Tania from Belarus : A journey to Tasmania forged through resilience

Belarus is a land-locked nation centred between Russia, Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states. Despite becoming independent from the former USSR in 1991, It has maintained strong ties with Russia, not only through cultural and political connections, but through personal and family connections between individuals. Similar to its large neighbour, it has been shaped by the trauma of war and hardship following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Tania grew up initially in a small village in eastern Belarus, with family close by, and later moved closer to the city. When she was still at school in 2007, her sister moved to Tasmania, and Tania thought that one day she would move there too, and so her choice of study at university was influenced by this.Her first attempt to migrate was unsuccessful, but she came to visit as a tourist and feel in love with the state and was determined to find another way, and in 2018 she returned with her husband , to study a Masters of Accounting. This time things worked out much better, and her and her husband are now happily settled in Tasmania with an 11-year old son, David.