In defence of Polish schools in Lithuania
According to the latest reports, the Lithuanian Seimas (Parliament), during its current Winter Session, will not enact an amendment to the Education Act which is unfavourable to Poles in Lithuania. Recent events and diplomatic pressure have attenuated the anti-Polish thrust of this amendment. However, this does not mean that there is no longer any danger, because no one can predict in what conditions and in what final draft the new Education Act will be approved during the Spring Session of the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas).
The determination of the Parliament (Seimas) of the Republic of Lithuania promptly to enact the amended Education Act causes great anxiety among the Polish community in Lithuania. This new education law will compel schools for Lithuania's national minorities to teach part of their curricula in Lithuanian, the State language. The Lithuanian Ministry of Education will prepare a list of subjects which must be taught in the Lithuanian language. We already know that history and geography are on this list.. The new act will also include a section on the superiority of Lithuanian schools. In practice this means that if there are two schools in any part of the Vilnius region, one with Lithuanian as a language of instruction and the other with Polish as a language of instruction, at the time of reorganisation it will be the Polish school that will be closed , even if it has more students than the Lithuanian school. There are many other sections in the amended Education Act which make worse the situation of schools for Lithuania's national minorities.
The Editorial Staff of “Wilnoteka” portal decided to join the ongoing campaign to defend Polish Schools in the Vilnius region by collecting signatures to an Open Letter to Polish and Lithuanian Government Officials. Moreover, we want to make it possible to collect signatures not only in Lithuania, but throughout the world among those who value fair play for oppressed national or ethnic minorities. As last week proved, the only effective way to stop these anti-Polish policies is by raising consciousness of anti-Polonism in Lithuania: first among Poles in Lithuania, next among Poles in the Fatherland and Polonia, and then among all others throughout the world who espouse in a general way the defense of human rights by calling on them in a specific way to defend Polish Schools in Lithuania.
It is anything but an exaggeration to say that the Polish educational system in Lithuania is seriously threatened. This is the “to be, or not to be” moment for Polish Schools in Lithuania. If the Lithuanian Seimas approves the Education Act despite thousands of nay votes by Lithuanian citizens, it will certainly be the end of the Polish educational system in Lithuania.
Requests and arguments do not help. We constantly hear opinions that the actions taken by the Lithuanian authorities are for the good of the Polish children and will brighten the future of young Poles in Lithuania. To the contrary, we say that Poles in Lithuania, parents and families, should decide for themselves about their future and the future of their own children!
For almost a hundred years, grandparents and parents of young present-day Poles have been working hard to preserve the values and foundations of the Polish educational system in Lithuania. Our ancestors have managed to protect and defend Polish Schools in the hardest times, and it is not surprising that their descendants will not allow the great achievements and traditions of many generations of Lithuanian Poles to be destroyed. Present-day Poles are citizens of Lithuania, a European country, where, alongside other citizens, they pay taxes.
The concern about Polish Schools is not an element of a political game of a few or a few dozen activists but a problem of many thousands of Lithuanian citizens.
The fate of Polish Schools not only concerns Poles living in Lithuania. Many graduates of Polish schools in Lithuania leave the country, and they study, live and work in different parts of the world. It is not surprising that Lithuanian Poles are asking Poland and Poles in the Fatherland for help. Poland is one nation, with a common history and tradition. Although today Poles live on both sides of the Lithuanian-Polish border, their roots are still the same. Supporters of the Polish educational system in Lithuania, who understand the valid reasons for its continuing existence, live throughout the whole world.
It is true that Polish Schools in Lithuania are exceptional in Europe. They were, they still are, and so they should remain. Let us not destroy them. Let us sign the open letter to the Lithuanian and Polish government officials. This may be the last chance to save Polish Schools, and to save Polishness in Lithuania.
Below is a form to sign the petition.
Translation: Magdalena Edwards
Termin podpisania petycji minął...
