Following the German federal police’s policy of bringing illegal immigrants into Polish territory in night operations, the Polish government has decided to restore border controls on its border with Germany. However, outside of official channels, a citizen’s movement has emerged that aims to address this situation, called the Ruch Obrony Granic (Border Defense Movement), which patrols the German border to prevent illegal entries and German police operations. We spoke to Łukasz Hernas, a volunteer with the movement, about the situation in Gubin, a Polish town bordering Germany.
When was the arrival of illegal immigrants from the border beginning to be noticed in your town?
As a resident of Gubin, I observed the influx of illegal refugees from Germany during the spring of this year. However, we now know that the procedure started much earlier.
When did the Ruch Obrony Granic arise in your town?
Volunteers of the movement started arriving in Gubin in June and that is when I decided to join, together with other local patriots.
How are the patrols organized and what other activities do the volunteers carry out?
The patrols are a volunteer initiative, we organize them ourselves. Anyone who can do so, in their free time, simply joins other volunteers and goes around the border area. We guard the borders: we send back the migrants sent from the German side, although we know that they are then transported to other places that we cannot reach. We don’t harm anyone, we simply try to keep the situation under control. Our patrols operate day and night because there are many people willing to defend the borders.
Photo: Courtesy of Łukasz Hernas
Prime Minister Tusk has expressed his intention to impose “order” on border patrols, threatening fines and arrests. What has been the reaction of the Polish authorities to your patrols so far?
We laugh at Prime Minister Tusk and his “order.” The border guards are at the border thanks to our actions and they are on our side, the police too, we have a friendly relationship with them. We are not afraid of the consequences. The reaction of the current authorities is in line with the interests of left-wing German politics. If it were not for the strong and consolidated Polish Right, today we would have to seal the windows in Gubin, and we would have immigrants outside our houses; of course, only those that the Germans do not want, either because they are not fit to work or because they have committed crimes.
The leftist leader and member of the government coalition, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, has called the volunteers “madmen” and “thugs.” Why do you think the left is so radically against protecting the borders?
The left is trying to import cheap labor, without caring about the consequences for the Polish nation, as is also the case in the rest of the West. Czarzasty is the last communist in Poland and he is just talking nonsense. The left tries to obey Brussels because it’s afraid of economic consequences and of having an opinion of its own.
Photo: Courtesy of Łukasz Hernas
Have there been any incidents with illegals or with the German police, have you witnessed attempts to let migrants into Polish territory?
Of course, there have been discussions at the border between us and the German police who do not want to listen to our arguments. We have recordings of migrants kneeling down and begging the German police to let them leave, but they prevent them and send them in the direction of Poland. The truth is that these immigrants do not want to come to our country, they want to stay in Germany, their favorite destination.
What do you think of what Germany is doing, and of the Polish government’s reaction with the reopening of border controls? Do you think that will solve the problem?
Absolute nonsense! The only solution is to change Germany’s policy, remove subsidies for migrants and punish the criminals. How long are they going to go on pretending that they were not wrong? Do they really think we are fools? Because of them we now have rapes, robberies, cars and streets on fire all over Europe. They need to stop blaming others and restore order, like we do by defending our borders and massively opposing illegal immigration.
The current misgovernment is following EU policy, so we have no confidence in the measures they have taken.
In your opinion, who is responsible for the lack of security on the Polish-German border?
The responsibility for this situation lies with Brussels and those who now stand by idly, pretending that the problem does not exist: the far-left politicians and those who support them, completely disregarding the reality.
Are you going to continue patrolling the border despite the government’s threats?
Of course, I will keep going out on patrols and, despite the fact that we are prohibited from making recordings, we will continue to report and document everything that happens. At the moment the situation is stable, but I think that if we let our guard down, they will start transporting migrants to Poland again.
Álvaro Peñas a writer for europeanconservative.com. He is the editor of deliberatio.eu and a contributor to Disidentia, El American, and other European media. He is an international analyst, specialising in Eastern Europe, for the television channel 7NN and is an author at SND Editores.
