«Police came for her, returned the phone and handed her over to BT employees.» How a niece slandered her aunt in a propaganda show
Activist Hanna Fedaronak from Pastavy region recounted how her relative was detained for liking her photo, and then pressured into recording for BT (Belarusian Television). This scheme might be used to record other participants in propaganda shows.
Photo: Hanna Fedaronak's personal archive
«She said untrue things about me, and I am sure she was forced»
Hanna Fedaronak is the head of a shelter for Belarusian political refugees in Warsaw. She has been forced to live in Poland for several years and hasn't watched Belarusian state television for a long time. Therefore, she learned about the video report by BT propagandist Katsiaryna Tsikhamirava featuring her niece more than a week after the program aired.
«Volha is 26 years old, she got married right after school, she has three children, and she has never been interested in anything other than her family,» Hanna says about her relative. «There is no more apolitical person in our family than her. She never participated in any protests and might not have even heard about the "Peramoha" plan! She has her own 'shell' — her home and children. Many people in Belarus live like this. I never even discussed politics with her — let alone asked her to join something. I am sure she was forced to slander me.»
This year, Volha accidentally got caught in a "roundup": in Varapayeva, 9 women were detained for liking Hanna Fedaronak's photos on Odnoklassniki. At that time, the activist's social media pages were recognized as "extremist."
For likes under photos, Hanna's niece, along with the other women, was held behind bars for 72 hours and then fined. At the police station, law enforcement recorded a video with Volha — about how her aunt allegedly forced her to attend protest actions. This was the beginning of the pressure on the young woman.
Deceived into a video recording for television
During her first detention, Volha admitted that Hanna Fedaronak was her relative. A few months later, in August, police officers came to her home again. They conducted a search, found nothing, and took her to record a video — this time about the "Peramoha" plan and how Hanna Fedaronak forced her to join it. The video was recorded at the police station, and the girl cried during it. And the police, it seems, felt that she could be pressured endlessly, Hanna believes:
«There was no search warrant, no witnesses, and then Volha was taken to the police station and kept there until evening. They intimidated her, saying they would take her children. They confiscated her mobile phone — supposedly to look for subscriptions. And then in September, they called, saying they found nothing and that she needed to pick up the phone. And she could only pick it up personally at the police station — it was allegedly impossible to bring it to Varapayeva or send it somehow. Volha refused: the district center is quite far, and there's no one to leave the children with.»
«But the police said they would drive her there and bring her back. They came for her, returned the phone, and handed her over to BT employees, because the recording shown on television was made not at the police station, but in the city park in Pastavy.»
Hanna bears no grudge against her niece:
«This is a war against me, I understand everything. That's why I told all my relatives a long time ago that it's dangerous to maintain relations with me. And they don't contact me. Volha suffered only because we are relatives.»
Photo: Hanna Fedaronak's personal archive
What the niece said was true
Hanna Fedaronak's niece says in the video report that her aunt had to «clean and wash floors in Poland,» and that only later she was «noticed by Latushka and Tsikhanouskaya.» Perhaps only these words about herself does the activist consider truly offensive:
«Is cleaning shameful? When Belarusians come to Poland without knowing the language, I immediately say that there is a lot of unskilled work, and for other jobs, you need to learn Polish faster. Today, people with higher education in Warsaw are cleaning hotels and earning a thousand euros. Ask a Belarusian cleaner how much she earns and if she would like to do the same job, but here and for a European salary?»
«I worked for 7 months as an assistant for household matters for Pavel Latushka, ensuring order in the office, helping during events. I also cleaned that office — when needed, I took a rag and washed the floor. And my crown didn't fall off! Sometimes I brought lunches and baked cookies for everyone. And I was not considered a servant. And when people noticed my organizational skills, I was invited to manage the shelter. I am not ashamed of this for a single moment.»
The desire to humiliate a person merely by the definition "fugitive" is a characteristic style of modern state media, Hanna says. Those who believe their propaganda can only be pitied. Or laughed at.
BT also showed TikTok footage about «Baba Halya»
Fedaronak believes that it is not cooperation with opposition structures that most angers the authorities:
«In that report, Volha constantly repeats that I wanted to be a 'star.' At one time, I studied at the Belarusian Institute of Culture to be a director of a folk theater, and all my life, as far as I can remember, I have performed on stage. Only before it was a club, and now it's TikTok, where I have a channel @baba_gala_rulit. It has almost 20 thousand subscribers.»
«This channel has also been listed as 'extremist materials,' and I understand why: Baba Halya, Ninka, and Dzied Hryshka are village characters who retell Belarusian official news to each other according to their own understanding. They only watch state television; Baba Halya has a red-green flag and a portrait of Lukashenka on her wall. It's a satire, so that the 'yabatskas' (derogatory term for Lukashenka supporters) can see how they look from the side. And when Belarusians come to the shelter, they recognize me. Our videos are watched, people laugh at the 'yabatskas' and state propagandists. And this is like a bone in the throat for the authorities.»
Hanna in the image of Baba Halya. Photo: Hanna Fedaronak's personal archive
Screenshots from videos and entire fragments where Hanna performs as Baba Halya were also shown on BT. They chose ones to create the worst impression of the performer — for example, where Hanna Fedaronak's character awkwardly dances in a ballet tutu. In fact, on TikTok, this is a story about how villagers await "Swan Lake" on all Belarusian TV channels.
According to Hanna, it is very easy to convey the truth to people in such a humorous form and simple village language. It is much more difficult for BT employees to convince viewers, as they have to coerce people into participating in their programs through deception and with the help of the police.
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Comments
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