ONE OF US " " " "
Poland: in 107 cities thousands of citizens in the streets on the wake of the campaign
On May 26 hundreds of thousands of Polish citizens took the streets to demonstrated for the family and for the defense of life. Demonstrations took place in 197 cities across Poland, on the wake of the European campaign “One of Us”. The exponential growth of the number of participants in thee popular initiatives registered over the past years testifies to the awakening of civil society that claims the respect of the rights of the family. The Polish paradox lies in the fact that in a society that underlines the value of the family, recognized as the main source of happiness, are not promoted by appropriate policies so that these values may be granted recognition. The decision on the birth of the child, owing to the lack of appropriate family policies, is hindered by the fear of economic downgrading that leads to poverty. Poland is the country with the lowest amount of government spending on the family in Europe. For this reason the Country now is on the verge of a demographic catastrophe. Poland ranks fourth among 222 Countries surveyed, with a fertility rate of 1.3. In 2050, according to UN estimates, European population will be less than 30 million, but Polish society will be among the oldest in the continent. If this trend shouldn’t take a completely opposite direction, a social crisis and an economic disaster will ensue. It should be remembered that family policies aren’t only an expense but also the best investment for the future of a society, also in its economic dimension. Simultaneously with the demonstrations for life and the family the president of the Republic promoted a program of family policies that envisages inter alia the adoption of a Charter for large families nationwide, tax base decrease according to the number of children and other measures in support of large families. President Bronislaw Komorowski pointed out that it’s Poland’s last occasion to avert a catastrophe with the adoption of family policies. The fact that government leaders are starting to come to grips with the problem is reason for hope.Over half-million signatures in Europe The primary objective of the ‘One of Us” campaign was to obtain half million endorsements by the end of May. To date 504,993 have endorsed the initiative. Far more signatures than those needed were collected also in Spain, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Slovakia. According to regulations, the initiative must be endorsed by at least one million people with a minimum amount in at least seven nations. “This was the primary objective – said Carlo Casini, president of the Italian Committee endorsing the initiative -. But it’s not enough. 500 thousand signatures must serve as a springboard for a greater thrust in the short run and in the coming months”. “The analysis of the figures – adds the president of the Italian Committee – provides an encouraging result. The mobilization started all across EU 27. Also France, until today committed in the protests against gay marriage is now proceeding at a fast pace to collect online endorsements”. Another reason of satisfaction is “to ascertain that a sort of ‘ecumenism for life’ is taking place, proved by the fact that Poland, a Protestant country, is the seventh Nation that is nearing the minimum amount of signatures requested by European regulations. Only 61 signatures are missing”, Casini concluded.
