Hundreds protest at Polish-German border
Hundreds of individuals who are in Poland and work in Germany protested on Friday evening in the southwestern Polish border town of Zgorzelec against a mandatory coronavirus quarantine for those who cross the border.
Poland was one of the first European Union states to close borders as a result of outbreak of the brand new coronavirus. It also imposed a mandatory two-week lockdown for those who enter its territory - a significant jolt for individuals who live their lives among two EU states.
The protest was staged on a foot bridge connecting Zgorzelec and the German town of Gorlitz, which functioned as you town prior to the borders were closed.
"I've been trapped in the home for six weeks, can't cross the border, go to work. I can't get back to my students," said Mirella Binkiewicz, a teacher residing in Zgorzelec and employed in Gorlitz. Around 300 persons gathered at the Polish side plus some 100 at the German, some wearing face masks.
The two groups were separated by a provisional metal fence that is erected in the center of the bridge to avoid people from crossing the border.
"Let us work, why don't we home," said one banner carried by the protesters in Poland. Many of them also chanted the Polish national anthem and others hummed the EU anthem, the Ode to Joy. Renata Burdosz, from Zgorzelec town hall, cited data showing that around 20,000 Poles work in the German region of Saxony.
, 10,500 of whom cross the Polish-German border every day. Around 3,000 Poles work in Gorlitz alone, she said. Protests were staged also in other Polish towns on the German and Czech borders. "Let's understand that jobs won't wait forever for the return of Polish workers.
Will these people ... receive support and help from the state?" local authorities from the south-western Poland said within an open letter to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Morawiecki said earlier this month that borders would remain closed until at least May 3.
"This is a hard issue. I understand the difficulties of the citizens, and the federal government will discuss this in a few days," a government spokesman told private radio Zet on Saturday.
