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Minority blamed for crime and social grievances at rallies where local youths are recruited into vigilante patrols
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Less than 20 miles from Auschwitz, where once they shouted “Jews out”, football fans chant “Gypsies out”.
The small Roma community of Andrychow is living in fear since Polish far-right groups began a campaign of harassment against them.
The campaign began with a rally last month where the chant “Cyganies raus” (Gypsies or Roma out) was heard and has continued with social media and intimidation.
Roman Kwiatkowski, head of the Association of Roma in Poland, said Andrychow is the first case he has seen of an organised anti-Roma campaign in the country. “It is very dangerous,” he said. “It does not allow us to look to the future with confidence.”
Roma residents say they are living in fear.
Human rights campaigners believe the situation is being exacerbated by activists from outside the town who are being advised by the Jobbik party in Hungary on how to emulate their success.
Tamas Fodor, a Jobbik activist who was in Warsaw this month for meetings with like-minded Poles, denied his movement was giving recommendations to anyone in Poland.
“But if they see something that worked in Hungary, they can use it,” he said.
The football fans were shouting at a rally organised by Robert Winnicki, a far-right leader from Warsaw who said all the 100 or so ethnic Roma living in a town of 20,000 people should be driven out.
Jobbik’s tactic has been to hold rallies blaming Roma for crime and social grievances. They then recruit local youths into vigilante patrols, with the stated aim of protecting citizens from the Roma.
In Andrychow last month, a pregnant Roma woman was attacked as she walked in the street. Soon after, two young ethnic Poles were beaten up in what many residents assumed was a Roma revenge attack.
Anger erupted. Supporters of the local football club, Beskid Andrychow, set up a page on Facebook. It published accounts of what it said were violent attacks by Roma, and photographs of ethnic Poles it said had been beaten up. The page has now been “liked” by 14,182 people. One post read: “We’re not going to sit quietly and pretend that everything is OK. We are shouting long and loud: enough of Gypsy impunity!”
The Roma community said the patrols by football fans were still going on at weekends. They now only go out at night to get essentials from the shops, and then, never alone. One man, Rafal Strauss, said the community had started keeping their children home from school. Two Roma woman said they had heard that ethnic Poles in at least local two apartment blocks had submitted petitions to the city authorities asking that Roma neighbours be moved out – an assertion that could not be verified.
Another Roma man, Mieczyslaw Pankowski, said he was now too scared to take his seven-year-old disabled daughter for treatment in a nearby town and the family lived in fear of attacks at night: “We take it in turns to keep watch,” he said. “We’re frightened to go to sleep in case someone throws a bottle through the window.”
Party officials from Jobbik and Ruch Narodowy – an umbrella organisation for far-right groups – said that the events in Andrychow were a spontaneous, grassroots upsurge of anger. The politicians were only there to help, they said.
But they acknowledge that the example of how Jobbik grew on the back of anti-Roma sentiment may have been an influence. “I think that the organisers may have viewed certain successes in Hungary as an inspiration,” said Winnicki.
Events in Andrychow indicate that Jobbik – snubbed even by many west European far-right parties as anti-Semitic and racist – is spreading its ideology beyond Hungary’s borders, in this case to Poland – by far the biggest and most influential ex-Soviet bloc state in the European Union.
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Potrójna (892 m above sea level) is a not very high
but an extremely scenic peak in the Beskid Mały range
You can reach it from places like Rzyki and Targanice near Andrychów
you will find vast meadows: perfect for picnics in the summer and sledding in the winter
a small secluded shelter "Chatka na Potrójnej"
a beautiful panorama in all four directions
Thanks to the vast meadows and open spaces
Potrójna offers beautiful views of the surrounding Beskid ranges
It's important to remember: Potrójna has three peaks: the southern one on the red trail (883 m above sea level)
the highest middle one (892 m above sea level) and the northern one on the black trail from Rzyki (887 m above sea level)
Each of these places offers a slightly different view
it's worth walking around the meadows and enjoying different panoramas
you will find boards with descriptions of the panorama:
and even spend the night (it's better to arrange this in advance)
the host of the Chatka is 889 697 250 (it's best to send a text message)
don't confuse it with the Chatka under Potrójna
which is a private accommodation object on the yellow trail between the Zakocierska Pass and the Pass on Przykra
Just half an hour's walk from the top of Potrójna
you will find the most interesting rock formation in the Beskid Mały
It's the so-called "Robber's Window" - a rock tower with a characteristic hole
Zbojeckie Okno is one of the largest and most interesting rocks in the Beskid Maly mountains
easy accessibility (right next to the trail)
its unique "rock window" make it one of the most famous natural landmarks in the region
When you look for the peak of Potrójna on the map of the Beskid Mały pay attention to the fact that there are two Potrójnas here
and both peaks with the same name are quite close to each other
We are describing the three-peaked Potrójna (883
892 and 887 m above sea level) between the Zakocierska Pass and Czarny Groń
On the other side of the Pracica valley is a slightly lower peak with the same name: Potrójna (also known as Potrójna Góra) 847 m above sea level
You will find it on the red trail between the Beskidek Pass and the peak Na Beskidzie)
Once we know exactly what awaits us at the top of Potrójna and in its immediate vicinity
we have several options: easier and harder
Definitely not to the very top and not all year round
in winter there is indeed a chairlift from Rzyki Praciaki in the Czarny Groń ski resort
From the upper station near the Przykra Pass to the top of Potrójna
we only have 2.5 km to walk along a comfortable ridge route (the difference in altitude to overcome is only about 100 m)
The shortest route to Potrójna starts from the PKS Kocierz Basie stop (there is also a small forest car park) - it's only 3.5 km
you can reach Potrójna in about 1:20 hours
with about 300 m of altitude difference to overcome
The route is marked with yellow suns (this is the so-called shelter trail)
it follows an asphalt road (Studencka Street)
the marking of the path leaves a lot to be desired..
You have to be careful not to lose your way
as there is only about 220 m difference in altitude to overcome
is the red trail from the Kocierska Pass (car park)
After reaching the southern peak of Potrójna
we follow the yellow signs to the scenic peak
It takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes one way
because it's neither the shortest nor the easiest
is the yellow trail to Potrójna from Targanice through Jawornica
After a fairly steep climb through the forest
a place full of interesting (although unfortunately tragic) stories
The combination of the yellow trail from Rzyki Praciaki through Łamana Skała (7 km
420 m altitude differences) creates a 12-kilometre loop to walk in about 4.5-5 hours
there will be an opportunity to pass through the picturesque Madohora reserve under Łamana Skała (an interesting and rocky wild spruce forest)
We especially recommend this route outside the ski season: then the large car parks in Rzyki will be empty and free of charge
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