Demonstrators gathered across 22 Polish cities on Sunday, August 9, to protest rising violence and discrimination against Ukrainians and other national minorities.
RMF24 reported that rallies took place in Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Poznan, Wroclaw, Katowice, Rzeszow, Lublin, Lodz, Szczecin, Bialystok, and Kielce. The actions aimed to express solidarity with Ukrainians facing an increasing number of attacks in Poland, as well as anyone encountering discrimination.
Participants rallied under the slogan Don't be indifferent. The phrase comes from Marian Turski, a former prisoner of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland, who used it in 2020 to urge citizens not to accept harm done to national minorities or violations of human rights.
Organizers and government petitions
The Committee for the Defence of Democracy organized the demonstrations. Announcing the events, the organizers stated that the wave of hatred, incitement, and violence against Ukrainian men, women, and minorities in Poland had reached a dangerous level. They warned that passivity and ignoring the situation would cause a social catastrophe threatening shared freedom and democracy.
The rallies followed an August 7 action titled My Poland does not beat, does not offend, does not harass, during which activists submitted a petition to the Chancellery of Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The petition, signed by 11,000 people, demanded decisive action against violent attacks on Ukrainian citizens. Sopot had earlier passed a resolution on July 25 opposing anti-Ukrainian sentiment and hate speech, calling on central authorities to combat xenophobia.
Diplomatic talks and economic impact
The beatings of Ukrainian citizens in Poland were previously discussed on July 29 during talks between Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Poland remains a key ally of Ukraine and has taken in the largest number of Ukrainian refugees. However, rising xenophobia affects relations between the two countries, and a mass departure of Ukrainian workers would harm the Polish economy.
