LLL Formula Of Belarusian Pensioner’s Life
- 17.10.2023, 21:20
You have to survive on $6 a day at best.
Reader Alena from the Belarusian city of Baranavichy wrote to the Charter97.org editors:
“I live with my husband in the private sector of Baranavichy, and it so happened that a mission fell on my head. I have been carrying it out for about 20 years. People are used to taking a cat into their apartments. They play and have fun with it but later, being humane people, they do not throw them out among high-rise buildings, but they take it to the private sector in the hope that someone would take care and give shelter to their pet.
My heart hurts when these cats look at me with their huge grey eyes with the hope that you will take pity on them, feed them, and let them into the house to warm up. So, I have three cats in my “shelter” today. I feed them and let them into the house. Of course, that's not cheap. But I’m already an experienced housewife, I know where to buy cheap giblets to feed them, and on what day they deliver scarce kidneys and lungs to feed my pets.
My children were forced to go abroad after 2020, and I was finally lucky enough to get a visa. It doesn’t matter that it was issued for only 30 days. I’m already looking forward to the trip since I haven’t seen my daughter for more than two years. It was easier with cats when the children lived in Minsk: I left food for them and went away for a few days to look after my grandchildren. And now 30 days! That's quite long.
I remembered that I once read about cat hotels. It turned out that there is such a hotel in our city! My joy knew no bounds. I got ready and went to talk about my pets. But I was only happy on the way there, imagining that my dear pets would be well-fed and warm.
But my jaw dropped and my tongue fell out when I heard about the accommodation cost for such guests. The service costs 30 rubles per day for one cat.
I actually receive a pension of 624 Belarussian rubles [about $190 - Ed.] - that’s a little more than 20 rubles a day in order to live. There is no question here that 20 rubles will go not only for food. No, these include utilities, communications, medicines, and clothing - shoes (which I buy in exceptional cases). I live according to the LLL formula - I live my last years, I have my last food and last clothes.
So, in this way, a person’s life is worth less than the life of a cat! If you look around, a person’s life in Belarus is not worth anything, because if you go to a hospital, there is only one answer: what do you want, look at your passport. It’s a shame for me to keep talking about my life! I'm not so poor in comparison with others.
If you admire the way political prisoners are tortured, you will envy even a stray cat. It’s free at least…”