Avdevich launched barista training for people in wheelchairs when he settled in Warsaw.
Warsaw, Poland:
With its sleek interior and freshly ground coffee, the café owned by Belarusian exile Sasha Avdevich may at first glance seem like just another trendy spot in Warsaw.
But the lowered, wheelchair-accessible countertop and a sticker that reads: “The barista on shift has a hearing impairment” in Polish, English and Belarusian reveal that this is no ordinary affair.
Avdevich, himself a wheelchair user, founded the first coffee shop ‘Inclusive Barista’ while still in Belarus and quickly became famous as a campaigner for the disabled in the country controlled with an iron fist by strongman Alexander Lukashenko.
The 40-year-old activist took part in the unprecedented mass protests that swept Belarus after the 2020 elections that rights groups labeled fraudulent.
As Lukashenko brutally cracked down on dissent, Avdevich knew he had to run.
“A lot of people called me at the time and said: ‘Sasha, if you don’t want to end up in a coffin, leave the country,'” he told AFP.
He recounted the journey in the era of the Covid pandemic that initially saw him flee to Georgia and then travel to the Canary Islands before applying for international protection in France.
He eventually moved to Poland, where tens of thousands of fellow countrymen now live, who, like Avdevich, fled repression.
“There are a lot of immigrants with disabilities,” Avdevich said.
Rap battle, speed dating
When he settled in Warsaw, Avdevich launched barista training for people in wheelchairs, organized festivals where the trainees made coffee from specially adapted carts, and started making plans for his first café in Poland.
When he found a commercial space suitable for people with disabilities, close to his flat and in the increasingly popular Praga district, Avdevich and his business partner decided to give it a try.
“We had money for three months’ rent, and we were like, ‘Come on, whatever happens, we’ll do it,’” he said.
The cafe opened in April and hires people with different disabilities and migrants, not only from Belarus.
The founders said they want their café to be as “international” – and inclusive – as possible.
“We recently organized a rap battle, we will organize a speed dating event soon,” Avdevich said.
The café is also launching an inclusive DJ school.
Avdevich lost the use of his legs when he broke his back in a motorcycle accident in 2011.
“There is no surgery for this kind of disability… it is not possible to walk again even if I were Bill Gates,” Avdevich laughed.
Shortly after the accident, he said to himself, “Okay, I’m still alive. What can I do? I have working arms.
“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.)
