Palchys: I am against helping political prisoners who worked for the administration while incarcerated

“Recently, Pavel Vinahradau published a correct post about aid. I can confirm that yes – approximately such aid, more or less, was also provided to me. Perhaps sometimes I myself didn't show the necessary activity, because to this day I feel an internal shame about asking anyone. Plus, God rewarded me with friends whom I probably don't always deserve: they can donate, lend, help me get through certain difficulties. That's why I sometimes deliberately don't try to use some opportunity to get help, so that resources can go to those who need them more.

For me, it's somehow strange that in 2026 many don't know or don't want to know about the International Humanitarian Fund and how it works. Some have childish notions that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya sits on bags of cash, personally reviews applications, and points her finger at who should be helped and who shouldn't.

Venezuela, Myanmar, Georgia also had mass protests and emigration over these years. Thousands of political prisoners are sitting in Egypt and Cuba. The example of hundreds of thousands of Russian emigrants is very close. But for some reason, assistance and support from the West are specifically provided to Belarusian political prisoners. Many think that, apparently, it's simply because they themselves are so important and the West, along with its taxpayers, owes them something from birth.

I, for instance, am still without any documents, cards, or bank accounts. I simply can't get a SIM card in my name. Honestly, it's very inconvenient to live like this. But even now, I am ready to wholeheartedly embrace those Lithuanian border guards who met us on March 19 and processed our temporary visas.

Now, about what could be better.

Since European funds go to various organizations and initiatives, they lack a single point of entry. Something like a conditional chatbot or a website where you could write, and immediately all 10 (conditionally) human rights organizations and initiatives would know about you and start providing assistance. For now, the system works the opposite way: you have to write to everyone and sometimes simply don't know what, where, and how.

Second, there really is a moment of "luck." Americans evacuated me and provided me with good assistance. But there are those who served their full term and left Belarus on their own. There are those who remained inside Belarus. How to effectively help these people, how human rights activists can figure out who is who – that's a problem with an asterisk.

Personally, I am against helping those who, while incarcerated, consciously and systematically worked for the administration to the detriment of others. I do not consider them political prisoners.

Third – this is a bit off-topic, but it's personally important to me. We need to think about how to systematically organize aid for our volunteers who have gone through the war and returned to normal life.

And yes, among the employees of organizations that help, there are not only "cold" ones. I personally met a number of empathetic and excellent people who, even after years of providing help, can still show sincerity. Despite all your tiredness and burnout – know that you are great people.

I want to say: while a certain separate scum, funded by Russian oligarchs (it's unlikely the KGB pays them), systematically attacks the entire topic of aid to political prisoners, a huge number of those who have served their time are quietly rebuilding their lives.

It's hard for them, they've been completely reset, most have had their families fall apart, and there's no familiar social circle around. They endured torture, went hungry and froze, spent months in isolation cells (SHIZA). And now they don't whine, for some reason they learn, build plans, and even think about how to help others in the future.

You have people to be proud of, but you just won't notice them, because normal people are too boring for the local crowd,” Eduard Palchys wrote.

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