Talai defends bringing kids from Donbass to peaceful Belarus for recreation

 Aleksei Talai said: “If some bodies continue demonizing and discrediting me, then I am ready to fight for my honest name in, for instance, international bodies, in courts. We are ready for it morally and materially. Common sense will prevail after all. We do not fall for any provocations. I am not afraid of anyone, of any international courts, any international bodies. Our cause is just.”

 Aleksei Talai said that his charity foundation intends to continue inviting kids from Donbass to come to Belarus for recreation. Kids from the areas that are suffering from heavy fire and bombardment, including Gorlovka, are expected to come this summer. Their lives are threatened over there.

 “How can we not bring them to a safe territory and thus potentially save their lives?” Aleksei Talai wondered.

 He recalled how a mother and her disabled son from the Donetsk People's Republic had kept their lives thanks to a lucky combination of circumstances. Later on the woman recorded a video. She said that their house was hit by an artillery shell several days after they left for Belarus. Several neighbors died. The family could have died as well.

 Aleksei Talai stressed that charity is a noble cause. In his words, he has been doing it for more than ten years. He started out by helping an orphanage in Orsha. “We will never leave kids in trouble wherever they live: in Syria, USA, or Germany. If they need help and we have the resources, we will definitely help them,” he said.

 To the meeting with reporters Aleksei Talai brought lists of all the children from the Donetsk People's Republic, Lugansk People's Republic, and Zaporozhye, who have been to Belarus for rest and recreation. He emphasized that after recreation in Belarus they went home to their relatives, to their homes although the houses were partially ruined. “We have photo and video confirmations,” he added.