Markievich and Mazheika: First Weeks of Personal Restraint

Mikola Markievich, editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Pahonia” has found a job in Asipovichy, where he has to stay during the personal restraint term. He searched for it for two weeks and a half, as everybody feared to employ a political prisoner. By the way, if one doesn’t find a job in this situation, it can be considered as evasion from the punishment and personal restraint can be replaced by imprisonment. Now Markievich is a gate-keeper at the small business enterprise, sawmill “Sirius”. His working day ends at 5 p.m. The only thing that disturbs him is that he has no possibility to maintain contacts with his friends and relatives – Internet works very slowly at the collective computer point, and he hasn’t any telephone either.

Paviel Mazheika works for a private businessman. He spends most time at the businessman’s sawmill (there his working day ends at 3 p.m.) but sometimes his chief sends him to the farm, where he has to work up to 8 or 9 p.m. Paviel complains that he can’t bear the noise of the sawmill seven hours a day and says he is going to search for a new job.

Information Department of PA HRC “Viasna” (based on materials of “Radio Racyja”)