Husband frantically trying to get trapped Belarusian wife safe passage to Stafford
A frantic husband is desperately trying to get his trapped Belarusian wife safe passage to the West Midlands so they can begin a new life.
Peter Mason believes his wife Tanya would be by his side now if the UK Home Office had processed her application before Belarus' dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko, an ally of Russia, closed the borders.
Due to Covid and flights to the West being stopped Peter could not see Tanya for 11 months last year, and now has not seen her since January this year.
After Russia invaded Ukraine last month, with help from Belarus, Peter and Tanya's future was put at the mercy of geo-politics on a grand scale.
The 70-year-old said: "The borders are shut and no visas are being given to residents for foreign travel.
"We were trying to get her to the UK last year, she wants to live with me here, but even though she is my wife the process took so long, the war begun and now she is stuck.
Tanya, aged 57, lives in Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk, which is a few kilometres from the Polish border and not far from the Ukraine.
Peter told the Express & Star: "She is near the Polish and Ukraine border and can hear explosions but have been told it's military manoeuvres. The worrying thing is if this conflict escalates Brest will be in the firing line. Who knows what Lukashenko will do, or what Putin will ask him to do.
"And Brest will be the first city in NATO's sights because its a couple of kilometres across the border."
Belarus is governed by dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko who is an acolyte of Vladimir Putin and allowed Russians troops to prepare for the Ukraine invasion on his land.
Flights in and out of Belarus were massively reduced after Lukashenko earned his country pariah status by scrambling jets to force a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania to land in Minsk so dissident journalist Roman Protasevich could be arrested.
Peter, who is an expert in logistics concerning the movement of rare animals, said: "This led to Belarus airlines being banned from most Western airports and most airlines refusing to fly to Belarus. I had to go via Istanbul to Belarus when I saw her last in December, it took days to get there but it was worth it seeing Tanya."
Peter and Tanya met online seven years ago and fell in love before getting engaged at the top of the Shard in London three years ago and marrying in January this year, the last time they were together.
He said: "She is amazing, she speaks four languages and is learning English too so she can pass the citizenship test, she loves England. She loves Cornwall, the Peak District, the Lakes and has set her heart living here - I would live anywhere. I lived in Ukraine for a few years, it is heartbreaking what is happening to the country.
"The Home Office make it so complicated, even though Tanya is my wife. I've asked for help from Stafford MP Theo Clarke but she could not do much but I am trying again to help to get Tanya to England."
Mr Morgan has enlisted the help of friend and Stafford political advisor Neil Thomas.
Mr Thomas said: "We are going to try every politician we can think of now because time is running out. Those fleeing Ukraine are rightly in the news but there are countries like Belarus which are mixed up in all this.
"Hopefully Theo Clarke MP will take up the case and I will be using Staffordshire peers in the House of Lords to raise the profile of the case."
However, Tanya's case is made more complicated due to her unswerving loyalty to her pets.
Peter said: "Tanya wants a better life in England but there is no way she will leave her cats behind in Belarus, she loves them very much.
"She does not have family left in Belarus but she has her three cats, and they are like family to her.
"She has three, and one is 18 years old so we will need to get the right documents to get them into the country. I just have to have faith we'll all be together in Stafford some time soon."
