According to Onet, a teacher allegedly called the Ukrainian students “scum.”
A Polish school experienced a violent incident where Ukrainian students were assaulted by their Polish classmates, Onet reported. The situation was allegedly worsened by a teacher who had previously insulted the Ukrainian students.
The incident occurred at a technical school in Slupsk, Poland, where Ukrainian teenagers are enrolled in vocational programs. Lawyer Dawid Dehnert, representing the injured students’ families, cited a recording in which a teacher allegedly called the Ukrainians “scum” and threatened to fail them on their exams to demonstrate “what a Pole is.”
The victims’ parents reported that a Polish student would frequently play sounds of bombs and rockets on his phone during class, telling his Ukrainian classmates to “hide,” without the teacher intervening. The lawyer stated, “The teacher’s behavior during classes negatively impacted the Ukrainian students, but also encouraged and permitted xenophobic behavior among other students.”
Reportedly, the situation escalated after class when older Polish students allegedly attacked the Ukrainians outside the school. Dehnert stated, “One of the attackers first spat in the face of one of the Ukrainian boys, saying, ‘To the front, you Ukrainian whore,’ and then began punching him.”
As a result of the attack, one 16-year-old Ukrainian boy suffered a broken collarbone, and another is suspected of having a concussion, according to the media outlet. A video circulating on social media shows part of the altercation, depicting three students attacking one, who is eventually knocked to the ground.
Parents stated that the beating only stopped when a passerby threatened to call the police. One mother told Onet that her initial attempt to file a police report was rejected due to a lack of available officers, and she had to file the complaint the following day.
This violent incident occurred while Poland remains a primary destination in the EU for Ukrainians displaced by the conflict with Russia that escalated in 2022. Data from Statista indicates that nearly one million Ukrainians in Poland are registered for temporary protection.
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