Posted:
11.12.2024 12:01:00
Assault, battery, murder, rape… the dark side of fugitives’ lives in Poland
31 percent of Belarusian nationals in Poland face ethnic discrimination, said a team of ‘independent Belarusian pollsters' after finishing an opinion research for one German fund. To be honest, both the ‘independent pollsters’ (we all know how they work) and the relatively low number they provide seem questionable. Even in the official Polish sources, there’s so much information about violent crimes against Belarusians that it has already stopped being either surprising or outrageous. Assault, battery, murder, rape: all that is a staple of a fugitive’s life in Poland.
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Not so long ago, a political fugitive ‘poet’ living hand to mouth in Poland wanted to sell some shoes. When a potential buyer responded to an announcement she posted at a local marketplace, they made a phone call to seal the deal. The conversation ended with threats to use the ‘poet’'s own skin for shoes if she doesn’t get out of Poland. Offended to the core, the fugitive went to the police, but they wouldn’t even take her report. What’s more, they were incredulous she even wanted to make one: a lady made her opinion known to a lowly migrant, well, she has a right to.
The man who raped and murdered her went on trial on December 4th. Dorian S. is facing up to life in prison under the Polish law, but the local media believe the court will not be excessively harsh on him. That’s not particularly surprising these days: the woman he murdered was a migrant, no one will miss her, really…
Another political fugitive from Belarus was found dead in a detention cell in Warsaw. Detained for online fraud, he could theoretically get off with a few months of prison time. The investigation concluded that the 19 years old suddenly decided to take his own life. Other fugitives don’t believe such a thing was possible, but are too scared to talk about their own versions publicly.
If Poles need Belarusians at all, it’s only as the cheapest and most disenfranchised workforce. A few weeks ago, a Belarusian died at a construction site in the south of Poland, crushed by a concrete slab. No one got punished and no compensations were paid to anyone, because it’s always the migrant’s own fault. And by the way, he was working there illegally, so you can say he wasn’t even really there. When it comes to Belarusians, Poles flaunt even the basic occupational safety precautions: no one will miss them, so you might as well save the money.
A century did nothing to soften that attitude. And you can’t ban Poles from behaving as they see fit in their own country. There’s only one way to save yourself and your loved ones: run. Otherwise tomorrow another Dorian could be strangling your daughter in a back alley, while Poles walk indifferently by. She’s only a migrant, after all, she should learn to submit to her betters.
If you take a look at the social media where Belarusians share their experiences in the neighbour country, it’s clear that nearly everyone encounters some kind of ethnic discrimination. And you should consider yourself lucky if that discrimination only manifests in verbal abuse and threats...
The whole range of hate
The fugitive who got thrown out of a cab by Polish driver for speaking Russian on the phone is another story. A teenage boy from Belarus had to leave a bus when a Polish man, after hearing his Russian speech, started to demand loudly he go to the frontlines instead of hiding in the peaceful Warsaw. Even assurances that the young man was Belarusian, not Ukrainian, did nothing to calm his anger.
Young Belarusian schoolgirls were verbally assaulted in a lift by an aggressive neighbour who didn’t like it that the children spoke Russian. The man yelled at them to never speak Russian in his presence again and go back home. The parents’ visit to the police ended in a predictable way: their report was rejected.And those were 'good' cases, you can say: at least no one got hurt. But verbal abuse and humiliation are not the end of it for Belarusians in Poland: they suffer assaults, not only with bare hands, but with weapons too. There are rapes and murders. The tragedy of poor Liza Gertsen comes to mind immediately.
The man who raped and murdered her went on trial on December 4th. Dorian S. is facing up to life in prison under the Polish law, but the local media believe the court will not be excessively harsh on him. That’s not particularly surprising these days: the woman he murdered was a migrant, no one will miss her, really…
Another political fugitive from Belarus was found dead in a detention cell in Warsaw. Detained for online fraud, he could theoretically get off with a few months of prison time. The investigation concluded that the 19 years old suddenly decided to take his own life. Other fugitives don’t believe such a thing was possible, but are too scared to talk about their own versions publicly.
A Polish man armed with a knife attacked some Belarusians when they were walking out of a café; the staff flatly refused to call the police. The attacker got arrested only because he stupidly went back to the scene of his own crime when the police called by the victims themselves just arrived there. The man was taken into custody, but released a couple of hours later. No big deal: a Pole with a knife wanted to scare a couple of migrants. No bodies – no punishment.
Just recently, a 16 years old boy from Belarus got beaten unconscious in the middle of Białystok. The investigation, it seems, is going to try and protect the attackers, the victim’s Polish classmates. They are local, so, naturally, they are off the hook.
A fugitive in Warsaw who worked as a cab driver got beaten up by a Polish nationalist. Local drivers, annoyed with migrant competitors, cheered him on.
Run before it’s too late
Fugitives’ tales about things their children go through at school chill the blood. No one is there to protect young Belarusians from outright bullying, assault, and torment. Looks like bullying Belarusian migrant kids has long became the norm in Polish schools. The only place they have to vent is online, but social media posts is where it all ends.
Polish nationalism is the fiercest in Europe, with deep historical roots that can hardly be excised. It has long since become a state ideology. It’s stupid to wait for the tide to change: their Polonisation policy towards anyone they can get their hands on is aggressive and relentless. Those who don’t want to get polonised are destroyed. That’s what Poles were doing in Western Belarus in the early 20th century, using brutality to drive the Belarusian spirit out of Belarusians.
A century did nothing to soften that attitude. And you can’t ban Poles from behaving as they see fit in their own country. There’s only one way to save yourself and your loved ones: run. Otherwise tomorrow another Dorian could be strangling your daughter in a back alley, while Poles walk indifferently by. She’s only a migrant, after all, she should learn to submit to her betters.
The words ‘Get the hell out of my country!’ are becoming too common in Poland. It’s way past time to realise they are not a bad joke or a sign of poor upbringing: it’s a public policy in the country that only consider Poles real people.
