Belarusians living in exile often experience profound and complex feelings of displacement, a sentiment captured by journalist Elena Vasilyeva, who has lived in Poland for four years. The 2020 protests against President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s government triggered a wave of political dissent and exile, with more than 850 individuals imprisoned for political reasons within Belarus. Many exiles, including journalists and activists, face the difficult choice between continuing their work and remaining in their homeland.
Vasilyeva describes a phenomenon she calls “portals,” moments or places in their new surroundings that unexpectedly evoke the familiarity of home. These portals can be triggered by sights, sounds, or smells, transporting exiles back to memories of Belarus even while physically far away. For instance, walking along the banks of the Vistula River in Warsaw, Vasilyeva felt transported to the Svislach River in Minsk. Such experiences are shared widely among the Belarusian diaspora.
The term “portals” was coined by Belarusian writer Pavel Antipov, inspired by author Tatsiana Zamirovskaya, who described similar feelings upon encountering a concert hall in Boston resembling one in Minsk. Other exiles report comparable experiences: a Belarusian in Rome found a view that reminded him of Minsk with the Colosseum behind him; another in Spain recalled a neighborhood resembling her student years in Belarus. These moments provide a private connection to a displaced past.
Wild grass, a common sight in many cities that goes unmowed, particularly serves as an evocative symbol. Journalist Masha Kalesnikava, who left Belarus in 2021, says wild grass reminds her of Polesie, a region near Ukraine where her family lives. Similarly, Vasilyeva associates it with childhood memories in her grandparents’ courtyard. For others like university classmate Tatsiana Lukashevich, the smell of poplar bark conjures images of a grandmother’s village. These perceptions are less about geography than about time and memory—portals lead back to moments in the past rather than specific locations.
Vasilyeva notes that this experience of involuntary recollection and connection may extend beyond Belarusians to other displaced groups worldwide. With the United Nations estimating nearly 118 million people displaced globally due to conflict, poverty, and disaster, the emotional experience of exile and memory is a shared human phenomenon. Syrian journalist Kholoud Helmi, living in the United Kingdom, recognizes the same sensation when a jasmine tree evokes the scent of her home streets.
While some exiles report that their portals fade as their new environments become more familiar, Vasilyeva has not yet experienced this. Recently in Berlin, she felt the portal open at the sight of a familiar cinema from Minsk, even though she knew she was not allowed to turn around if she wished to preserve the sensation.
These moments provide a poignant reminder of the complex relationship between identity, memory, and place for those who live far from their homeland. For Belarusian exiles, portals symbolize an emotional tether to a past that remains vital despite physical separation.