Tanya's stay: A worthy compromise offered by attorney for Belarusian girl

It’s easy to understand why 16-year-old Tanya Kazyra wants to stay in the United States.

Tanya comes from a troubled family in Belarus, a poor country still affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. She has grown close to the Petaluma family that welcomed her for nine summers through a program that provides respite as well as medical, dental and vision care for children from the Chernobyl region. This summer would have been Tanya’s last in the program.

And, considering the strained relations between the United States and Belarus, which pulled its ambassador from Washington in March, it’s not surprising that her request caused an international uproar.

Belarusian officials say they will prohibit future visits organized by charities such as the Chernobyl Children’s Project unless Tanya returns home and U.S. officials guarantee that all youngsters in the program will return home at the end of their stays.

Program officials have urged Tanya to return home and Belarusian diplomats have twice visited her in Petaluma. Each time, she repeated her desire to stay and insisted she has the blessing of her legal guardian, her grandmother.

Her tourist visa allows her to remain in the United States until Dec. 25 though the other children in the program returned home last month.

Christopher A. Kerosky, Tanya’s lawyer, offered a compromise in a column published Sunday in the Forum section of The Press Democrat.

Kerosky said Tanya would seek a student visa to study here, apologize publicly to her government, participate in efforts to raise public awareness in the United States about Belarusian culture, history and traditions and help raise money for the Chernobyl Children’s Project in the North Bay.

This proposal has potential for both sides.

As for the visa, it isn’t unusual for students studying abroad to extend their stays, and Tanya apparently has her grandmother’s blessing.

An apology and a promise to promote her native country would buy time for officials of Belarus, the exchange programs and the United State to negotiate new travel rules, possibly including visa restrictions.

Otherwise, she’s likely to request asylum, citing U.S. complaints that Belarus stifles political dissent, ensuring further stress on diplomatic relations.

Both nations benefit from the Chernobyl Children’s Project, but neither gains from a fight over Tanya Kazyra.