Foreigners Face Racism in Białystok
Timeline
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Attacked by football fans
Three foreign students went to watch a Poland-Germany football match in the open-air pub in the city centre of Bialystok. Right after they arrived, a group of fans started making ape sounds. Fans screamed and threw beer cans at them, shouting ‘Ku Klux Klan’. Shortly afterwards, they assaulted the foreigners physically, kicking and beating them up. As a result, one of the students (Norwegian of Asian origin) was injured, his ankle was broken. Source: http:...
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Helpline for foreigners
The helpline was established in 2009 in response to increased reports of violence against foreigners in Bialystok. The helpline is a 24-hour telephone line for English speakers who wish to report incidents requiring police intervention. It is a conference call with an English-speaking officer translating to an on-call police officer and subsequently relating the on-call officer’s instructions to the caller as to how to proceed in the specific case. The helpline is not a toll-free number (the cos...
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Cuban women attacked in the mall
On 10 March 2009, Swedish student of Cuba origin was shopping with her husband at a shopping center in Bialystok. Upon exiting a store, a group of men standing nearby began shouting invectives and calling her a ‘black monkey’. Sometime later at the same shopping center, she was once again verbally assaulted by the same men when she wanted to enter the toilet; one of them struck her in the face. In retort, the woman struck him with a shopping bag filled with glass objects and beg...
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Frenchman beaten in Bialystok
A group of ten men assaulted a black French national, who had come to visit Poland for two weeks. The assailants first began to verbally abuse the victim at a bus stop. They imitated ape sounds and masturbatory gestures and then began punching him. The victim reported the incident to the police. Four assailants were detained and all were charged with the crime of racial slander, while two were charged with involvement in the beating and assault.Defendants were sentenced between 3 to 6 month...
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Chechen refugees attacked
In Białystok, on the night of 15-16 September 2009, unknown perpetrators attacked a flat rented by Chechen refugees by breaking the windows and tossing Molotov cocktails inside. The arson incident occurred during evening prayer (during Ramadan). The following evening, a jar with a flammable liquid was thrown into the same flat, setting ablaze the window frame and wall. Source:TVP.pl http://www.tvp.pl/bialystok/aktualnosci/kryminalne/atak-na-czeczenow-w-bialymstoku/929015 ...
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Another arson attack on a home of refugees
On the night between 7th and 8th November 2012 unidentified assailants set fire to the door of the apartment of Chechen refugees. At that time, a father with five small children was inside the apartment. Fortunately, the fire was brought under control. It was not the first such incident in Bialystok directed against migrants from the Caucasus. Source: Gazeta.pl, 12.11.2012, Ogniem w uchodźców. O krok od tragedii na Zielonych Wzgórzach (Arson attack on refugees. A step away from the trag...
A number of racist attacks occurred in the years 2008-2009 in Bialystok, where there are many students from Scandinavian countries. Some of those students are of migrant descent and they were the primary targets of taunts and assaults. For example, on 10 March 2009, Swedish student of Cuba origin was verbally assaulted by young men in the shopping mall; one of them struck her in the face. In June 2008, a group of football fans attacked three foreign students who went to watch a Poland-Germany socker gam in the open-air pub in the city centre of Bialystok. They assaulted the foreigners verbally and physically, kicking and beating them up. As a result, one of the students (Norwegian of Asian origin) was injured, his ankle was broken. Attacks for refugees, migrants and foreign visitors were also noted.
After a series of attacks, the students wrote to the university authorities describing dozens of assault cases. Subsequently, school authorities wrote to government officials requesting that they deal with the matter. In response, the police helpline was established for English speakers who wish to report incidents requiring police intervention. Despite of this, some of the attacked students discontinued their studies in Białystok.
Source: Gazeta.pl http://bialystok.gazeta.pl/bialystok/1,100422,7113576,Dlaczego_Selamawit_w_Bialymstoku_nie_wytrzymala.html
Source: TVN http://uwaga.tvn.pl/20155,news,,problem_rasizmu_w_bialymstoku,reportaz.html
Source: Poranny http://www.poranny.pl/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081023/BIALYSTOK/437343230
