Janina Ochojska: The \u2018why\u2019 question is frankly quite obvious, at least for me it is. Every human being has certain inalienable rights. Violation of these rights equals lawlessness \u2013 unacceptable for me, for many in Poland, not least amongst them the activists who at this very time are busy saving people’s lives. This is all the better reason to irritate, to burden my political colleagues, with the knowledge of this. <\/span><\/p>\n We simply cannot accept, cannot allow for young people, children and families dying in the deep Polish forests and swamps, because we denied them entry on the basis of their religion, skin color and nationality. <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The border wall Poland erected to stop the refugees is not working \u2013 not even in the narrow sense Polish authorities wanted it to work, because there are still people crossing the border and applying for asylum. And, of course, these people are illegally pushed back towards the Belarussian side, where some of them \u2013 beaten, starved, tortured \u2013 die. I once said how this brings to mind what was done to the victims of Nazi occupation during WWII \u2013 hunted, chased, arrested \u2013 and I do not regret this comparison. <\/span><\/p>\n You can accuse me of abusing the word, sure. But we’ve discussed it, even recently, in the European Parliament: how many people have to be killed for a crime to be called a genocide? When and where are we justified in using the strongest of possible words of condemnation? For me, the numbers are not as important, to put it bluntly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What is important, however, is the method of extermination that is being used against them. Is it systematic, is it deliberate, is it cruel \u2013 to take a refugee, to deny him\/her asylum and then purposefully drive that person deep into the woods or swamplands and leave them there? We have witness statements claiming this is what is happening to families with children. There’s a video recording of border guards discussing such tactics between themselves. So, let me reiterate: it’s not about the numbers, it’s about the methods: torture, beatings, robbing people of phones, warm clothes, documents and backpacks. All of these serve a unified purpose: to deny right to asylum and prevent asylum-seekers from reaching a safe haven where their asylum application would be legally recognized.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I’ve used the word \u2018genocide\u2019 in the context of the Polish border with a full consciousness of it’s meaning.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Especially, when we already know what we condemn the Kurds, the Syrians, the Congolese to \u2013 when we deny them asylum or send them back to their abusers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Polish PM or his cohort of security ministers, I’d presume…<\/span><\/p>\n Polskie granice musz\u0105 by\u0107 szczelne i dobrze chronione. Kto to kwestionuje, nie rozumie, czym jest pa\u0144stwo. Ochrona nie polega na antyhumanitarnej propagandzie, tylko sprawnym dzia\u0142aniu. Za czas\u00f3w PiS polsk\u0105 granic\u0119 przekroczy\u0142o rekordowo du\u017co nielegalnych migrant\u00f3w.<\/p>\n — Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) August 21, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nYet, you of all people, a humanitarian delivering aid to victims of conflicts, war crimes and catastrophes of all kinds, must be acutely aware of how strong these words are. You’ve yourself seen the consequences of horrific atrocities against civilians in the Balkans a quarter of a century ago. Yet, speaking of \u2018genocide\u2019 or \u2018crimes against humanity\u2019 is something one shouldn’t do lightly. <\/b><\/h2>\n
\u201cPolish borders have to be secure, who does not understand this, does not understand what the word state means.\u201d You know whose words these are?<\/b><\/h2>\n
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