This is starting to cross all boundaries. “Foreigners” are to blame for everything – if not Ukrainians, then Belarusians, and even when it’s hard to accuse a specific person of anything, an argument appears: “it’s the fault of your Ukrainian brothers.” Such words can be heard in the recording published by Serafim Shimchuk.
A Belarusian recorded a confrontation in a Warsaw café
Another story about hostility toward Ukrainians in Poland appeared on social media. Serafim Shimchuk, who – as he writes himself – has been living with his wife in Poland for years, described a situation that was supposed to have taken place in central Warsaw.
“For the first time I encountered xenophobia in Warsaw” – this is how he begins his account.
Serafim says that he has been living in Poland for eight years. That day he was with his wife and friends who had come to visit them from Belarus.
Earlier, the group visited Ministerstwo Kawy, where they bought three take-away coffees. Then they headed toward the Royal Łazienki Park.
The rain stopped them by the venue
On the way it started to rain. The four took shelter under the awning by the venue “Bejbi Na Rozdrożu.” Serafim decided to buy an espresso there and returned to the others.
According to his account, after about ten minutes a man associated with the venue approached them and pointed out that the others had coffee bought elsewhere.
Serafim replied that in that case he could buy three bottles of water for his friends. As he recounts, the offer did not end the conflict, and the group was ultimately asked to leave.
The situation could have ended there. The venue has the right to set the rules for using its space. The problem is that—according to Serafim’s account and the published recording—a moment later the conversation stopped being about coffee.
“Get out of Poland”
Shimchuk claims that when the group was already several dozen meters away, the following words were allegedly directed at them:
“Get out of Poland, you are not welcome here”.
Then Serafim came back and started recording the conversation on his phone. And it is precisely in the recording that statements appear that refer directly to the interlocutors’ origin.
“Are we xenophobic? Well yes”
In the footage you can hear, among other things:
“Are we xenophobic? We are xenophobic. Well yes”.
A moment later, it is said:
“Poland is a bastion […] among this […] Europe, and your East is fu**ed up”.
The man also says:
“If you live in Poland, then behave […] like a Pole. Simple”.
And he refers to his own stay abroad:
“When I lived in Germany, I spoke German”.
“Maybe it’s not your fault, but your Ukrainian brothers’”
The final part of the recording is particularly strong. The man allows for the possibility that Serafim himself did nothing wrong:
“Maybe you’re an alright guy, maybe you didn’t mean any harm”.
After which he adds:
“Maybe it’s even […] not your fault, but […] your Ukrainian brothers’”.
And it is precisely at this point that it becomes difficult to speak solely about a dispute over coffee, a table, or the rules in force at the venue. Collective responsibility appears—a person is judged through the prism of their nationality and the behavior of other people of the same nationality.
“I’ve been living in Poland for 8 years. I love this country very much”
Serafim emphasizes that Poland has been his home for years.
“I’ve been living in Poland for 8 years now. I love this country very much and I’m very sorry that I encountered something like this in the center of Warsaw” – he wrote.
One can have different opinions about the very beginning of the conflict. One can discuss whether people with drinks bought elsewhere should use the space of a particular venue. However, such issues can be resolved in one sentence – without referring to nationality, “Ukrainian brothers”, the “East”, or who should leave Poland.
The description of the course of events before the recording started comes from Serafim Shimchuk’s account and, without the other side’s position, it cannot be independently verified. The later quoted statements, however, come from the recording he shared.
Source: Serafim Shimchuk / Threads.
