Full transcript
0:00In Donald Tusk's Poland , something has
0:03happened that , until recently , I simply
0:05could not have imagined . And as a
0:09father , I have to get this off my chest
0:11, because what is happening in Polish
0:13schools today is not just abnormal , not
0:15just disturbing , it is extremely
0:17dangerous . My six-year-old son has just
0:21started his schooling . He started in
0:25September , and this morning he was
0:27locked behind the custodian's door ,
0:29with every entering student being
0:30checked and parents banned from entry .
0:34Can you imagine that ? This is what the
0:36reality of a Polish school looks like
0:38today . And to be clear , I don't have
0:40the slightest grievance against the
0:41school management . On the contrary , I
0:44believe our school acted responsibly .
0:48But what is the state doing ? What is
0:50Donald Tusk , who is only tough on
0:52Twitter , doing ? What is Barbara Nowacka
0:54doing ? She knows how to introduce sex
0:56education into schools . She knows how
0:59to force soy on students . But what
1:01about the safety of our children ? What
1:03about that ? What does every parent care
1:05about most ? After all , we have reached
1:08a situation where a person starts to be
1:10afraid to send their own child to
1:12school . Let us briefly recall what has
1:18happened in the last few days . On
1:20Wednesday , October 7 , a 19 - year-old
1:22student attacked nine people at a
1:24school in Ostrołęka . Five students ,
1:28two teachers , and two bystanders were
1:30hospitalized , and the perpetrator also
1:32had a backpack with a dangerous
1:34homemade explosive device . And the next
1:37day , another tragedy . In Brześć
1:40Kujawski , there was an attack . A 15 -
1:42year-old broke into the school and
1:44attacked three people , and a 37 -
1:46year-old school employee died . Two more
1:49people were injured . And today is not
1:52the end of all this . We have further
1:54police detentions . In Szczytno , the
1:57police detained a teenager who
1:59allegedly threatened students and
2:01teachers , and in Józefów , a 14 -
2:03year-old who was allegedly planning to
2:05bring a knife to school . In Warsaw , a
2:08teenager sent a photo of a knife on a
2:10class group chat and threatened a
2:12classmate . And in Pruszków County , two
2:1515 - year-olds were detained , suspected
2:17of publishing death threats . Listen
2:20people , where are we living ? This is
2:22abnormal . Such things did not happen in
2:24Poland . And according to police
2:26information , 10 people have already
2:28been detained in connection with the
2:30wave of threats , and officers have
2:32checked over 10,000 educational
2:34institutions . I am curious how they
2:36actually did that , but that is at least
2:38what they are announcing . Some schools
2:40have canceled classes , and in others ,
2:42like in my son's school , extraordinary
2:44security measures have been introduced .
2:48And what is Donald Tusk doing in this
2:50situation ? The Prime Minister of the
2:52Polish state is , as usual , performing
2:55for show . He called for councils and is
2:58talking and writing on Twitter : " But
3:00where was he before ? " Maybe instead of
3:03thinking about a planetary diet , he
3:04should have thought about the safety of
3:06our children . And by the way , as is
3:09usual with Tusk , a political thread
3:12appears immediately . The presidential
3:15veto regarding the internet law . Even
3:18at such a moment , Tusk starts with
3:20politics . He juxtaposed the school
3:24tragedies with the president's veto and
3:26suggested that this vetoed law would
3:28have given the state the tools to more
3:30effectively counter such threats . Well ,
3:33as usual , if not for the veto , if not
3:35for others , if not for this and that ,
3:37he would be doing wonderfully , but
3:39everyone is getting in his way . This is
3:41simply disgusting behavior by Tusk , and
3:43that's an understatement . As usual , he
3:46bears no responsibility for anything .
3:48The others are always to blame . After
3:51all , Tusk knows perfectly well that he
3:53is a person who is extremely disliked
3:55and unpopular in Poland . Unlike
3:58President Nawrocki , and Professor
4:00Andrzej Nowak also pointed this out in
4:02his commentary on this very matter ,
4:04writing : " What else will the Prime
4:06Minister and the media supporting him
4:08have to do to change this reality ? "
4:11Here is an example of their unflagging
4:13efforts . A 15 - year-old kills a woman
4:16working at a school . Donald Tusk blames
4:18the President of the Republic of Poland
4:20for this crime as well . Just like
4:22before , among other things , for high
4:24gas prices , the state's gargantuan debt
4:27, and the downgrade of our economy's
4:29rating . Can the Prime Minister do
4:31anything ? Here is the reaction . Donald
4:34Tusk decided to use a terrible crime to
4:36strike at the president . Except this is
4:40neither the time nor the place . Those
4:43are the words of Tomasz Terlikowski's
4:45commentary on the wp.pl portal . Neither
4:47the author of this commentary nor the
4:49portal itself belong to the supporters
4:51of the President of the Republic of
4:53Poland . However , the level of hatred ,
4:56manipulation , and villainy that the
4:58current Prime Minister and his acolytes
5:01present in their daily portion of
5:02insinuations directed at the president
5:05is causing embarrassment even in such
5:07places and among such people . Those who
5:11still maintain contact with reality .
5:15What will win ? Hatred of reality , or
5:18reality itself ? So much for Professor
5:24Nowak's words , but there is one more
5:26matter that must not be forgotten .
5:29Recently , Deputy Minister Ireneusz Raś
5:31spoke publicly about the possibility of
5:33elections not being held in the event
5:36of war , that a state of war would be in
5:38effect , and there would simply be no
5:40elections . And I will add that if a
5:46state of emergency were introduced ,
5:48i.e. , in the case of an internal threat
5:50, there would also be no elections , and
5:52the December 13th coalition shouldn't
5:54count on continuing to rule if
5:56elections do take place . Of course ,
6:01there is no evidence to claim that this
6:03current wave of violence is an element
6:05of a plan to introduce a state of
6:06emergency . But I expect anything from
6:09this government , and I know they are
6:11capable of using anything . All the more
6:14reason why the state should now
6:16communicate very clearly to parents
6:18what threats actually exist , how long
6:20emergency measures will last , and what
6:22the limits of these actions are . As
6:26parents , we didn't receive any SMS
6:28alerts about this matter today ,
6:30absolutely nothing . And school cannot
6:33become a place that a child goes to
6:35with fear . Parents have the right to
6:38demand concrete actions from the
6:40government and hold it accountable for
6:41their effectiveness . And now , in
6:45conclusion , let's listen to what former
6:47Minister of Education Przemysław
6:49Czarnek said about the current
6:51situation today , because after all ,
6:53when he was minister , such situations
6:55did not occur . A difficult 48 hours in
6:58total already . In the reality of our
7:03schools , such cases had not happened in
7:05Poland . And I am not speaking of a
7:07single incident , because one incident
7:09can indeed happen sometimes , although
7:11it shouldn't . But we are talking about
7:14a series that must give us pause ; a
7:16series that has occurred for the first
7:18time in the history of Poland : a series
7:20of attacks by knife-wielding juveniles
7:23in schools — and that includes schools
7:25in small , local communities . There must
7:28be some reason , some cause that led to
7:30this . That is why great reflection is
7:33needed , great deliberation is required .
7:37On one hand , calm , talking to children ,
7:39talking to teenagers . On the other hand
7:43, we also need certain actions that
7:45will be systemic measures launched
7:47immediately . These will be actions , I
7:49repeat once again , that may apply at
7:51the beginning , but do not have to later
7:53on . We would not want schools to become
7:58fortified citadels and an environment
7:59where children are admitted only
8:01through gates and metal detectors like
8:03at an airport . But today the situation
8:09is truly worrying and actions must be
8:11taken that will ensure that from Monday
8:14— because not from today — the school
8:16will become safe again , also in the
8:18thinking and in the sense of security
8:20among the students themselves , teachers
8:22, school staff , as well as parents who
8:24drop these children off . That is why we
8:29are proposing the Safe School package ,
8:31a package that will have to be launched
8:33immediately , because the reality is
8:34brutal . Minister Dariusz Piątkowski
8:39will speak about this Safe School
8:40package in a moment , and my colleagues ,
8:42in particular my colleague , will
8:44supplement it . However , I want to tell
8:49you that there is a disturbing thing
8:51that results from reading posts on the
8:53parents ' forum . Namely , information
8:59about a certain challenge on the
9:01internet , which was reported by parents
9:03to the services 2 years ago . To all
9:06services . For two years , absolutely
9:09nothing has been done about it . The
9:11services in this country are
9:12operational , and they should have
9:13looked into it . It is disturbing that
9:15no conclusions were drawn after the
9:17gruesome event from half a year ago ,
9:19more than half a year ago , from the
9:21beginning of this year , that is , the
9:22murder of an 11 - year-old by a 12 -
9:24year-old . That was already a signal
9:26that should have made the authorities
9:28of this ministry realize that action
9:30must be taken . Today we are after , I
9:33repeat once again , 48 shocking hours ,
9:36and we need on one hand calm , on the
9:38other reflection and action , not the
9:40political vulture-like behavior that
9:43was practiced yesterday by Mr. Donald
9:45Tusk , but calm and normal reactions ,
9:47also meeting the expectations of
9:49parents , teachers , and school
9:51communities . What are we to do next ?
9:54The Safe School package is certainly
9:55the answer to that . Mr. Dariusz
9:57Piątkowski will talk about it in
9:59detail . We realize that the school
10:05alone will not solve all problems , but
10:07a reaction to what has happened must
10:09also take place in school . They must be
10:13divided into at least two parts . for
10:15this first part , that is , an immediate
10:17response . It should have actually
10:20happened at least by yesterday , and in
10:22principle , it should have taken place
10:24after the RCB alerts in the Lublin
10:26region , when school principals didn't
10:28quite know what to do with the children
10:30, the hundreds of children who were in
10:32the schools . At that time , there was
10:34practically no response from the
10:36ministry , and today we don't see one
10:37either . Yet certain procedures are
10:39already in place . During our time , a
10:42unified prevention and educational
10:44program was introduced . It includes
10:46safety procedures among other things ,
10:48and today , what must certainly be done
10:50is to review these procedures . Experts
10:53from the services must review them ,
10:55correct them if something is wrong , and
10:58these procedures must be practiced , so
11:00that in the face of tragic events like
11:02those that took place in several Polish
11:04schools , principals , teachers , and
11:06students know what to do . So that it
11:10isn't a shock when an alert or alarm
11:12suddenly appears and no one knows what
11:13to do about it . Parents also need to be
11:18trained so they know how to behave ,
11:20because the scenes outside schools show
11:22that today , parents are also completely
11:24helpless in such a situation . But this
11:28" Safe School " package is not just about
11:30those immediate actions that can be
11:32taken now with virtually no cost , but a
11:34continuation of the efforts we started
11:36a few years ago . First , we need to
11:40complete the issue of surveillance in
11:42schools , to ensure that this monitoring
11:44is complete , so that every school has
11:46monitoring at least at the entrance .
11:51Access to schools by unauthorized
11:53persons should be restricted to a much
11:55greater extent , so that it is not the
11:57case that a school is accessible to
11:59practically anyone without any control
12:01or even information that someone
12:03dangerous is entering the school . This
12:08must be clearly written into school
12:10statutes . The next element is the
12:13continuation of what we already did a
12:15few years ago . We introduced employment
12:19standards for pedagogues , psychologists
12:21, and specialists in schools , who were
12:23supposed to ensure that help for
12:25children , as well as for parents or
12:27teachers , if the need arose , was
12:29immediately available on-site , so there
12:31would be no need to go and wait in long
12:33queues at pedagogical and psychological
12:35counseling centers . This process must
12:39be completed . We know that in almost
12:412,000 schools , this has not yet been
12:44done . And what is happening with child
12:47psychiatry , which is clearly
12:48underfunded , there is a lack of access
12:50to psychiatrists . You have to wait
12:53months to be able to schedule an
12:55appointment covered by the National
12:57Health Fund . Schools also need constant
13:03cooperation with the police , and not
13:05just the patrols the Prime Minister
13:07spoke of , because unfortunately , there
13:09are too few police officers in Poland
13:11for every school to be staffed by a
13:13police patrol all the time , as that
13:15would leave the police unable to handle
13:17other areas that also require security ;
13:19however , constant cooperation with the
13:22police , including a safety button that
13:24can instantly alert the police if
13:26something extraordinary happens in
13:28schools , is necessary . These elements
13:34will allow us , first of all , to
13:35approach situations that may arise in
13:38schools more calmly , but these actions
13:40are also needed today to manage the
13:42panic that is emerging throughout the
13:44entire school environment . Not only
13:48among principals and teachers , but also
13:50among parents and children . The
13:55Ministry cannot remain unresponsive to
13:57what is actually happening in Polish
13:58schools today .
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