With its chic interiors and freshly ground coffee, this café run by Belarusian exile Sasha Avdeevich might at first glance seem like just another trendy spot in Warsaw.
But the wheelchair-accessible lowered countertop and stickers written in Polish, English and Belarusian — “The barista on shift is hard of hearing” — show this is no ordinary business.
Avdevich, who himself uses a wheelchair, set up the first “inclusive barista” coffee shop while still in Belarus and quickly gained prominence as a disability campaigner in the country, which is tightly controlled by President Alexander Lukashenko.
The 40-year-old activist took part in unprecedented mass protests in Belarus following a 2020 election that rights groups described as fraudulent.
When Lukashenko began brutally cracking down on dissent, Avdeevich knew he had to flee.
“A lot of people called me at that time and said, ‘Sasha, if you don’t want to end up in a coffin, leave the country,'” she told AFP.
He described his journey during the Covid pandemic, which saw him first flee to Georgia, then travel to the Canary Islands before applying for international protection in France.
Eventually he moved to Poland, where thousands of Belarusians who, like Avdeevich, fled repression now live.
“Many migrants have disabilities,” Avdevich said.
Rap Battles, Speed Dating
After settling in Warsaw, Avdeevich began barista training for people in wheelchairs, held festivals where trainees made coffee on specially adapted carts, and began planning his first café in Poland.
When they found a commercial space suitable for disabled people close to their flat and in the city’s increasingly popular Praga district, Avdevich and his business partner decided to give it a try.
“We had money for three months’ rent and we thought, ‘Come on, we’ll do whatever it takes,'” he said.
The cafe, which opened in April, employs not only people from Belarus but also people with various kinds of disabilities, as well as migrants.
The founders said they want their café to be as “international” and inclusive as possible.
“We recently held a rap battle; we will soon hold a speed dating event,” Avdevich said.
The cafe is also launching an inclusive DJing school.
Avdevich lost the use of his legs after breaking his back in a motorbike accident in 2011.
“There is no surgery for this type of disability… it is not possible for me to walk again, even if I become Bill Gates,” Avdeevich laughed.
Some time after the accident he said to himself, “Well, I’m alive. What can I do? My hands are working.”
“And now we’re here, in our coffee shop, making this world a better place.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)