IBM fears racist attacks on employees on Poland's independence day
PR dla Zagranicy
Alicja Baczyńska
05.11.2015 11:02
The Wrocław branch of the multinational technology firm IBM, located in southwest Poland, has warned its staff against venturing into the city center on Independence Day 11 November.
photo - tomskydive/sxc.hu/cc
On the day that marks Poland's regaining of independence in 1918, several thousand people take part in what is known as the Patriot March. The event is organised by far right groups, including the National Rebirth of Poland (NOP).
The radical nationalist party's latest marches have continuously been targeting refugees, with participants chanting "F**k Arabs," writes the Wrocław supplement of daily Gazeta Wyborcza.
IBM Wrocław's international personnel, hailing from 63 countries across the globe, is thus advised to steer clear of rallies and marches, which could be racist in nature.
"Due to security reasons, we have informed our staff that some [of the commemorative events] could be racist in character," IBM Wrocław spokesperson Agnieszka Koizumi said.
"Last year, I worked from home on 11 November," one former staff member told the paper. "You never know what could happen. There are many people from Tunisia, Nigeria and Turkey working at IBM."
Recent years have seen a rise in the rate of xenophobic crimes in the city. The public prosecutor at Wrocław's Old Town conducted 41 cases involving racial violence in 2014, compared to 31 conducted in 2013. (aba/rk)
Source: Gazeta Wyborcza