Kuba Gajsig, a Polish man, was beaten by unknown attackers in the Czech city of Ostrava who mistook him for a Ukrainian because of the yellow and blue colors on his panama hat, according to a report on the Facebook page of Cardo Familia.
The attackers, believed to have been Polish themselves, shouted that Gajsig was Ukrainian and called him a "Banderite," a term used in the region to insult people as followers of the Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera. The report said the likely trigger was Gajsig's yellow-blue panama hat, which bore the words "Upper Silesia."
Upper Silesia, a historical region spanning parts of southern Poland and the Czech Republic, has its own yellow-and-blue flag. The report explained that the flag closely resembles Ukraine's national colors but arranges the stripes differently, something the attackers apparently failed to notice.
A fundraising ride for his partner
Gajsig had been cycling as part of a campaign called "Journey for Marcelina," organized to raise money for the treatment of his seriously ill partner and to raise awareness of cancer among women. The route was designed to follow the historical borders of Upper Silesia over a total distance of about 800 kilometers.
On September 12, the day before the attack was reported, Gajsig said he was halting the journey and returning home. He was kicked by his attackers and taken to hospital as a result, the report said. The assault has been reported to Czech police, who will investigate the circumstances.
Donations surge after attack
Although the bike ride was suspended after the beating, donations to the fundraiser picked up sharply once news of the attack spread. The full planned total of 300,000 zlotys was collected within a single night, according to the report.
Other reported attacks on Ukrainians in Poland
The Ukrainian news agency UNIAN has reported several other recent attacks linked to anti-Ukrainian hostility in Poland. In Bydgoszcz, a 14-year-old girl and her 12-year-old brother were reportedly targeted by two adults after speaking Ukrainian to each other in a park near the railway station; the attackers first hurled insults and threats before turning to physical violence, though the children were not seriously hurt physically. In Wroclaw, video circulated online showing three Polish men surrounding a Ukrainian man and woman on the street, punching and kicking the man, including blows to the head and face, while the woman was also struck as she tried to intervene.
