THEY BREAK FAMILIES, THEY BREAK HEARTS

LIDIA DUDKIEWICZ, THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF 'NIEDZIELA'

Helping people is to be the essence of the authority – this opinion was expressed just before taking an oath by Andrzej Duda for the office of the president of the Polish Republic, by an euro-deputy Janusz Wojciechowski, so far managing the work of the office under law, named Dudapomoc. As we remember, the idea of creating a legal centre of supporting citizens appeared during campaign journeys across Poland, by the candidate for the office of president, Andrzej Duda. At that time, he listened to people experiencing bad way of treating them by the administration of justice. He noticed that the state is 'oppressive' towards people, that it 'destroys citizens', people feel, as if they 'were objects moved around from one place to another'. Between the first and the second round of elections in May 2015, he made a decision of legal actions aimed at legal supporting citizens. Now this office is to function within the office of the President of the Polish Republic. Andrzej Duda does not intend to separate himself from the citizens at his home. The President wants the headquarter to be in the Presidential Palace – said Janusz Wojciechowski, when he was summarizing the work of Dudapomoc. Wjciechowski announced that the Presidential Office would undertake actions on a new act about complaints, which will support citizens harassed by institutions and public offices. We hope to help families broken by clerks. Recently, via media, we have been observing its drastic example. It turns out that in Poland families can be deprived of their children, for example, because of a mess at home or lack of conditions for learning. The reason can also be keeping pets at home. A dog, a rabbit and fruit flies were mentioned in the verdict of the family court which broke the Baluta family from Nisk. Two of three girls taken away from their family in December 2014, were taken to an orphanage in Rudniki, and the youngest one, still fed by breast, was separated from her mother and taken to a foster family. Girls are not allowed for a pass to their home. Even when the parents were going to baptise their youngest daughter, the court allowed them to be with her only for four hours, while the older girls did not get permission to participate in the family ceremony. The situation is very astonishing, as there was not violence, no alcohol, no drugs, no demoralization in the family. The parents desperately fighting for their children, asked Janusz Wojciechowski for help. We hope that it will be possible to overcome the terrifying helplessness towards the ruthlessness of courts and offices and passivity of procedures. A few weeks ago many of us got terrified when there were attempts to deprive a family near Wejherowo of their eleven children because of poverty at home and the children's absence from school. It turned out that instead of going to school, children went to a forest and picked up blueberries in order to help in keeping their family. A local social care centre has already submitted a request in this issue to a court. A quick intervention of the Foster Parenthood Association 'Our Nest' stopped this action. Such facts shout very loudly every time when they see a child's face. In 2014, in Poland families were deprived of 771 children, which means that too many by 771. After all, poverty is not pathology. We must help poor families, not break it or kill it. The time taken away from a family, will never be given back. In the Baluta family, their youngest daughter does not recognize her mother any more.

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„Niedziela” 33/2015

Editor: Tygodnik Katolicki "Niedziela", ul. 3 Maja 12, 42-200 Czestochowa, Polska
Editor-in-chief: Fr Jaroslaw Grabowski • E-mail: redakcja@niedziela.pl