Natallya Kalyada’s daughter took the floor at the hearing on Belarus in the British Parliament.

The hearing was held on December 13. Belarus was represented by Belarusian opposition members, as well as Alla Sannikova, the mother of presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov, his sister Iryna Bahdanava and a daughter of Free Theatre director Natallya Kalyada.

«My name is Daniella Kaliada. My parents call me Danusik or Danjubas. I am almost 13-years old. My parents do theatre, one of the most peaceful profession in the World. But I do afraid for them everyday even here in London. I have this feeling from 1999 when Anatoliy, husband of my god-mother was kidnapped and killed with his friend. That feeling of fear came back to me late evening on 19th of December last year. After many conversations during daytime my Mum agreed to take me with them to the Square. I told my Mum and Dad that my future depended on it and I needed to be there. I made a lot of hot tea with milk and planned to stay at the Square overnight. It was just one week before the Christmas and everyone was excited and hoped to have a real New Year and… new life… I didn’t go to the Square in the end, and my parents drop me off at their friends’ apartment. As my Mum said it was her intuition to leave me there… Later my Mum was arrested, my Dad was smuggled out of our apartment, and our apartment was raided by KGB overnight. Before my Dad was smuggled I told him that I’d had a feeling that there would be no Christmas and New-Year Family Dinners that year. There would be no Christmas gifts, no cakes, no laugh, and no friends coming to see us. Nothing.

All friends of my parents, Andrei Sannikov, Dima Bondarenko, Ira Khalip, Natasha Radina, and others, those who always gave me presents and made me laugh are in jails. On December 31 our other friends smuggled us out of the country.

There was no home any longer. No school for 10 months (honestly, that was the only one that I didn’t miss, but Mum was upset).

But if seriously: there were no grandma every morning bringing pancakes and hot chocolate to my bed, no grandpa watching with me snooker, no another grandpa making the best dumplings in the world. Just a lot of tears. And continuous news about KGB raids to grandparents’ apartments in search for my parents. Last February they were even searching for me, because they got an idea to take me away and that way to make my parents to stop saying the truth. Same thing was done to my friend, Danik, a four-year old boy, a son of Andrei and Ira when both of them were in the KGB jail.

My Mum promised me when we left that we would have the Christmas party that year.

But she didn’t keep her promise. Nothing would be the same as it was before. My grandpa, who made the best dumplings in the world and was the most funnies person that ever knew in my life, died from a heart attack in August after another KGB raid.

Andrei and Dima, these two big great men, like big bears, with a lot of kindness and many presents for me every year, are in jail. Andrei writes fairy tales to Danik from a prison. He tries to raise him as a kind and wonderful person through his fairy stories.

I am young. Usually, nobody listens to the young. And I know that you are not magicians and can not give me back my Grandpa. But I ask you only one thing - to make just one miracle and do whatever it is possible to bring these people, who are still alive and in jails, back to their children and parents. Thank you».