Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Is Poland’s racism even worse than its roads?


Well you would think so judging by what some say awaits black players when they come to Poland and Ukraine for the Euro 2012 soccer championships.

The story, the journalistic narrative, of UEFA 2012 is already a long and well trodden one: Poland and/or Ukraine is not going to be ready. The roads, highways, stadia, hotels will not get built. The Polish football association, PZPN, is corrupt to its crossbar and can’t be trusted to do anything, anyway.

But now there is another “threat” to the games in “eastern” Europe - racism.

A conference in Warsaw this March is being organised by the Polish football association, in partnership with the European governing body UEFA and the footballers “trade union” FIFPro under the slogan Unite Against Racism.

Racist chanting has been in the headlines quite often over the years - some fans in Spain have perhaps now got the worst reputation for this, recently. So what to do about this is a relevant discussion topic at these kind of conferences.

In the letter of invitation sent out by the Governor of UEFA to the 250 delegates which are expected to turn up in Warsaw on March 3 and 4 it says this:
We now want to create an opportunity to review progress and renew our call for action. In particular, we want to record positive developments and in view of EURO 2012 look at the challenges facing us in the east and what more the European football family can do.",

So what are the challenges “facing us in the East”?

Mihir Bose is a reporter for the BBC who set out for Poland last year to investigate how big those challenges are. And, well, he found lots of “challenges”. On his blog post about his trip he says:


Racism may never be fully eradicated from football, but what I found during an investigation into the problem in Poland was truly shocking.

And this in the country that will co-host the 2012 European Football Championship…

…In a street in central Warsaw, not far from the hotel where I was staying, there was a lot of graffiti about 'white power' and the Ku Klux Klan, all associated with the city's main team Legia Warsaw…

…the president of Legia Warsaw, Leszek Miklas, an impressive and honest man, readily admitted that 15-20% of his club's fans were neo-Nazis….

…I went to a Legia Warsaw home match at the Polish Army Stadium, where the team fielded black players without any visible problems, although I was not able to go anywhere near the stand, which takes up a whole side of the ground, where the 'ultras' gather.

Before the match I had been to a bar near the ground where the hardcore supporters meet.

It was made clear by some fans, who feared for my safety and that of my crew, I should leave.

All nasty stuff, of course. And it’s shocking that the chairman of Legia seems to think that 15 to 20 percent of his supporters are neo-Nazis!

I have no idea how many of the banana throwing types - and it happens occasionally at Polish football grounds (as it did in the UK in the 1970s and 80s) - are actual, conscious neo-fascists and how many of them are simply stupid idiots using anything to have a go at the rival team’s players. And I don’t think anyone else does, either.

BBC journalist Bose wonders, however, later in his post about what all this means for Euro 2012? “ [T)ackling such deep-seated racism in time to welcome a Europe of all colours may be much more difficult than building roads and stadia,” he writes.

Is Poland’s racism really worse than its roads?

The view that Bose paints on his blog and in the film which he made about racism in Polish football (see here) does not ring true with people I have talked to about this, who do go to games most weekends.

On the Pitch Invasion er… ‘blog-zine’… responding to the Polish Hooligan = Nazi question, and the accusation that Nazi symbols, etc, are often seen at Polish footbal grounds, Michal Karas writes:
My first-hand experience is that this is very uncommon, although I can’t deny the problem exists.

During my five years on Wisla Krakow’s fanatic terraces, I’ve twice heard such disgraceful chants sung by a couple of isolated individuals. One is “Our role model is Rudolf Hess” and another “We have a hero — Adolf Hitler”, which sadly rhyme in Polish, making it even more grotesque. I did not hear these during games, but somewhere near the stadium.

Racism in general is, unfortunately, more common. Throwing bananas onto the pitch still happens occasionally — I recall a few cases during the last decade. Monkey chants also happen from time to time. These are, of course, deeply deplorable acts and need to be eradicated. The question, though, is whether racism is as wildly prevalent in Polish football as the BBC report ended up concluding, with the studio panel suggesting 20% of fans are racist.,

Karas then contextualises the remarks made by the Legia chairman - reminding us that the board of Legia was in dispute at the time with its fan clubs. After the Vilnius pitch invasion (video from a 'hooligan' with a camera before the riot, I think, here - it later got as silly as this) Legia, having been banned by UEFA from European competition, started banning anyone from their stadium thought to be leading the Nieznani Sprawcy (Unknown Perps) 'ultra' group in these and other activities. But this ban was not for racism. So painting all of Legia’s football hooligans as being racist was a convenient tactic by the Legia chairman in his battle to clean up the image of Legia generally, as this negative image is hindering getting the club readmitted to European tournaments.

If you read Karas’s post and then Bose’s it’s like seeing two different countries - or maybe, two very different halves of a game of football.

So I hope the summit in Warsaw in March will be looking at the real extent of racism on the terraces in Poland, while keeping some sense of proportion on this. There are some nasty little racists at Poland’s football stadia, but believe me, Poland’s roads are a lot bigger threat to the fabric of society - and international football tournaments - than those idiots.

65 comments:

Biluś said...

I agree entirely that there's not some 5th column of international fascism lurking on Poland's terraces - I just wonder, though, if it's something unchallenged lurking deeper in the culture? For instance, I've not infrequently heard the word 'murzyn' to describe black people and I didn't know quite what it meant, it just always felt kind of wrong - I just google translated it and it comes out as 'blackamoor' which certainly has negative connotations from a previous England (indeed, it was quite common to hear the word 'darkie' used in the same way there...). The UK's been pretty much forced to face up to its own racism because of extensive immigration - and it's done a good job on the whole: I wonder, if I'm right, if Poland will do the same without such drivers?

Anonymous said...

I watched the video which appears as if it was done sometime in 2007.

Whether it's 20% of the folks in the stadium or 1%, either percentage is too much. There should be zero tolerance for this kind of nonsense.

I am rather dumbfounded by Michal Karas's claim about there being hardly any nonsense going on at the Wisla Krakow stadium, especially when I've seen the grafitti in the area, heard the nonsense going on outside, and came close to vomiting when I saw the same kind of Nazi banners I saw in the BBC documentary. Forget about me taking my young kids to see any games there. I wrote several team officials and told them I would never buy any Wisla Krakow jerseys for my kids until I was sure such displays were not allowed in the stadium. I never got a response let alone an acknowledgement that my letter was received. My experience was back in 2004 but I still find it difficult to believe that things got so cleaned up since then.

So I don't care if it's one or twenty percent. One asshole getting away with such nonsense without being escorted out of the stadium is too much. This is the 21st century.

Anonymous said...

Interesting subject. Undoubtedly, some racism exists in Polish society. Is it as deeply seated in Poland as is portrayed in the Western European media?

It seems to me that the concept of "eastern Europe", and "Poland" in particular, answers to a deeply felt psychological need for some Western European minds. The eastern part of Europe is often believed to be a reservoir of under-civilized and quarrelsome cultures, underdeveloped economies, and of pathological clinging to such "superstitions" as Catholicism. It is often called "formerly Communist", reminding one of a reformed prostitute. I guess, overall, this region serves as a terra incognita for the Western Press to project onto.

People like you, Beatroot, may be viewed in one of two ways by the likes of BBC or DW - as someone with a more informed view of things "eastern European", or, as a sad case of what happens when one goes "native".

Anonymous said...

One of the best posts I've ever read here, Mark!

I'm less concerned, though, about the relative extent of Polish racism than I am about it being as noticeable as it is. I simply have no stomach for it at all. The sight of red and white swastikas is just a bit too much over the top for me. Take a few minutes and watch that BBC video. Maybe it a bit exaggerated but those photos in it are no lie or exaggeration.

Frank Partisan said...

It's hard to tell the extent of the problem from this post.

Are you against the conference in march occuring?

What do the black players say?

All of this in light of several Eastern European banks going under, may give the problem more meaning than on the surface.

roman said...

Bilus,

The word "murzyn" carries no negative connotation as far as I know. At one time the word "negro" was totally acceptable and used by everyone without a hint of prejudice attached. "Czarny" has not transmutated as easily in its meaning and is not as easily comparable as is the word "black". Adjectives in English seem more easily transmutable to nouns than their corresponding words in Polish.

Biluś said...

Thanks for the clarification, Roman. Perhaps I just bring my own liberal sensitivities to the table...

beatroot said...

That's not correct, Roman. Although there are worse expressions used in Poland to describe black people, murzyn is still not PC.

And Geez - you say the 'camera never lies', or words to that effect, but of course, people frquently misinterprate what the camera is showing them.

As the guy on the Pitch Invasion site points out:

"It seems the BBC studio panel mistook a capo leading chants — something seen around the world in many leagues including MLS, but not in England — for some kind of fascist movement."

Because that kind of chanting is not used by soccer fans in the UK the British reporter interpreted it as somehow fascistic...when it wasn't and had no racist content.

So, Mark, I have not gone native, but I am wary now of taking things at face value because I have made the same mistakes many times of misunderstanding things that I think I have seen but in reality didn't. If you see what I mean...

Anonymous said...

What kind of chanting is not used by soccer fans in the UK? Since when?

True, the chanting that was going on in the segment of the BBC production may not have been racist but I couldn't really make out what was being chanted, could you?

And that does not negate the reality that racist chants do take place. As I've stated, I'm not so interested in debating how much it goes on as recognizing that it should not be tolerated.

To be sure, I don't think the problem is at all widepread in Polish society as a whole. But the problem is surely mostly manifested in relation to soccer, er, football.

It's bad for the game. It's bad for Poland. It's sure as hell not good for kids.

I've seen the Cracovia red and white swastika scarf shown in the BBC production and similar Nazi-like displays in the vicinity of the Wisla Krakow stadium. Surely, the photos from inside the stadium shown in the production by the one Polish guy to the interviewer were not fake.

BTW, REN's point about asking black players what they think of the situation is a good one. That was done in the BBC production. And the answer was not comforting.

Bottom line, let's not split hairs whether it's realistically 20% a problem or 5% a problem. In either case, it's a big problem when I wouldn't consider taking my kids to see a Polish soccer league game.

The conference is needed in an effort to ensure that the same kind of crap that happens at those Polish league games doesn't happen at all during UEFA2012. I assume you agree.

Anonymous said...

Let get back to the word "murzyn" last time I checked in a printed dictionary it was the Polish word for Negro. If as has been suggested it’s not politically correct (the new fascism) then what is the proper (approved by whining liberals) way to say a black person in Polish without bringing offence to any individual or group on this planet or beyond?

As far as Polish soccer goes it’s cesspool of criminal activity so one would not expect there to be any interest in dealing with the idiot element in the stands. Firstly you need to clean up the clubs and have the clubs take responsibility for their fans. The current mess in the stands exists because it’s accepted and tolerated at every level.

Biluś said...

Certainly not political correctness, jannowak57, simply that I've long felt a sense of unease over the use of the word when I've heard it - I'm unsure even of my ground here, but it also seemed conspiritorial, like a celebrated and dirty secret. I guess the test might be would 'murzyn' be used in the presence of the target of the word? I somehow suspect not...

(btw, your use of 'fascism' is a bit loose here, isn't it?)

beatroot said...
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beatroot said...

Geez - there are many many chants in the UK, as of course - some would make your liberal sensibilities weep!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/blog/2009/jan/20/sol-campbell-abusive-chanting

But what we don’t have in Britain that they do have in Poland and elsewhere in Europe is the “capo” or chant leader. Now when you watch this in action, with call and response type patterns it can look a little bit fascistic…to British eyes anyway. But it is not. But this can lead to some misunderstandings, as described in the very good Pitch Invasion web site (where you get fans side of the story and not the liberal media’s).

Jan
The most respectful way to refer to black people in Poland is Afrykanin or I suppose Afrykanczyk.

And that is not ‘fascism’. what is important when using these expressions is the INTENTION behind them. Murzyn and worse is not a term of respect as Negro is not a term of respect in the US or UK.

Pacze Moj said...

Or you can just say biały (white), czarny (black), etc.

The problem with using Afrykanin in reference to black people is that not everyone black is from Africa, nor are all Africans black.

I've never quite understood the neo-nazi appeal in Poland, Russia, most other Slavic countries. Is it a kind of historical Stockholm Syndrome, or just an unoriginal expression of general ignorance / machismo / unhappiness / hate?

beatroot said...

Mark
The point you make about some psychological need in the west to the see the “east” as some sort of “other” is one I have tried to make quite often.

The white liberal middle class feel unable to say bad things about ethnic minorities etc…and good. But that PC speech code does not apply to central/eastern Europeans, or indeed the white working class in their own countries. Words like “chav” etc are perfectly acceptable.

Strange!

Pacze

The problem with using Afrykanin in reference to black people is that not everyone black is from Africa, nor are all Africans black.

Well, of course. But I don’t know if you have noticed but white people are not actually white coloured and black people are not actually black coloured.

But that is not the point. The term black is a political term used by black people to redefine themselves after white racists used the nigger word to disrespect them. Same as gay was used to redefine “fags” etc.

So these are not descriptive terms, simply terms of respect and are actually political terms.

Anonymous said...

PM: "I've never quite understood the neo-nazi appeal in Poland, Russia, most other Slavic countries."

My guess is that it may actually have come via the example of British hooligans grafted upon long existing anti-Jewish animosities. See, it's all Beatroot's fault! (I'm kidding as to the latter, not the former statement.)

But again, in Poland, I think the problem is largely limited to the soccer scene or at least concentrated there.

It was ridiculous a few years back when Mel Gibson's _Passion of the Christ_ was about to be shown in Poland: An American historian, a convert to Judaism, made quite the stink when she seriously claimed that the film's showing was surely going to provoke a wave of pogroms there. The film was shown, no pogroms, lots of discussion, case closed. I doubt that too many soccer nazi hooligans would've even entertained the idea of going to see any kind of movie about Christ anyway, unless He was depicted as a hooligan. (And I do think the film and Gibson are anti-Semitic).

And BR, there you go about the "liberal media" again. As you noted, there certainly are some randy and racist soccer chants throughout the UK. That's what I was getting at, not splitting hairs about how in Poland there's a "capo" leading the cheers. I thought it odd and altogether snide, however, that the one BBC commentator criticized this arrangement as being "religious" and thus in itself dangerous. And again, there are some randy racist and fascist chants heard in Polish "terraces." T hese are usually but not only limited to the hooligans sections in what Americans would refer to as corner end zone seats. Again, I don't care if it's 20% or 3-5% of a problem. 3-5% should not be tolerated. 1% should not be tolerated. An isolated incident should not be tolerated. As 57 points out and I agree:
"Polish soccer .... is.... a cesspool of criminal activity so one would not expect there to be any interest in dealing with the idiot element in the stands. Firstly you need to clean up the clubs and have the clubs take responsibility for their fans. The current mess in the stands exists because it’s accepted and tolerated at every level."

There were problems with the BBC presentation, but the problems focused upon exist and should be taken seriously albeit not entirely exactly as portrayed and dramatized.

What I'm getting at, BR, is ... wouldn't it be nice if you could take your better half's nephews or somesuch relatives to a match and could be sure you'd enjoy yourselves without all the incendiary racist fascist bullshit?

beatroot said...
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beatroot said...

That's what I was getting at, not splitting hairs about how in Poland there's a "capo" leading the cheers…

But Geez, because that football culture is alien to the British caused them to misunderstand what was going on in some of the video. That was my point.

The point about the “liberal media” is relevant here. Football in the UK was mostly a working class obsession up until the late 1980s. Several things happened then, most importantly Nick Hornby’s book Fever Pitch, which detailed, brilliantly, a middle class boy/man’s obsession with Arsenal.

Suddenly it became OK to like footie for the liberal middle classes. They have since flooded football grounds, being the most able to afford the hideously high entrance fee to most of the premier league games. This is what Roy Keene called the “prawn sandwich eating” fans…who have killed the atmosphere in many grounds.

Many of the journalists who cover football now come from the prawn sandwich gang. And I think they completely misunderstand much of football culture. And this shows up in the type of reporting you saw in that video.

Anonymous said...

Somehow I just don't get the feeling that the rotund guy who made the observation in the BBC doc eats too many prawn sandwiches. He looked entirely old school working class and would much prefer a pint, I'm sure. But I agree that his observations were exagerated and off-kilter but not to the extent that there's thereby only an itsy-bitsy teeny weenie amount of raucus racist fascist shitheads in the "terraces." (My guess is that they weren't called terraces before the 80s?)

beatroot said...

terraces? I don''t know....but terraces is where the mass football fan always used to stand. Now they have to sit down (health and safety). Another atmostphere killer. That's one of the dilemas of the football authorities here in Poland. They want to copy the Premier League in Britain and get rid of the hooligan problem. But how to do that without a) killing the amazing vibe at Polish football grounds, and b)how to do it with NO MONEY!

Poland needs a Nick Hornby, perhaps? :-(

Anonymous said...

And you would explain this amazing vibe as... ?

Seems to me it's more importantly and essentially a matter of will and jajka than money.

That said, I wouldn't want the job.

Anonymous said...

Pity that the brave antiracist fighter Simon Mol is not among us.

RIP Antifascist of the year!

Anonymous said...

If the Poles pay well for their Footie players they will attract good black players to play in poland and for Poland, then in a few decades time Race will not be an issue.

YouNotSneaky! said...

On the usage of the word "Murzyn"; It actually comes from Latin from Maur (Moor, as in the Moors that used to rule Spain) ("Blackamoor" being a combination of Black Moor) and in itself is not, or at least used to not be, considered offensive or un-PC - though this is late 80's/early 90's I'm thinking about so maybe the rules on it changed or something. This is/was evidenced by the fact that the few black people I met in Poland back then (all Africans, not Americans) would self-describe themselves as such in Polish. And it doesn't translate to "Negro" though that mistake is sometimes made. It's just a word that arose in particular circumstances of a country in which there were no black people and their existence was something remote and exotic (they lived in some strange countries called Spain and Sicily). You just can't foist the peculiarities of the English language and its own racist baggage on a completely different language and culture.

The problem with using the direct translation of 'black person' as "Czarny" like Pacze Moj (nice pic BTW, one of my favorite movies) suggests is that, for whatever reason (mostly peculiarities of the Polish language) it actually sounds a lot more offensive than "Murzyn". For example in Polish one can make pretty much any word sound vulgar/offensive if you just roll your 'r' in it the right way (Despite appearances "Murzyn" does not have an 'r' in it). And because "Czarny", unlike "Murzyn", is also an adjective and not a strict noun it is also a lot more amenable to all kinds of extra endings which change its meaning in ways that can be very expressive of prejudice. So regardless of what the current PC term is, "Murzyn" is a lot less (if at all) offensive than "Czarny". In some cases "Czarny" can be used in a non-offensive manner but in general the meaning of the usage is very context specific.

As to racist graffiti, there used to be a lot more of it back in the 90's and early 00's. Last two times I went most of it was gone, replaced by just the usual unreadable 'tags'. One exception was at the Zakopane train station but even that basically looked like it was ten years old. I dunno, maybe Warsaw's different.

As to Pacze Moj's question about the whole Nazi thing in Slavic countries I think a good part of it is or at least used to be just plain old shock value. If you grew up in Poland where memories of WWII were still ever present and your parents and grandparents always talked about how bad the Germans were and everyday there was some WWII related show/documentary/news item on tv, well, pretty much "Nazi" was like the ultimate evil, the really really bad "bad". So kids who wanted to really shock their teachers or parents would scribble a swastika or something on their desk or homework (I actually have a vivid memory of a this kid in my 4th grade class doing exactly that - scribbling a swastika on his desk - and of how dumbstruck I was. It was as if I had just witnessed a cold blooded murder). Some of those kids at some point might have started taking that shit seriously and they grew up into modern day idiots. The rest of us were a lot more creative in pissing off our teachers and parents.

Anonymous said...

Really good explanitory piece, Sneak. Thank you. I'd like to hear from anyone if the racist/fascist grafitti is disappearing as much in Krakow as Sneaky says it is in Warsaw. My guess is that the intense rivalry between Wisla Krakow and Cracovia keeps it more pronounced.

YouNotSneaky! said...

I don't know about Warsaw actually (one place that I never been too, airport trips aside). It seemed to be disappearing from Wroclaw and just traveling around the country you see less of it than you used to.

beatroot said...

Yeah, Sneaky is on form there.

But this all just shows that words and the meaning of words change because of political engagement. Black changed its meaning through political struggle.

and that is what is different from the meanings of Polish words for black people. These change because of movements and shifts in Poles sensibility, not through contact and dialogue with Blacks themselves.

Anonymous said...

But there has been increasing "contact" with Blacks via increased media exposure and even the impact of hip-hop (that's pretty weird, too). Dialogue will take some time. It would be nice if some universities or even churches started staging dialogues and conversations between people of color and Poles.

roman said...

bilus,

I've long felt a sense of unease over the use of the word when I've heard it

The unease, I suspect, has more to do with our own internal psyche. It's called "guilt" which has been gradually pushed onto us by the liberal press/media and PC "fascists" over the last few decades. Their prescribed narrative, conscious or otherwise, has been to elevate all minorities' status in society by this artificial PC idealism. Soon, they'll have us bowing down to all minorities and asking pretty please how may we address you? I'm sure that even this un-PC comment will be attacked by the PC "fascistas" and the label racist or bigot will follow shortly after.

Biluś said...

Roman,

I'm not attacking you, but I would take issue with some of your assumptions about the world - and especially about my imputed motivations. I see where you're coming from, but, really, not guilt. 'Sense of unease' is about right and it stems, not from the unfiltered influence of the liberal media, rather it's from a long-held desire simply to be inclusive and welcoming to the human and to not label individuals according to a single defining feature that they happen to possess because they were born in a time, a place, a body. And what's wrong with that? The language we use is important and it matters how we talk about others so that we don't make them 'other'.

Anonymous said...

Another poor black victim of white racism:

«The Kenyan half-brother of President Barack Obama has been arrested for alleged marijuana possession. »~

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7862691.stm

Anonymous said...

Did he play for a Kenyan club team or the Kenyan national team? Or was he involved with a Kenyan firm?

Anonymous said...

«I'm sure that even this un-PC comment will be attacked by the PC "fascistas" and the label racist or bigot will follow shortly after.»

The owner of this blog used exactly those terms to insult anyone who dared to criticise his racist friend Simon Mol.

Anonymous said...

When you look at statistical data especially in England you see that the attackers and offenders from ethnic minorities are far larger.

There are more white victims of knife crime and violence than any other ethnic group and they also have the smallest proportion of offenders.

If you classify an attack of one ethnic group on another as racist then the white population are the biggest victims. Why are verbal and physical attacks that are clearly racially motivated not picked up as racist when the victims are white?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...es-reveal.html

Anonymous said...

I'm a Polish man, and i have no problem with racism in Poland. most of the minority in the U.S and Western Europe are social parasites who sit on welfare, have a bunch of kids, and mooch off the system. Look what happened in France with Arabs, the riots. They're making their problems our problems by being a burden to us. We don't want u. us ethnic REAL Europeans.

Anonymous said...

indian_in _POLAND-i am an indian and im married to POLISH girl.im living in warsaw from two years. i dont care what people say but from my experience i can just say that POLISH people are true and very nice.

Anonymous said...

indian_in_poland- i luv polish food :)) and BIMBER(home made polish vodka)

Anonymous said...

indian_in_poland- i luv polish food :)) and BIMBER(home made polish vodka)

Anonymous said...

Regarding People of African origins….

Why does Poland not have such a large black minority? Why would they be so much more open to racial stereotyping? My assumption is that would be because Poland did not import slaves who became coloured ‘oppressed’ Poles, only getting equal rights in the last few decades through political struggle.

Also Poland kind of missed out on any Colonial aspirations, so there is no guilt or responsibility to settle coloured nationals back in Poland, because of instability or revolution in the colonies.

The moral wake up which happened in many western European countries + USA had no way of happening in Poland. So the west should not be pointing fingers and crying racist, when a few decades ago they were actually realising their racism to the fullest economic benefit possible.

If multiculturalism worked like it really should, im sure Polish people may be more inclined to embrace it, but it would have to start with intermarriages and would take time.

To what extent are minorities in UK, FR, DE, etc actually assimilated or have a common community purpose with the majority?

Poland’s homogeneity was to a great degree forced, during and after WW2, but at the same time it has the right to take things slow. Show Poland that racial assimilation in Europe actually works, and just maybe changes could happen.

Der Kosmonaut said...

I went to Warsaw last year and found it to be one of the most racist cities in the world. Before I went to Poland, the 3 most racist cities I had been to were in the following order: Atlanta, Paris and Vancouver. However, as a Black man I was not only extremly uncomfortable but I seriously feared for my safety. Never before had I encountered outright hatred as I did on the streets of Warsaw. The faces on the passers-by unsettled me. It was obvious that my mere prescence seemed to ruin people's day. I was denied service in restaurants. Even one so-called alternative bar where many progressive anti-facists frequent refused entry to me. I can only imagine what people said in Polish as I went past them.
I am a world traveller. I have lived in 7 countries and have travelled to 15. Racism is in every country in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. However, Poland was special. I am never a tourist however, I felt compelled to look the part. I walked around with a map in my hand. I wanted to convey the following:
No, I am not here to live. No, I am not here to take your jobs. No, I am not here to fuck your women.
I will never step foot back in Poland. In fact, no amount of money would induce me to go there.
It's beyond my comprehension how Black people, Black men in particular, can cope with living in Poland. I have talked to other Black males who have visited Poland and they have had the same experiences as I. The word among Black men all over the world is to steer clear of Poland at all costs. Woe on to any Black male football fan who heads to Poland in 2012.

Anonymous said...

oh well. Lot of people don't like Poles in western Europe anyway.

Anonymous said...

No niggers, please, in my nice white country.

Anonymous said...

I visted Poland for ten days and the polish are wonderful friendly people (i am asian). I spoke to a girl overthere and she said that some blacks abuse polish women and this might be the reason why blacks are not liked.

This racist thing has been blown out of proportion. Sorry the media have been brain washing people again.

Anonymous said...

"I spoke to a girl overthere and she said that some blacks abuse polish women and this might be the reason why blacks are not liked."

She wouldn't happen to be a tabloid-reading racist herself would she?

I can tell you that white Poles abuse their girlfriends on a regular basis, both psychologically and physically.

Anonymous said...

Eastern European women (including polish) are the cheapest women in the world, they are the largest numbers in porno and prostitution. Who the fcuk wants to marry one anyway? I know a guy in London who did not know his GF was a part time escort while working in Tescos. I hear you cannot trust them not to cheat. I mean these women you can still buy online as marriage brides. Fuck the poles they are 2nd class Europeans! their men steal cars all over Europe and sell them back home, east European men are the worst white criminals in the world. They are no different from gypsy people! I want them out of the UK... now I hear Eastern Europe has the highest rate of AIDS in all Europe due to their prostitute women and drugs use

Biluś said...

Oh, Anonymous, what a shame to have to see the world as you do, you poor, poor thing.

Anonymous said...

I see white people are the same everywhere. So afraid yet so destructive. Colonizers, exploiters, polluters, war mongers. It would take other races hundreds of years to catch up to the number of people whites have bombed and murdered globally. I am an American and if you look at our history alone we are constantly at war and no one kills more efficiently than us but we always kill people in their countries, not here. Then white people complain about crime against whites. Other races could never catch up. When you kill you kill millions. The Poles didn't have to be convinced to offer Jews up for extermination.You can create your own reality and I'm sure most of you will but think about your history of colonization, conquest and exploitation.

Anonymous said...

I hope every white person is reincarnated and born black.

Anonymous said...

I came to Poland to arrange a marriage at the council and trust me they have been far from helpful. It's like an offence to come here when you are of another race. Someone even insulted us in Polish in the corridor and my mother in law heard it.

If you want to come here,it's entirely a personal decision, but just be aware that this country has a few decades to go as far as racial tolerance is concerned. I live in London and was almost reduced to tears. Im black and proud of it. Why should someone have a problem with my skin colour. I was made this way.

I will be flying back to London and doing it from there instead.

Anonymous said...

Blacks don't belong in a white country, so hostile reactions can be expected.

Anonymous said...

Kosmonaut, many of your brotha's come to Poland because they hope that Polish women are cheap enough to f**k even blacks. That's why they are hated. You should not blame Polish people but your black brotha's.

bostonknockofffurniture@gmail.com said...

Notice all the racist pussies are posting with an anonymous tag. Go fuck yourselves bitches.

Anonymous said...

Guys - I'm black btw, and disagree with the rude things said by both the Poles and the Black people on this site. No need to be hostile to each other.

That being said: I also disagree that we dark-skinned people should go to a country like Poland where we are not welcome. The Jews had the right idea when they left Poland for the US, UK and ANYWHERE else. I've been to Poland several times on business and even once went snowboarding there. They are hostile to blacks in general, even though there were many exceptions. Krakow is perhaps the most open minded city in the country. Had the reportred gone to Lodz or a smaller town, there would have been more Swatikas, more anti-jew graffitti and much more white supremacy. After my own experiences, I only now go when absolutely necessary for business.

So be smart, avoid Poland and Eastern Europe if your dark-skinned (or Jewish) - why deliberately go stirring up trouble where you're not wanted?

Alex said...

The people saying that blacks are okay in Poland, evidently don't live here. On the surface, they won't say anything to you, but you are generally treated like a leper. I am a British diplomat here, and yet I get barred from clubs because I am black, the taxis don't stop to pick me, and once I went to a restaurant, and as I was leaving, a Polish guy coming in said in Polish, "Oh, so the stupid black slaves are now allowed to eat here", not knowing I understand and can speak Polish. Plus a whole host of things. This, by the way is in Warsaw, the so called Liberal Capital City. Let me not even start with the Policja (Police), who always side with the white Polish Man in event of an incident, be it traffic accident, or you protesting being excluded from Bars and Clubs for not being white, while other poles are allowed to enter.

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Anonymous said...

Ironically, I was told about a mention of Poland's racism problem in the English section of the student Medical newspaper.

The link is shown below: http://www.pulsum.pl/nowa/attachments/article/2009/maj-czerwiec2009.pdf

Therefore, clearly, it does exist if international students are first hand writing about it.

Anonymous said...

Polish people do not like dating outside of their race. They are quite racially uniform. In fact, if a Polish girl or Polish guy were to date a black person, they would say it is them preserving their culture. However, that is the excuse all cultures use to defend their inborn racist traits. This includes the Jewish, Indians, Chinese, and every other culture that outcasts people who do not marry and date within their own.

Plus, black people have a low social cast. Polish girls that date black guys are often branded sluts in Poland.

Anonymous said...

Stormfront (a world wide white power organization) Poland seems to have quite a large following.

Anonymous said...

The Polish say how black people are violent toward's their woman in order to justify racism towards blacks. In reality, there are not enough black and Polish intermingling to say anything with regards to this. Furthermore, they tend to spread a lot of propaganda and make up fake attacks against them. Here is an example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0LqMciOY2M

Anonymous said...

It seems as if they changed the Racism article and toned it down since I last read it. I looked at it again, and apparently, it isn't the same article, although it reiterates what I was trying to say in a more tender way ...

Anonymous said...

An article about minorities being attacked in Southern Poland:
http://www.thenews.pl/1/9/Artykul/57445,Roma-minority-attacked-with-Molotov-cocktails

Anonymous said...

At least it is not as bad as Bulgaria.

Anonymous said...

Polish is not a race.

Anonymous said...

It all comes down to education...the truly educated Poles know it's wrong and want better for their country....as Poland becomes more worldly, this will all be squashed (idle chat between the uneducated drunks and troublmakers)....they just got out of communism in 1990! give em a chance!

Go Poland!

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