Alena and Alyaksandr Barazenka: “One has to be a parent to understand that”

During the recess “Nasha Niva” reporter talked to mother and father of the political prisoner Alyaksandr Barazenka.

Alena Barazenka works in a bank, she asked a leave at her own expense. Mr A. Barazenka works in a joint stock company which is involved in metal products selling.

- How have you overcome the arrest of the son?

- Alyaksandr Barazenka senior: Well, how he was arrested? He came to investigator Mikhalkevich together with lawyer Paval Sapelka. He was arrested there. He was kept in a cellar for a day, and after that he was taken to the remand prison in Valadarski Street. Frankly speaking, we hoped that the measure of restraint would be a written undertaking not to leave the place.

He was not hiding anywhere, though it was easy for him to leave for Poland. And after that real insanity started. How have we met that? One should be a mother or a father to understand that.

- Was he writing letters to you?

Alena Barazenka: Sasha (Alyaksandr) hangs on, it’s great. We are hanging on too.

He sends us letters almost every day. He says that many people write him, and he doesn’t even have time to answer everybody.

We really feel great support. The only thing he complained about was changing cells often. He lived in three cells over a month and a half.

Alyaksandr: I went to a meeting with him, and he told that there were ten persons in the cell, conditions were normal, there was a TV set in the camera.

- Has Alyaksandr informed you when he went on a hunger strike?

Alyaksandr: He didn’t said anything to anyone, but we guessed from his letters.

He wrote not to send anything, that he has everything in abundance, and food may spoil. Then his friends told us that actually he was on hunger strike.

Alena: We understood that he announced a hunger strike to speed up the process a little, for it not to be temporized. I begged him to stop the hunger strike, saying he won’t prove anything by that, but Sasha insisted. He continued the hunger strike for 8 or 10 days, we do not even know exactly.

- Have you asked Sasha not to return from Poland?

Alena and Alyaksandr (together): Yes, we have…

Alena: yes, we asked, and more than once, more than two or three times. We realized what the outcome of all that would be. He knew that too…

Alyaksandr: He can be understood too.

All his friends suffered, all of them were accused, and all underwent “just” punishment. He was the only to stay. He tried to return even during investigation, and then in May he tried to come here twice. We managed to persuade him into staying in Poland, as he had to finish education.

- Did you know he was going to visit the investigator?

Alena and Alyaksandr (together): Yes.

Alyaksandr: But we hoped that he wouldn’t be arrested. But in our country they need to fling a young man into the prison, so that he would come to the courtroom in handcuffs.

- Did you support your son when he joined the opposition?

Alena: Yes.

Alyaksandr: On the one hand, yes. On the other hand, no. Sometimes we debate about that. You see yourself what situation inside the opposition is. They cannot find some common core; everyone is trying to take advantage of others. So a regular confusion is taking place.

And everything started long ago when the parliament was disbanded: if everyone acted as a united front then, everything would be different probably.

- Do you take part in opposition rallies yourselves?

- Last time I came when there was 15th anniversary of my university graduation. “Chernobyl Path” was taking place then. And now they have such a “kitchen-style” opposition.

Alena: And do you remember about leaflets?

Alyaksandr: Well, yes, sometimes I distribute leaflets.