Seeing Faces, Listening to Stories: REFUGEES
📍 Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Henryk Wujec Hall | October 6, 2026
There are meetings that stay with us for a long time. This was precisely one of them – filled with warmth, cordiality, and tender gestures, but also with stories that move us deeply and leave no room for indifference toward human suffering.
As always, Marina Hulia led the meeting with vibrant energy and spontaneity, while mothers connected with the "Children from Brest Station" initiative reminded us that some of them have been waiting for ten years to have their legal status resolved. Ten years of uncertainty. It is difficult to comprehend just how much of a human life fits into such a span of time.
We heard important voices from Adriana Porowska, Dr. Marek Michalak, Danuta Przywara, Sylwia Gillis, Elżbieta "Bieta" Ficowska, and Cezary Harasimowicz. We discussed children's rights, empathy, media responsibility, integration, and the school as a safe space for young people with migration backgrounds.
A particularly special moment was the speech delivered by our Principal, Jolanta Kałuża, dedicated to the concept of school as a home and caring for the well-being of children with migration backgrounds. It was met with overwhelming applause! It is a source of great pride and a beautiful testament to how vital it is to create a school where everyone can find their place.
And our students? They had the opportunity to realize that education is not just about textbook knowledge. It is also about encountering another human being, listening to their story, and striving to understand the world from a different perspective. Because behind the word "refugee," there lies neither a statistic nor a newspaper headline, but a human being – with their past, their fears, and their hope for a better tomorrow.
Sometimes, all it takes is to see someone's face and hear their story to see the human being behind the label.
We return from this meeting with gratitude and the deep conviction that there are stories that must never stop being told. And there are people who must never stop being heard.
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