The Situation for Queers in Poland

von Pawel Matusz (ACT OST)

250 km from here, Leipzig, there is a border with the land where lives of LGBTQ+ people are under attack! Poland is the most homophobic and transphobic country in the EU. One-third of Poland has now declared itself “LGBT-FREE ZONE” to avoid LGBTQ+ community to organize itself. It’s a land where catholic priests spread hate towards queers in every city, town and every village DAILY and OPENLY. Capitalist state and the catholic church have systematically shrunk women and LGBTQ+ rights over the last decades. Current and previous governments created laws and monuments glorifying antisemites and fascists. Those monuments have to go down! This has to stop!

Law and Justice party contributed to a hostile atmosphere against queers, Jews, women, and everyone not fitting the patriotic and nationalistic vision of the world. Andrzej Duda, the current president of Poland, started his term by a slap in the face of trans people: he rejected law which would establish transparent and accessible gender recognition procedures. He finished it by openly calling LGBTQ+ community not humans, but “ideology”. Since then war against queers in Poland escalated.

We need international solidarity and an international movement that will stop the destructive forces of homophobia, transphobia, racism, antisemitism, and capital!
Last week Małgorzata Margot Szutowicz, an activist from queer collective STOP BZDUROM (“STOP BULLSHIT”) was kidnapped by the police. Only because she was standing against so-called hate-buses that drive around Polish city centers with large loudspeakers spreading anti-abortion disinformation and comparing homosexuality with pedophilia. But this was not the first attack on LGBTQ+ activists.

Four years ago, just two months after I arrived in Leipzig, Lambda Warszawa, the oldest LGBTQ+ organization in Poland, a place I worked and searched for help many years ago, was attacked by neo-nazis. A window was broken with a brick and doors were demolished with nazi symbols. I could tell you many stories like this. Last year, during the first pride march in the heart of polish neo-nazis, in the city of Białystok, nationalists almost took over the whole town harassing queers and their allies. They are gaining power and we need to fight back internationally!
We need international solidarity to avoid incidents like this to happen again!

This is not something new, but a long-term work of previous Polish governments and politicians who today proudly call themself freedom and democracy defenders. They are liars. Christian and right-wing politicians, we don’t need your mercy. We are fed up with empty words and empty promises. We need and demand your doom.

LGBTQ+ movement in Poland experiences extreme marginalization and repression. Due to financial problems, the only shelter for homeless queer youth in Poland is closed. Polish government doesn’t care about queer lives. Polish government allows and is initiating gay bashings. It cares only about the interest of capital and church. People are being attacked on the streets of Poland because they wear a rainbow bag. Two weeks ago homophobes attacked people going out from a gay club in Kraków. One victim landed in hospital in a serious condition. There have been queer bashings in many other places in Poland. An atmosphere of fear and danger on the streets is growing from day to day.

Victims have names: Dominik from Bieżuń, Kacper from Gorczyno, Milo from Poznań, Wiktor from Warsaw… 70% of young LGBTQ+ people in Poland have suicidal thoughts and half have symptoms of depression. Teenage queers don’t feel safe in their school, on the streets and in their own homes and families. It’s high time we strike back!

Pawel Matusz über LGBTQ-Feindlichkeit in Polen und was das mit Kommerzialisierung zu tun hat:
https://www.jungle.world/artikel/2020/38/der-preis-der-kommerzialisierung