"My responsibilities include dealing with various state institutions.

You won't believe it, but different phones can say completely different things.

Therefore, it is necessary to understand.

I help Ukrainians with finding housing, work, even psycho-emotional support."

She chose Latvia because she was getting married there

The Belarusian woman says that integrating into Latvian society is not the easiest task, that's why such mentors are necessary.

But few Ukrainians know about their existence, so very often they solve their questions themselves.

Maria has been in Latvia since the end of 2020.

She left Belarus in August 2020, when photos with her appeared on the website of the Investigative Committee, as well as propaganda resources.

First, she went to visit a friend in Ukraine.

At that time, it seemed that the situation in Belarus would change quickly, and since nothing was changing, the choice of a country for a permanent life arose.

"I had a Latvian boyfriend, we met him for four years.

It was a long-distance relationship, but I came to visit him in Latvia for several months, and he came to see me in Minsk.

They met in third countries, traveled.

There were good bells and bad.

He said: come to me, we will finally get married.

Of course, there was excitement, but everyone worries before marriage," says Maria.

She traveled from Belarus twice

As a result, the girl got a Latvian humanitarian visa in Ukraine.

But it was a time of covid restrictions, planes didn't fly, they didn't want to let her through Poland by bus either.

The option remained to go through Belarus, despite threats of persecution.

"People who went with me on the same case said that there is a certain lull.

I was obliged to spend 14 days in quarantine in Belarus, there was no opportunity to go to Latvia right away, during this time I drew up documents before marriage, saw friends.

I was supposedly prepared for all this, but no preparation can ever compare to reality.

While I was in Minsk, the SC began to become more active and called everyone in our case for questioning.

Most likely, I would have been summoned for questioning on Monday, and I left on Saturday," says Maria.

The Belarusian woman says that she considered Latvia to be a more or less familiar country.

But in reality, everything turned out not as expected.

"Don't confuse tourism with emigration," says Maria.

- The marriage did not last long, I soon found myself on the street.

It helped that I started posting something on Facebook in desperation.

They answered me: can't you find a Belarusian community?

It is good for you to speak in Vilnius or Warsaw, not in Riga.

I found a few societies, they turned out to be scumbags.

But through Facebook I found people who helped me.

They advised me to run away."

"It wasn't so bad in the refugee camp"

In the winter of 2020, Maria tried to run away.

She lived in a refugee camp in Mucinieki for six months.

"I had my own mythology in my head about this, but it turned out not to be the worst situation: there is a roof over my head, they even pay some money, even if it's small.

Absolutely normal place.

Shower and toilet in the corridor.

They give you several tickets, which you can use to go to the city a couple of times a month.

They gave packages with food and things necessary for washing.

There was a lot of flour, sugar, and rice in the bags.

There was no buckwheat.

There were several cans that were eaten very quickly."

The girl also attended free Latvian language courses in the camp.

"At the same time, we had neither sediment nor paper.

If a button came off something, it was a real quest to find a needle and thread.

Fortunately, the camp had a room with old clothes, which helped a lot."

"I wouldn't say that Riga is Russian-speaking"

As a result, the Belarusian received fugitive status in Latvia for five years.

Now she lives in Riga.

"I speak Latvian, I understand a lot, I can go to lectures.

I was hired because I had a certain level of language.

I can draw up all the necessary documents.

But it takes practice.

I would not say that Riga is a Russian-speaking city.

It is necessary to look by districts.

At the bus station or railway station, there are many people who speak Russian, there are many alcoholics and marginals.

There are allegedly "Russian" districts, there are some where more Latvians live.

For example, in Daugavpils, not all shop workers know Latvian, but in Riga, everyone does."

Expensive electricity

Maria says that due to her work, she often looks at housing prices for Ukrainian refugees.

He says that it is possible to find a two-room apartment even for 250-300 euros per month.

A Ukrainian family of three receives approximately that much assistance from the Latvian state.

"Of course, it's not in the center, but it's also Riga, public transport runs there every 5-10 minutes, half an hour's drive and you're in the center.

Each district of Riga has its own features, for example, architectural monuments, a forest, a river.

If you want to hire in the center, you can find one for 800 or 1,200, but you can actually find one in the center for 350-400 euros," says the Belarusian.

As for utilities, in the last month Maria paid 61.80 euros for utilities.

There is a separate bill for electricity - 94.43 euros.

We are talking about a one-room apartment with electric water heating.

"I pay 13 euros for the Internet.

I used to pay 5 euros for the phone, now the tariff has increased to 9 euros.

One trip in public transport is 1.15 euros," says Maria.

"Latvia is a big village"

The girl admits that at first it was quite difficult for her.

"People's mentality is still different.

Latvians are more leisurely, the rhythm of life is lower than that of Minsk.

This is normal, Belarusians are also more leisurely than Ukrainians.

Latvians do not like scandals, they decide everything "quietly", not everyone will say everything to their face - this is an unpleasant moment.

Latvia is such a big village, some of them have admitted more than once that they are afraid that bad things will be said about them, which can spoil their reputation for life.

I would say that there is a fear of coming forward.

But some people have a completely different picture of the world.

And Latvians can also reveal themselves at their best: being sincere, warm-hearted and deeply empathetic people.

A vivid example of this is the current support for Ukrainians.

In Latvia, for example, they canceled free school meals for children, but left all benefits and opportunities for residents of Ukraine.

A lot of initiative in helping comes not only from the state, but from the people themselves, who are ready to give their things if someone needs them more," Maria says.

She calls the division into "Russians" and Latvians one of the big problems of Latvia.

And although this division is not often loudly discussed in society, it brings certain inconveniences.

"I can rake away from Latvians that I am supposedly "Russian", and from the Russian-speaking population - that I am a "wrong Belarusian" and an opponent of the regime.

But there are many and absolutely adequate.

It happens that you can get bad service somewhere if you don't speak Latvian.

And this struggle exhausts society itself, although Latvians don't like to talk about it out loud, it's a bit of a taboo topic for the media."

"I buy at a discount"

Mary's products are purchased mainly from the Maxima store.

He buys many things at a discount.

"Our milk is Polish Farm Milk, so it is cheap - 0.85 cents.

This is the cheapest option, the local one is more expensive.

Bread is 1 euro, but there are different options.

Meat has become more expensive, at the biggest discounts you can buy a kilogram of pork for 4 euros.

Cucumbers - 1.95 per kilogram, tomatoes - 2.99 euros.

Prices change daily, there are two Maxima stores near me, so even there the prices differ."

Drinking a beer in the center of Riga will cost 5 euros.

Quality coffee will cost 3–3.5 euros, although prices will be higher in the city center.

"The state partially compensates the services of doctors"

As for medicine, the state partially compensates residents of the country for visits to doctors, only a declaration of residence is required.

"Therefore, a visit to a therapist is 2 euros, a specialist is 4 euros.

But it is necessary to go according to the state order.

Examinations may not be covered at all.

In Belarus, I was prescribed pills for free, but here with a 90% discount.

But the choice of drugs is also not the best, the regulations of the European Union differ from Belarusian ones.

Dentists here are free only for children under 16 years old.

This is a very painful issue - very expensive and long queues."

You can get a haircut in Riga for 5–15 euros, but in a fashionable barbershop it will cost at least 30 euros.

"I'll be honest, there are more interesting countries.

It is not so simple here.

Social security is not very good, there is a stratification in society based on language.

But everyone who comes here really likes the forests, the sea, the sights, and great places for hiking.

There are many good people, its own culture, many events.

But it's cold and damp in autumn and winter, just like in Belarus."