After the 2020 protests and the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine in 2022, many Belarusians lost their sense of security in their own homeland and were forced to leave in search of a new home. Most chose Poland and Lithuania, countries that are culturally, historically, and geographically close. Others, lacking the necessary visa, had to look for a different refuge—and found it in Georgia, a country distant in every sense. How can one avoid dissolving into a new environment while preserving their national identity in a place with a rich but entirely different culture, all while becoming part of a foreign society? This is the question the Belarusian diaspora in the seaside resort city of Batumi is actively trying to answer.

"I душна, i цесна, i сэрца самлела

Мне тут на чужыне, здалёк ад сваіх...

Як птушка на скрыдлах, ляцець бы хацела, 

Як хваля па моры, плыла бы да ix!"