With its sleek interior and freshly ground coffee, the cafe run by Belarusian exile Sasha Avdevich may at first glance seem like yet another trendy spot in Warsaw. But the lowered, wheelchair-accessible countertop and a sticker reading: "The barista on shift has a hearing impairment" in Polish, English and Belarusian reveal this is no ordinary business. Avdevich, himself a wheelchair user, founded the first "Inclusive Barista" coffee shop while still in Belarus and quickly shot to fame as a disability campaigner in the country controlled with an iron fist by strongman president Alexander Lukashenko.
The 40-year-old activist took part in the unprecedented mass protests that swept Belarus after a 2020 election slammed by rights groups as fraudulent. As Lukashenko brutally cracked down on dissent, Avdevich knew he had to flee. "A lot of people called me back then and said, 'Sasha, if you don't want to end up in a coffin, leave the country,'" he told AFP.
He recounted the Covid pandemic-era journey that saw him flee to Georgia initially, then travel on to the Canary Islands before applying for international protection in France. He eventually moved to Poland, now home to tens of thousands of fellow Belarusians, who, like Avdevich, fled the repression. "There are many migrants with disabilities," Avdevich said.
As he settled in Warsaw, Avdevich launched barista training for people in wheelchairs, threw festivals where the trainees brewed coffee from specially adapted carts, and be.