A demonstration under the title “Mothers at the Border” has taken place to protest against the treatment of the thousands of people – mainly from the Middle East, Asia and Africa – who have been crossing into Poland from Belarus. Among those to join the gathering were two former first ladies.
“Today we want to express our opposition to the inhumane treatment and deprivation of dignity of refugees,” said Jolanta Kwaśniewska, wife of ex-president Aleksander Kwaśniewski.
She read an appeal alongside Anna Komorowska and which was also signed by Danuta Wałęsa, respectively the wives of former presidents Bronisław Komorowski and Lech Wałęsa, a Nobel Peace Prize winner. All three ex-presidents are aligned with the current opposition.
Podpisane Pani Jola, Pani Anna i Pani Danuta……..#MatkiNaGranicę pic.twitter.com/9ocPMXt0nm
— Kaśka.. odskocznia od wrednej codzienności – SPORT (@KatarzynaBrandt) October 23, 2021
“We are opposed to authorities that do not see humans in the people who are seeking a better life for themselves and their loved ones,” continued Kwaśniewska, quoted by Polsat News. “We do not agree to stigmatising refugees and using their tragedy for current political purposes.”
“We especially do not agree to the inhumane treatment of children,” she added. “We do not agree to putting us Polish women and mothers in the role of observers of the drama unfolding before our eyes. The Polish state has enough instruments to separate those who pose a threat from those who need help.”
The protest took place outside the border guard facility in the town of Michałowo. That was where, three weeks ago, a group of Iraqi and Kurdish families, including young children, were briefly detained after crossing illegally into Poland and then sent back across the border into Belarus.
Earlier this month, it was reported that around 20-30% of people detained in Poland after crossing the border are minors. Child migrants – and in particular those detained at Michałowo – have become a symbol for critics of the government’s tough border policies.
The border guard, however, claims that the families in Michałowo did not want to claim asylum in Poland, making clear that (like many of the border crossers) they intended to reach Germany. The authorities therefore argue that they had an obligation to return them across the border.
“Children’s place is not in the forest,” ran the slogan of today’s protest, referring to the sparsely populated and densely forested terrain on the border with Belarus. This week, the sixth reported death of a border crosser on Polish – a 19-year-old Syrian – was announced.
“A child’s place is in a warm home and the arms of its mother,” said Kwaśniewska, quoted by Interia. “We sit in these homes, watch the news and say: ‘It’s terrible that so much bad is happening there [on the border].’ [But] everyone has a real opportunity to help.”
“We jointly appeal for the government, which does not itself help, to allow medical and legal aid to be provided by humanitarian and social organisations,” continued Kwaśniewska. “And journalists [should be] admitted to the [border] area, so that they can report what is happening there.”
Last month, Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, placed the entire border under a state of emergency. That bars all non-resident civilians – including NGOs, media and medics – from entering the area. Today’s protest took place just outside the emergency zone.
The government argues that the measures are necessary to manage the unprecedented crisis on the border, and says it is providing medical and humanitarian help to those who need it. But critics say its real purpose is to prevent scrutiny of the actions of the authorities there.
During today’s protest, the border guard invited Kwaśniewska and Komorowska to visit their facility in Michałowo, whose commander showed them “the help provided to foreigners”.
In her appeal, Kwaśniewska noted Poles’ long history of seeking refuge – or simply a better life – in the west. “There were no barriers waiting for them, only a helping hand,” she said.
Poland’s government, however, argues that it has a duty to protect the border, which is also the EU’s eastern frontier. Last month, it published material taken from migrants’ phones that it said shows some hold extremist views and even terrorist links. Some experts, however, have questioned that evidence.
In August, amid thousands of attempted crossings, the government put up a razor-wire fence that it said would prevent the entry of “terrorists”. With even greater numbers crossing since then, it has now announced plans to build an “impenetrable” wall on the border.
Earlier this month, Poland’s Catholic church appealed for Poles to “welcome strangers” and called on the state to “prioritise medical and humanitarian aid for migrants”. The bishops also called for people “not to stigmatise arrivals”.
Last week, mass protests took place in Warsaw and Kraków expressing solidarity with migrants and refugees and calling on the authorities to “stop the torture on the border”.
Opinion polling, however, has shown that a narrow majority of Poles support the government’s response to the crisis, though a similar proportion are opposed to sending children back over the border. The German government has also thanked Poland for “protecting the EU border”.
Main image credit: Jacek Marczewski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
