Gay Poles head for UK to escape state crackdown
Pastor Dale Morgan
Gay Poles head for UK to escape state crackdown*
Thousands flock to Britain as Health Ministry unveils plans to 'cure' them
Colin Graham in Warsaw
Sunday July 1, 2007
The Observer
Polish gay rights groups claim thousands of homosexuals have fled the
country to escape increasing persecution.
Robert Biedron, 27, the head of the Polish Foundation Against
Homophobia, said that 'huge numbers' of Polish gays had left the country
following the rise to power of the right-wing government. He said: 'It
is incredible. The Polish gay community has just left because of the
climate of fear and persecution.
'Most of the people I know are now in England because of the current
political situation. Not for economic reasons, but because of the
persecution of homosexuals going on here. It's impossible for gays to be
themselves in Poland.'
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He added: 'Around two million Poles have left the country seeking work
and thousands of gays are among them. Many gays are approaching our
foundation for help in emigrating to the UK.'
Kamil Zapasnik, 22, a gay student who moved to London because he wanted
to marry, said: 'It's very important to me that I am able to have a
civil partnership and adopt children. In the UK I have that freedom.'
Poland's Roman Catholic right-wing government has openly homophobic
members and Polish media recently announced that the Health Ministry had
created a special committee responsible for 'curing' gays.
The Deputy Health Minister, Marek Grafowski, said that the ministry was
also planning to identify how many people in Poland were gay and work
out a set of behavioural guides to assist parents and teachers so that
they can recognise any warning signs of potential 'gay behaviour'.
Polish police have also been compiling a database on gays and the gay
community in Poland which, although illegal under EU law, is apparently
being done as part of a police investigation into a bomb threat two
years ago by a gay man. He had reportedly identified himself as a member
of the gay community who was angry when a gay rights march was banned in
Warsaw.
'The police are not allowed to catalogue "homosexual data", but it's
enough to look into the police investigation associated with the bomb in
order to establish a list of names and addresses,' said Ewa Kulesza, a
former personal data protection general inspector.
It is not just the police who are openly homophobic. Lech Wojtewski, 23,
from Warsaw, said his doctor had referred him to a vet when he went to
for a check-up. 'He told me there was a specialist for people like me
and gave me an address. When I got there it was a vet.
'I called him and he said, "What did you expect? You are an animal".'
When Krystian Legierski, 29, opened a gay club, Le Madame, it was shut
down by Warsaw local authorities who hired private security guards to
break down the doors, despite an appearance there by John Malkovich a
day earlier.
'I understand why people emigrate, but injustice can only be rectified
by resistance, not emigration,' Legierski said.