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Seeking freedom in Poland by Ewa Rodzik

Do you live in a free country? Do you consider yourself a free person? If we asked these questions three years ago in Poland, a country, which only finally gained freedom in 1989 after devastating years of the Second World War and more than 40 years of fighting against communism, the answer would probably be “yes.” However, since the electoral victory of the right-wing and conservative Law and Justice (PiS) and the following months of rapid legislation changes, massive protests against the restriction of the Polish abortion law, and penalization of blaming Poland for Nazi crimes during the Second World War, the answer is now not as clear as it used to be. Nelson Mandela once said, “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” We’re free – we can choose where we’ll eat lunch today, whether our house will be wooden or marble, which footballers’ t-shirt our child will bring to the football practice, or which hotel in Thailand, South Africa, or the Maldives will be the best for family vacation. And the same freedom is granted to everyone else. Well, almost to everyone. 


“Refugees may come to Poland. We will have something to burn in the heat and power station. And for the ones that won’t fit in the furnace, we can use as dog food.” 

“Polish people have a right to oppose the culture – foreign immigrants, who rape European woman and terrorize drivers.” 

As was presented to us at the meeting with Polish Migration Forum (Polskie Forum Migracyjne), this is how some Polish citizens describe 1 out of every 348,000 people with residence permits coming from Ukraine, China, India, and Vietnam., Or 1994 asylum seekers, refugee status holders mostly from Russia, Armenia, Ukraine and Georgia, people still in the process of gaining international protection and people with subsidiary protection. The Poles with these sentiments are people whose great-grandparents had fled Poland in 1939 due to Jewish roots, whose grandparents were silenced and forced to leave the country by the communists due to their political views and finally whose friends or partners are among more than 20 million Poles[M2] living abroad or 2 million working outside of the border temporarily. “It’s more than half of Poland’s current population,” emphasized Agnieszka Kosowicz (Polish Migration Forum / Polskie Forum Migracyjne) regarding the Poles mentioned above. None of them are afraid to travel with the bus in London, to speak Polish on the street in Boston, or to own up to Polish roots in Brazil. They’re not “The Others” - the ones who “look similar, but still have something in their eyes, that makes them a possible terrorist,” or ones who are being stared at and ignored while giving up their seat in the bus to an elderly person or pregnant woman. In Poland, however, migrants and refugees don’t speak their mother tongue in public, they try not to look people in the eyes, and every day they expect verbal or physical violence. But still, they can’t go back to the war, the poverty, the lack of medical assistance. Not after hours spent on the sea or near the border in Terespol, hoping the border guard will be in a good mood and will let them in. Not after being beaten up and locked up in prison after one anti-government speech or Facebook comment. Not after their mother and sister was raped and killed by soldiers sent by the governing party. They hoped for a better life, or at least for a safe place to prove to their children and themselves that the world isn’t a cruel place. They applied for the refugee status, but were rejected just like 80% of other applications. They wanted to rent a flat but were rejected due to the number of members in their family. They needed legal help, but their appeal wasn’t effective. Their visa expired one week ago, but they are banned from crossing the border to see their children for at least half a year. A baker didn’t want to sell them bread. They have a university degree and wanted to work in their profession, but they were forced to become a cleaning lady or an employee in a fast-food chain. Their case before the court lasted 5 years and the final decision was negative, but they needed to leave the country. They have disappointed themselves. The government and its restrictive policies have disappointed them. A woman in the bus who called them “a rapist and terrorist” has disappointed them. Poles have disappointed them. We have disappointed them. 

So what are we as a nation going to do about it? What are you going to do about it? Will you take responsibility for your actions and the actions of your family and friends? Maybe you will react to a hate-based situation in the public transport? Maybe you will help a foreigner to understand the instruction at the office? Maybe you will smile to the dark-skinned child on the street? Maybe you will say “have a good day” to the woman in hijab? 

Although during the past month we have discussed many different issues, I believe they all can be connected by one simple statement: everything depends on your perspective. You can be afraid and consider migrants as a threat. You may not want a child from Syria to sit in the same desk as your child. You may not want your neighbor to be a Crimean inhabitant. Again, it is a matter of perspective. Try to think outside of the box, get out of your social bubble, and place yourself in migrants’ positions. How would you feel? What kind of behavior would you expect? Most importantly, what would you do? You have the power to change their lives here in Poland. Just take the first step. Just act. Truly, it doesn’t matter what you do, unless you do something. 

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Born and raised in Warsaw, Ewa  Rodzik is a third year law student at University of Warsaw, with her academic interests including migrations and refugees law, international humanitarian law and labor law. Beginning as a volunteer guide in the Warsaw Uprising Museum, Ewa consistently widens her knowledge about human rights and ways to prevent its infringements, while giving free legal advice in the Foreigners and Refugees Department of the Legal Clinic established at the University. She gains practical and professional skills while involving in the activity of the academic organization called Student Human Rights Forum, taking part in organization of meetings with social activists and delivering speeches during nationwide human rights conferences. In her spare time, Ewa likes to learn about different cultures as well as languages and travel. After graduation she plans to pursue her professional career as a human rights lawyer.

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