A special envoy from Belarus met in Petaluma on Saturday with the attorney for a 16-year-old Belarusian girl whose refusal to return home is threatening not only the local summer exchange program that brought her to the United States but 40 other such programs across the country.
The meeting was one of several taking place over the weekend in an ongoing effort to resolve a crisis that began Aug. 5, when Tanya Kazyra refused to return to Belarus because she wanted to remain with her host family in Petaluma.
Pavel Shidlovsky, an official from the Belarus capital of Minsk, also met with representatives of the Petaluma-based Chernobyl Children's Project, a respite program for youngsters living near the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Kazyra, one of 25 youngsters who came to the North Coast through the Petaluma program, has said she wants to stay in the United States, citing her attachment to her host family, Manuel and Debra Zapata.
That decision angered the Belarusian government and sparked accusations that Kazyra had been kidnapped. Belarus has, for now, shut down all Chernobyl relief programs.
Several people involved with the summer exchange programs said they hoped the talks would quickly resolve the crisis.
"We're all watching this very closely. The result of this will potentially affect all of our programs," said Michael Shaffer, a board member of Children of Chernobyl North Carolina.
Shaffer said Kazyra's refusal to return to Belarus has worsened already strained relations between the United States and the former Soviet-bloc country. He said he hoped that Kazyra's host parents would agree to send the girl back to Belarus, and if they so desire, pursue adoption through established legal means.
"We really want this girl to go home and have everything resolved," said Shaffer. "If this family wants to adopt her, they should do that outside this program."
Cecelia Calhoun, Belarus liaison for the Children of Chernobyl United States Alliance, made a similar plea.
"This family violated Belarusian law," said Calhoun, adding that Kazyra and her host family are "well aware" that the girl was to return home.
She said many families who host Belarusian children through such humanitarian programs are anxiously waiting for a resolution in Petaluma.
"Everybody knows about it that's involved with hosting children," said Calhoun. "And everyone is extremely concerned and quite devastated by it."
Shidlovsky, the envoy from Belarus, is expected to be in Sonoma County through the weekend, according to Rosey Erickson, president of the Chernobyl Children's Project in Petaluma. Erickson was one of several people in Petaluma who met with Shidlovsky Saturday.
"We're all trying to come together to a common agreement, a way to get her home to safety that she's comfortable with," Erickson said. "I'm not at liberty to tell you the meat of the meeting, but things are very amicable between all parties at this point."
April Conte, a Petaluma resident who has hosted a 15-year-old Belarusian boy for the last five years, said she hopes the conflict is soon resolved. The boy she hosts, Vadim Yesman, would be eligible to return next summer.
"We've always had him come, my Christmas bonus always goes to bringing him," said Conte. "I hope the Zapatas let Tanya go back to Belarus and that they go through legal means to get her back here."
Neither the Zapatas nor Kazyra's attorney could be reached for comment Saturday.
Karen Kotter, president of New Mexico-based Belarusian Children of Chernobyl, Inc., said she has kept track of the events in Petaluma by checking Google Alerts every day.
As with others involved with the U.S. respite programs, Kotter said she sympathizes with Kazyra and her host family, but "at the same time, an agreement is an agreement."
You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com.
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