Talk with reading: When You Go Through Hell - Testimonies of Imprisoned Women in Belarus

This is not the first time that state repression against its own population and systematic human rights violations have caused thousands of people to flee their homes. In Belarus, however, repression has reached a level that would no longer have been thought possible in a European country. More than 1,400 political prisoners, heavy sentences for obviously fabricated charges, prison conditions that can only be described as torture - this is how the regime of dictator Alexander Lukashenko has been trying to hold on to power since the mass demonstrations against the rigged election in August 2020.

Eight women in prison in Belarus - including the musician Maria Kalesnikava - represent thousands of political prisoners in the country. The anthology "Wenn du durch die Hölle gehst, dann geh weiter", published by edition.fotoTAPETA, brings together testimonies from women in prison. They talk about everyday life and the violence behind bars, about resistance and their hopes for a democratic future.

Programme

Greeting

Andreas Kossert, Research Associate, Documentation Centre for Displacement, Expulsion, Reconciliation
Andreas Rostek, Publisher, edition.fotoTAPETA

Conversation

Cordelia Dvorák, filmmaker and editor
Ingo Petz, publicist, Internet platform dekoder.org
Moderation: Andreas Rostek, Publisher, edition.fotoTAPETA

Reading

Dagmar Engel, edition.fotoTAPETA

Admission free

An event in co-operation with dekoder.org, edition.fotoTAPETA and the Goethe-Institut e.V.

Livestream of the event via our YouTube channel Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung - YouTube