Beating of Ukrainian school students in Poland prompts consul in Gdansk to call for fair investigation
Ukraine's Consul General in Gdansk Oleksandr Plodystyi has responded to the beating of Ukrainian school students from the Slupsk Construction School and to xenophobic comments made by a local teacher about Ukrainian children, stressing that Ukraine places great emphasis on ensuring the case is examined fairly and impartially.
As reported by Onet, a Polish web portal and online news platform, on 2 December, the Polish media outlet reported on the assault on Ukrainian school students in the city of Slupsk and on their teacher, who had been making xenophobic remarks during lessons.
The case has been taken up by the police, but the father of one of the victims said that officers initially refused to accept a formal complaint. The police only took the complaint the following day.
"In light of media reports that officers allegedly refused to register a complaint, the district commander has ordered an internal investigation," police spokesperson Jakub Bagiński said.
"The state must consider what to do to make sure such things do not happen again. This is unacceptable. There can be no such conduct based on nationality. The Polish authorities and Polish society must respond," Plodystyi said.
Commenting on the behaviour of the Polish teacher and the subsequent fight outside the school, the Ukrainian consul said that "if the recordings are verified, appropriate conclusions will have to be drawn".
Police in Slupsk are investigating the fight. The teacher who allegedly voiced xenophobic views is on leave. The education authority has opened an inquiry into his conduct.
The teacher is reported to have insulted Ukrainian students, called them "scum" and threatened that they would fail their exams. His remarks were caught on video. "When you sit your exams next time, you will definitely fail. Because I will show you what a Pole is," the teacher is heard saying.
During lessons, one of the Polish students played recordings of bombs and missiles to mock the Ukrainian pupils, and the teacher failed to intervene. The students told the Ukrainians that "it's time to hide". Ukrainian students also received abusive messages.
The teacher's anti-Ukrainian remarks incited some Polish students. After classes, two Ukrainian teenagers were brutally beaten by older students, who shouted insults based on their nationality. One attacker reportedly spat in the face of a 16-year-old Ukrainian, saying: "Off to the front, you Ukrainian b****," before punching him in the face.
One of the victims has suffered a concussion; the other has a broken collarbone.
In September, a cross was sawn off a Ukrainian church in Poland; later, one suspect was detained.
In October, during Shakhtar Donetsk's match against Legia Warsaw in Kraków, Polish fans unfurled a banner reading "We remember Volhynia", which the Ukrainian ambassador described as a provocation. [The Volyn (Volhynia) tragedy was a series of events that led to the ethnic cleansing of the Polish and Ukrainian populations in 1943 during World War II. It was part of a long-standing rivalry between Ukrainians and Poles in what is now Ukraine's west. Poland considers the Volyn tragedy a genocide of Poles – ed.]