The exhibition, entitled Jesteśmy z Wami! Ми з Вами! Polska pomoc dla Ukrainy (We Are With You: Polish Aid for Ukraine), was unveiled by senior Polish lawmaker Ryszard Terlecki and MEP Beata Mazurek on Tuesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
‘Poles opened their hearts and homes to help their neighbours’
Mazurek, a Eurodeputy for Poland's ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, said at the opening ceremony: “The exhibition shows how Polish people provided selfless help, especially to women and children, from the very first days of the war, without waiting for European guidelines.”
She added: “The display also highlights how Poles opened their hearts and homes to help their neighbours during this difficult time.”
Mazurek said the exhibition “showcases our solidarity as a nation in providing assistance to Ukrainians at this difficult time,” with the government, local authorities and NGOs all offering to help.
She stated: “I’m proud of the fact that we have shown our solidarity, not just to Europe, but the wider world.”
Mazurek added: “May these pictures show our solidarity, but may they also encourage others to extend their solidarity to those who need it the most.”
‘We must defend Ukraine, our countries and Europe’
Meanwhile, Terlecki, who is a deputy Speaker of Poland’s lower house of parliament, said that “the war in Ukraine started in 2014.”
He added: “For eight years, we kept telling people that Ukraine was at war, but many in Europe only shrugged their shoulders. If the response had been different, the current war would not have happened.”
Terlecki, a lawmaker with the Law and Justice party, told the ceremony: “Now we must defend Ukraine, we must defend our borders, we must defend our countries and we must defend Europe.”
He said that “Ukraine has been putting up heroic resistance,” while “we’ve been doing everything we can and that’s what this exhibition is about.”
Terlecki continued: “This is also an appeal to Europe, to the entire world, that we must keep doing it. We must help refugees. We must protect their women and children. But we must also send weapons, we must send ammunition, we must train Ukrainian soldiers--because without it, Ukraine won’t win, because without it, our region won’t win, because without it, Europe won’t win.”
Poland’s ambassador to the European Union, Andrzej Sadoś, described the exhibition as “a very valuable initiative,” telling PAP that it was “very important that Poland’s all-round support for Ukraine is documented in places such as the European Parliament building in Strasbourg.”
'We Are With You'
The title of the showcase, My z wami! ми з Вaми!, is a motto that has quickly come to symbolise Poland's solidarity with the war-stricken Ukrainian nation. Chanted at rallies, written on posters and displayed in the widows of Polish homes across the country, these words have been lifting the spirits of refugees and giving them hope, the PAP news agency reported.
The exhibition features 42 large-size photographs depicting the outpouring of Polish support for Ukrainians fleeing war.
From scenes at the border, where Polish officials welcomed exhausted women and children from Ukraine; through touching gestures, such the offering of a hot meal or a plush toy to dispel the sadness painted on the face of a refugee child that has been fleeing Russian brutality; to assistance provided by Polish institutions, the photographs show various aspects of Poland's support for Ukraine, the PAP news agency reported.
Tuesday was day 384 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, tvp.info
