Searches for Hienadz Smalyak, a Belarusian missing in Spain, had been ongoing for almost a month. Now he has been found and, as his ex-wife, friend, and colleague Marta confirmed to "Radio Svaboda", he has been hospitalized. Details of how the previous weeks went for Hienadz are not being disclosed.
On July 9, it became known that Smalyak was seen on July 6 near Barcelona. Marta then shared with "Radio Svaboda" the main version of his disappearance — the man stopped taking his necessary medication, doesn't understand where he is, and likely got lost during a walk.
Hienadz was seen that day near his former place of residence. He was walking in the streets but in a worsened mental state, unaware of what was happening. For the last month, according to his friend, Smalyak was in a bad emotional state, didn't contact anyone, barely spoke to neighbors, almost never left his room or house, "ate, slept, smoked cigarettes." A similar situation had already occurred this spring, but back then Hienadz did not leave his home.
Filing a missing person report for the Belarusian with the Catalan police was difficult and not successful on the first attempt, as such reports are only accepted from relatives. Smalyak, however, has no blood relatives in Spain, and they cannot currently obtain visas and travel. The police suggested that relatives file a missing person report with the Belarusian police — then colleagues would search for him within the framework of international cooperation. However, close ones believe this is a bad option, as Smalyak faces political persecution in Belarus for his public and journalistic activities.
Hienadz Smalyak is 36 years old. In Belarus, he helped homeless people restore documents, relocate to villages, and was involved in the "Food Not Bombs" project, where volunteers fed the homeless. Smalyak also worked as an orderly in psychiatric and neurological boarding school No. 3 in Minsk. Additionally, he volunteered there, organized musical performances for residents, and conducted art therapy.
As Hienadz himself previously told the Most publication, he implemented things that had not existed in the institution before: outings to the city, excursions, free access to water, televisions in wards, and the opportunity for volunteers to visit these people. When, according to him, "people began to come alive," the new head of the boarding school canceled the innovations, and Smalyak resigned with a scandal.
After leaving Belarus, Hienadz lived in Ukraine, Poland, Germany, and Spain. Abroad, he worked as a journalist for various publications, including his media project Not today, not yesterday, not tomorrow.
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