ+ people were introduced (administrative liability for “propaganda” of LGBTQ+ people was introduced in April 2026 — BYSOL note), I received a call from a police station and was ordered to come in to give testimony, allegedly as a witness in some case. They explained practically nothing and gave me about an hour to get ready. When I arrived, they took my phone and forced me to unlock it. Law enforcers said that someone had reported me because of my sexual orientation and affiliation with the LGBTQ+ community.
After that, I was released and told to wait for further instructions. Lina and I realized that it was unsafe to remain in the country, and we were forced to leave behind our home, jobs, loved ones, and familiar life. To get out of the country, we turned to Tg-House for help. We are now in Spain.
Here, we applied for asylum: for us, this is an opportunity to finally live in a safe country, not hide our relationship, and start all over again. But we arrived with practically no financial cushion.
For now, we cannot work fully and cover all the necessary expenses ourselves. And there are quite a few of them: we need to deal with paperwork, learn the language, pay for transportation, phone service, food, and the most basic necessities. We also have health problems: during one of my detentions, a tooth was knocked out and needs to be restored, while my girlfriend has eye problems, and we have to pay for all our medication ourselves. Unfortunately, that is not even everything.
For us, this fundraising campaign is an opportunity to get through the first few months after our forced departure, recover our health, and gradually get back on our feet in a new country. We really want to become independent again: learn Spanish, find jobs, settle in, and finally live without constant fear. If you can help with any amount or share our story, we will be incredibly grateful.
Thank you to everyone who helps make this difficult transition a little easier for us and gives us the opportunity to start our lives over.
Fundraising goal
€2800
€2200 – living expenses, housing, and food for two months
€600 – restoring knocked-out tooth