Homel Resident Struggling For Housing Resumes Hunger Strike

The 33-year-old mother of two children is going to hold a hunger strike until her sore isuue is resolved.

In Homel, 33-year-old mother of two children Alena Hrynko resumed her hunger strike, which she already held in June because of "artificially created communal barriers". As Radio Liberty reports, she notified Head of the Lukashenka administration Natallia Kachanava about this by telegram.

"Today I had an appointment with Head of the administration of the Novabelitsy district Siarhei Kazachok," - Alena Hrynko said. "I asked when the administration would allow me to redeem the kitchen, the bathroom and the toilet at a residual cost."

According to Hrynko, she met with half a dozen officials along with Kazachok. She was told: live it like that, there will be no solution.

Alena's apartment is privatized, but the kitchen, bath, corridor and toilet are not hers. The district administration returned them to the municipal property through the court.

Therefore, in May Alena Hrynko and Aksana Filipenka, another resident of the house number 14 in the Urytski Street, started a hunger strike.

The women held a hunger strike for two weeks, after which they prepared an appeal addressed to Lukashenka to deprive them of their Belarusian citizenship. Since they believed that their rights were violated in Belarus.

About a dozen local chiefs visited the hunger-striker, including Head of the administration of the Novabelitsy district Siarhei Kazachok, as well as Deputy Chairman of the Homel city executive committee Vital Atamanchuk. They discouraged the women from sending the appeal to the ruler, having promised to solve all communal issues.

"I was just deceived. The municipal service made a reassessment — and that’s all. Now the officials once again advise me to buy a kitchen, a bath and a toilet at a commercial price - for Bn 18.7, although the house has already reached the age of 51 years old," - Alena says.

The woman is going to hold the hunger strike until her sore issue is resolved positively.