Migration notes from Poland is a series in which we bring our foreign audience closer to the current situation in the field of migration in Poland. We write about selected events that, in our opinion, influence the public debate and shape the migration reality in Poland.
Is the right to asylum already suspended in Poland?
Yes, the right to apply for asylum has already been suspended in Poland. Just one day after President Andrzej Duda signed the relevant law, the Council of Ministers published a decree putting the suspension of the right to asylum into effect for 60 days. Back in February, Minister Maciej Duszczyk, who is responsible for drafting this law, spoke of the need to have such a “fuse” in the law only for exceptional circumstances, which we are not dealing with now, as the situation was very similar to last year.
Although the law includes a list of vulnerable groups that can still apply for asylum, humanitarian organizations are alarming that this provision is not always followed. Grupa Granica reported on the story of a 17-year-old from Somalia who experienced horrific violence in Belarus. While crossing the border, he fell off a border wall. Before an ambulance took him away, Polish officers additionally sprayed him with gas. At the hospital, he was unable to eat anything after starving in the forest for several days. After several hours in the hospital, he was push-backed.This is just one example of the many violations of the right to asylum, but also of the new law, which are currently occurring on the Polish-Belarusian border
Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=641481415180284&set=pb.100079552941955.-2207520000
What’s going on with the H5 case?
On April 15, the second court hearing of the H5 – five people accused of providing humanitarian aid on the Polish-Belarusian border – was held. In this court hearing the judge allowed far-right organizations to join the trial as a community representative Ordo Iuris and the March for Independence. The prosecutor’s office is attempting to link the actions of activist individuals with smugglers, with the aim of undermining solidarity with aid workers at the border. The next hearing, probably the last, is scheduled for May 15.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1087299573425562&set=a.465343408954518
What is the situation of Foreigners Integration Centers?
Right-wing disinformation about planned Foreigners Integration Centers is intensifying. These are intended to be information and service points to help migrants adapt to life in Poland. These are places where one will be able to get relevant information,s, learning the Polish language, as well as legal and psychological support. According to right-wing disinformation, the centers are supposed to be places for the mass relocation of migrants under the EU’s Pact on Migration and Asylum. Driven by such false information, Residents of Suwałki (Podlaskie voivodeship) submitted a draft resolution to the City Council banning collective and individual accommodation of migrants. The right-wing populist narrative misleads people and aims to make political capital on sowing fear and hatred. It leads to antagonizing Poles against migrants and brings dangerous consequences in the form of hate speech and violence.
What happened at the refugee center in Czerwony Bór?
On April 6, Sunday, an aggressive group of men appeared in front of a refugee center in Czerwony Bór, which has been operating for more than 20 years.Terrified residents of the center, who were awaiting a decision on their appropriate status, grabbed their phones and alerted activists about the case. The police showed up, several people were questioned, and a few hours later they all dispersed. A few days earlier, a group of 4 men brutally attacked foreigners who had come out to the store. The attacks were preceded by statements from right-wing politicians and journalists. The atmosphere of hostility was heightened by Telewizja Republika or wPolsce24, saying that “illegal migrants are already here.” The chairman of the largest opposition Law and Justice party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, compared people living in the center to bandits who lived in Czerwony Bór in the 19th century. Even Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in a YouTube video talking about sealing the borders, showed dark-skinned people lying down and kneeling before border guards.
Source: https://czabanrobiraban.pl/najazd-nazioli-na-osrodek-w-czerwonym-borze/
Have the anti-migrants narratives intensified in Poland?
Yes. The attacks on the center in Czerwony Bor, disinformation surrounding Foreigners Integration Centers, the resolution of Suwałki residents and the Prime Minister’s video on sealing the borders are just some manifestations of the growing anti-migrant narrative. An anti-migrant demonstration is planned for April 26 in Warsaw, organized by far-right circles. At this point it is difficult to say how large the turnout for this event will be.
We are less than a month before the presidential elections. The topic of migration is being used to make political capital. Almost all politicians from the center to the right are talking about opposing the EU’s migration pact. Confederation (the main right-wing party) candidate Slawomir Mentzen says at each of his election rallies that he “will not allow mass migrations to Poland”. The candidate backed by the Law and Justice Party, Karol Nawrocki, talks about migrants entering the country across the German border. According to a survey conducted by More in Common, the mood of Poles toward migrants leansto the side of fear, dislike and prejudice. The more anti-migrant rhetoric in the public debate, the more the risk of future conflicts increases.
Sources: https://oko.press/polacy-wobec-migrantow-raport
How Trump’s decision to freeze US aid affected Polish non-governmental organizations?
Amidst the growing anti-migrant sentiment, growing social unrest, another problem has emerged, and that is the withdrawal of humanitarian funding around the world, including Poland, by Donald Trump. And although Poland was not the largest beneficiary of aid from the US administration, many social organizations were affected by the decision. Without the funds, some services such as psychological and legal assistance had to be cut. Some organizations have also been forced to reduce the working hours of their employees or even make layoffs. This is particularly acute in a situation where in recent years it was civil society that took the brunt of two humanitarian crises on Poland’s borders. The Polish government has so far failed to prepare a response to the US funding freeze, leaving the organizations on their own.
