(9 Aug 2021) It's been one year since the Belarus presidential election sparked mass rallies across the ex-Soviet nation.
Marching through the capital, Minsk, around 200,000 people challenged President Alexander Lukashenko's 26-rule authoritarian rule.
More than 35,000 people were arrested and thousands were beaten by police.
Today, thousands of Belarusians live in exile, many in Ukraine, Lithuania, or here in Poland.
20-year-old Alexander Vilks and 40-year-old Tatsiana Shuntava both fled in the autumn of 2020.
They met in Vilnius and later moved to Gdańsk to find work.
"Everything I did a year ago, I would do again," says Shuntava, a former TV executive who helped organise medical treatment for injured protesters.
"Now, I feel both gratitude because I've met Sasha and my life has changed, but at the same time I suffer because my parents are still there."
Both are still committed to fighting for freedom in Belarus.
"We don't have the right and we would betray ourselves and our people if we stopped fighting," said Vilks.
"We'd betray all those who are still held in prison."
But with Lukashenko still in power, there is disappointment.
"We did expect quicker results from our action," said Shuntava.
"But with so many people, change cannot be so fast. We must accept we won't see quick results. We need to continue to fight."
Today, the couple are starting to find normality again.
They have a safe home, regular jobs working in restaurants, and are starting to make plans.
But there is no forgetting the past.
Vilks spent several days in prison where he was severely beaten and bruised in the hands of the police.
The Associated Press was there when he was released and reunited with his mother.
"It's scary to imagine how deeply she was grieving because of this," he says tearfully watching the footage again.
"I didn't want to inflict on her even more suffering because of what happened to me."
For Vilks and Shuntava, there is no forgetting and they stay committed to helping other Belarusians abroad.
And with little sign that Lukashenko's grip on power is weakening, one year on, more and more Belarusians are joining the ranks of a life in exile.
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