A Polish police officer spent over 27,500 zloty (€5,800) out of her own pocket to buy airline tickets to make sure a team of young Senegalese footballers got home without being deported.
Aleksandra Zydyk (pictured above on the left, a police officer in the town of Piekary Śląskie, was one of the organisers of “Senegal Welcome to Piekary”, an anti-racism campaign that overcame various hurdles to bring the team over to compete in an international tournament.
On their way back after almost two weeks in Poland, the Jed Foot players were prevented from boarding their connecting flight from Venice to Madrid as they did not have certificates showing a negative Covid PCR test result.
“The options they had were that either we find a new flight and they make it to Madrid…or they stay at the airport,” Zydyk told TVN24. “Their visa was ending, so they most probably would have been deported for staying in the Schengen zone illegally.”
The policewoman decided to buy tickets for the new flights to Madrid – borrowing 27,527 zloty to pay for them – so that the youngsters would not have to face the ordeal and stigma of deportation. A crowdfunding campaign to cover the costs has since raised over 30,000 zloty.
“As her commanding officer said, ‘Ola [Aleksandra] doesn’t have a heart – she has a nuclear reactor’,” said Maciej Gwóźdź, who set up the campaign. “This is an excellent description of her zeal, determination and drive.”
Piekary Śląskie’s mayor, Sława Umińska-Duraj, also organised a running training session for children and adults where participants were invited to chip in to cover the costs.
“Ola is very modest and engaged in what she does – not only at work, but also outside, with recent events being an example of that,” said Adam Jachimczak from the Katowice police.
Zydyk, whose police work involves crime prevention, was giving anti-racism talks at local schools and other institutions in 2019 when she and Paco, a Senegalese dance teacher based in the town, came up with the idea of inviting the team from the town of Tivaouane to Poland.
After an Iranian driver's truck broke down in Poland, leaving him stranded, Poles donated over 200,000 zloty to buy him a new one and help him get home.
"Poles are wonderful people, and it is difficult to believe their help," says the driver https://t.co/jUFGP7Klk5
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) December 19, 2019
The footballers were due to travel to Piekary then, but their planned visit was scuppered when their Senegalese sponsor pulled out at the last minute. Thanks to the fundraising efforts of Zydyk and others, they were finally able to travel three years later, reports local broadcaster Radio Piekary.
As part of the “We are all equal” campaign, with the watchwords “Tolerance, respect, equality”, the Senegalese footballers finally arrived in Poland on 29 July. The next day, they took part in a tournament with young players from the region.
During the remainder of their stay, the team visited the area and learnt about Polish and Silesian culture. “They’ll need to rest a bit after today…but then there’ll be some attractions and fun, and I think they’ll remember this trip for a long time,” said Zydyk on the day of the tournament.
Main image credit: Policja Śląska
Ben Koschalka is a translator and senior editor at Notes from Poland. Originally from Britain, he has lived in Kraków since 2005.
