"He invited me on a date and came with a bag of tomatoes instead of flowers." What they remember about Jan Pamedor Reutski, administrator of a multi-thousand community of Belarusians in Poland

Artist Nika Sandras was friends with Jan for over 20 years. The woman told "Nasha Niva" that it was she who once came up with the pseudonym for Siarhei Parkhatsia — that was Jan Pamedor Reutski's real name:

"We met on LiveJournal, he invited me on a date and came with a bag of tomatoes instead of flowers — that's how he became Pamedor (Tomato). In his entire life, no one ever called him Siarhei, only Pamedorchik, Pamedor.

He was a person next to whom you didn't have to try to be good, beautiful, smart, happy. Next to him, you could say and do everything you thought and felt. He was the one who, upon reading a message that you were sick, didn't call back, but came with food and medicine."

Nika describes her friend as a person with a very good character:

"He was never angry or irritable, never spoke ill of anyone. He was fair, lived by his conscience, always stood by the truth, never let anyone down, comforted and supported. He was very easygoing, loved good coffee, music, a cozy home, freedom. We liked to sit in the kitchen, talk for hours, laugh or be sad. He wanted to have a family, but was lonely — he just never had any luck.

He created the group "Belarusians of Warsaw" so that people could help each other. He was one of those Belarusians who don't parade their Belarusianness but simply radiate it like a beacon. A true Belarusian, a handsome man, a good person. The best friend."

Павялічыць

Poet Valyaryna Kustava also knew Reutski for many years. He was her neighbor back in Minsk's Sukharava — they lived three minutes from each other. And when Kustava moved to Warsaw, Pamedor quickly wrote and asked how he could help.

In the new place, they continued their friendship:

"My daughter and I often visited the cafe where Siarhei worked as a barista. My daughter was very happy and impressed to see a guy in a skirt with colored nails. And she was terribly amused that her mom's friend was named Pamedor (Tomato). Dzi-Dzi always joked that if Siarhei was Pamedor, then Yauhen (the owner of the cafe who worked his shift with him) was a cucumber!

The guys always treated Dziva to homemade nuts with condensed milk according to a Belarusian recipe. The little one asked to go to "Kakao" every chance she got. When her dad fell ill with oncology in 2023, Pamedor offered to get him a brand new wheelchair and organized volunteer help with his dad's disability paperwork."

Journalist Ihar Palynski recalled on Facebook a recent story when Reutski decided to ban non-Belarusian messages in the "Belarusians of Warsaw" community. Not all members easily accepted that decision at the time — Pamedor received a lot of criticism.

"Some people who call themselves Belarusians wrote in the comments to publications about his passing — 'concrete earth'. Because he… banned them in his private community, whose rule was to write posts in Belarusian, and they refused, writing — xenophobia, dictatorship.

I have no words. How sometimes… I don't know, it's scary, painful, when people, not understanding a damn thing, not trying to understand anything, with a stubborn forehead are ready, passing by, to insult, spoil, abuse, accuse, and go on their way, and the person is gone. And for some reason, I'm almost certain that they are overflowing with satisfaction: 'the person didn't think like me, which means he was (insert any definition), which means he was scum, and therefore "concrete earth,"' writes Palynski."

Павялічыць

The head of the BelAid foundation, Andrei Stryzhak, wrote on Facebook that he was not friends with Reutski, but always respected him for his deeds, and first and foremost for the community of Belarusians in Warsaw. Andrei recounts an episode from Pamedor's life that happened back when Stryzhak was managing "Bysol".

"Jan Pamedor Reutski was one of the first to write to me with a proposal to start a fundraiser for Sviatlana Kurs when her diagnosis became known. Now they will meet and be able to hug.

I remember Siarhei from Minsk. We weren't well acquainted, but we always greeted each other warmly when we saw each other. For me, Siarhei is a part of all my lives — my touring Minsk life, my touring Warsaw life," writes Stryzhak.

In recent months, Reutski had a tough time. Nika Sandras remembers what was troubling him:

"This year we didn't meet in person because we live in different cities; we called and messaged each other. He was stressed and a little sad. He wanted his bar 'Temperature' to do better, but everything required money. He was looking for a job, but it was not easy, he had to move out of his favorite apartment. Such understandable difficulties and aspirations of a person living abroad, having dreams but no own housing, when rental costs are higher than wages. Most people are familiar with such a life.

All our conversations revolved around how he could develop the bar and get his life in order, how good it would be to meet a loved one, to have a family. Simple human desires, goals, work."

• 0
• 0
• 0
• 2
• 0
• 25
• 0
• 3