19 March 2024, Tuesday, 14:41
Support
the website
Sim Sim,
Charter 97!
Categories

Uliana Zakharanka: 5 thousand days of wait

45
Uliana Zakharanka: 5 thousand days of wait

Uliana Zakharanka has been waiting for her son Yury for 5045 days in the village of Vasilevichy of Rechytsa district.

Uliana Zakharanka lives alone. Her older son Uladzimir died after an operation in 1988. And in 15 months after that Yury Zakharanka was also gone, Radio Svaboda reports.

“I do not sleep at nights at all, I cannot sleep: they are before my eyes. The older son, a submariner, died, and they took Yura in a year as well. Can I bear that? And the husband also died. I was born on 6 February. Volodzia died on 7th, Mikalai – on 9th. So all these days up to 10th are mourning days for me. When I am home alone, I only cry. I do not sleep at night, I would turn on the light all around the house. The number of the light bulbs on is equal to the number of the rooms, and they are on all night”, - Uliana Zakharanka says.

Long burning pain comes to the woman at night. Medicines are only able to help for one or two hours, not more.

“I take all these medicines, when I go to bed. In an hour I would have the blood pressure reaching 200 plus. Once it is 200 you have to call the ambulance whether you want it or not. A stenocardia attack starts. The left shoulder burns, the heart burns. I even lose my sight. And I was left alone”, - she says.

After the death of her husband Mikalai widowed Uliana Zakharanka could only hope for her sons. They were her consolation and support. But Yury, the last remaining son, disappeared, and the realible support was gone.

“I cannot stay alone: I will go crazy. They were very good. No one had such sons as I did. When they came that would never play, only worked and worked. When Yura was already a minister, he would still carry a plow. And when anyone asked, he would explain: “This has been my job since childhood”. And whatever I bought I would give to them. Yury came and after May 6th he was leaving and said: “Mom, you have loaded the car so much that the wheels are going to bend”. And I said: “When I die, they will bounce”. And then Volga, the son’s wife, called in the evening, I was not yet sleeping,  - Yury was gone, they took him”, - Uliana Zakharanka recollects.

The oppositional general, former Minister of Interior Yury Zakharanka disappeared in Minsk in the evening on 7 May 1999. He did not make a mere hundred meter to his house in Mahilouskaja street. He was captured and forced into a car. Ever since neither the mother, nor the family of the former minister, nor the public has not known anything definite about this disappearance.

International organizations and human rights activist accuse the Belarusian authorities of being involved in the kidnapping of the oppositional politician.

Write your comment 45

Follow Charter97.org social media accounts