Ioana Pavel – Pike & Hurricane

The #strajkkobiet phenomenon

Ioana Pavel — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 17:11:08 +0000

The #strajkkobiet phenomenon in Poland is made up of two sides. The first can be grossly defined as the hundreds of thousands of women protesting and demanding unencumbered access to legal abortion, and the Government vehemently trying – and ultimately succeeding – to restrict this particular right. How is the phenomenon unfolding?

On October 22, 2020, Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal imposed a near-total ban on abortions. The ruling allows for abortions in cases of sexual assault, incest or when the mother’s life in danger, but bans it in cases of fetal abnormalities, whereas around 96% of abortions in Poland have taken place in cases of fetal abnormalities. The ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) has been pursuing an agenda of restricting abortions since the beginning of its mandate, and has promoted it as a campaign promise. Since February, the decision has taken effect.

Both sides use human rights rhetoric to justify their positions. Government rhetoric argues that a human life must be protected from the moment of conception until death, citing the right to life as well as the freedom of conscience and religion, as protected by the Polish Constitution. Meanwhile, the protesters speak of women’s sexual and reproductive rights, arguing that the ban will not prevent abortions, but merely force women to seek them illegally. Beyond the approximate 1,000 abortions carried out legally, women’s rights groups estimated that 200,000 polish women still seek abortions either illegally. Those who can afford it will seek an abortion abroad. Those who carry out illegal abortions and those who aid women in seeking out illegal abortions risk a sentence of imprisonment for up to three years. About a dozen convictions of this kind take place annually.

A key player on the Government’s team is the Catholic Church, which supports the ban wholeheartedly. In 2015, 92% of the population identified as Catholic and 61% said that religion has a very high or a high importance in their life. Whereas the state and the church are by law supposed to be independent from each other, a Reuters analysis shows that priests have been known to display election posters on parish property and talk about the elections during mass.

Meanwhile, a key player on the protesters’ side is the European Union, which nonetheless has no competence to impose law on reproductive rights. It does, however, take a stand on the issue. In a 2020 submission by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, the Commissioner found that “since 2014 almost 4,000 Polish doctors have signed a “Declaration of Faith of Catholic doctors and medical students regarding human sexuality and fertility”, through which they expressed their commitment to following “divine law” in their professional work and to reject abortion, contraception and in vitro fertilisation.” Whereas a doctor who signs such a declaration must refer the patient to another practitioner, in practice, timely access to an abortion is severely and systematically hindered. According to the same submission, in some areas and in some hospitals, virtually all doctors have signed such a declaration and women are forced to seek an abortion illegally.

The same report found that sexual and reproductive health is further dampened by a 2017 decision that the emergency contraceptive pill would be made available only on prescription, as opposed to over-the-counter. However, prescriptions are delayed by doctors who refuse to sign them based on the same freedom of conscience and religion clause, the long wait or the cost for an appointment, and the fact that minors need a legal guardian to accompany them when making such an appointment.

In a press release on November 26, 2020, the European Parliament has spoken out against the ban, citing that women’s rights were being violated and their lives were put at risk. The EP had found that access to prenatal screening, which could find fetal abnormalities and result in a request for an abotion, was being restricted by doctors using the conscience clause. Meanwhile, Poland has announced that it plans to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, wherein member States of the Council of Europe vow to “protect women against all forms of violence, and prevent, prosecute and eliminate violence against women and domestic violence”, on that grounds that the Convention imposes “a leftist ideology”. It is up to the same Constitutional Tribunal to review the Istanbul Convention and make a final decision.

Meanwhile, the #strajkkobiet phenomenon is not about a protest against one particular ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal. The phenomenon is about a system of oppression that pushed women to break the law in order to have access to the same rights that other European Union countries choose to protect. Women who do not have the means to go abroad for an abortion will end up getting an illegal one. The lucky ones will be under some kind of medical supervision. Those without that option will go for an at-home improvisation that will, in some cases, be fatal. The #strajkkobiet phenomenon is about a system of oppression that left women with no choice but to protest.

Related articles:

The legality of abortion

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The quarantine phenomenon

Ioana Pavel — Sun, 19 Apr 2020 10:22:06 +0000

At a time when societal divisions seemed unequivocally pervasive, the world has stumbled into an equally unequivocal common tragedy. From those wealthy enough to seek refuge inside their yachts and private islands, to those sleeping on cardboard beds on the side of the road; from the northern icy lands to the musically-inclined south; uniting old foes, unwilling partners and lonesome souls, a virus is forcing all of humanity to stay inside wherever they might call home. A borderless, invisible force has overwritten and rendered everything that the world took for granted obsolete. Behind our windows, within our four walls, and within the walls of our minds, we are now all experiencing life from the standpoint of an imposed quarantine.

As adaptable as the human mind is to change, it is also change-averse. Having one’s way of life upended and constricted, rewritten by external, uncontrollable forces is gruesome. It is gruesome as experienced from a luxurious estate, it is gruesome from the confines of a shoebox-sized dwelling. It is gruesome for those who have lost their employment and lifelines. It is gruesome for those resting on a cushy savings account. As the world economy dwells in peril, humanity altogether looks ahead in common uncertainty. Whereas divisions such as class, race, gender and physical ability are now more forceful than before and clearly differentiate the manner and severity that each group will be impacted by the pandemic, this moment in history serves as an opportunity for the world to finally grasp a concept that has been touted for so long: that human beings are equal. While some groups are more likely to perish from the virus than others, for once, divisions are no longer segregated by borders. The world is, in a sense, united. United in grief, in vulnerability, in fear.

This unity is an opportunity to finally see the invisible, marginalized groups, which has long been too uncomfortable a thing to take into consideration. As distractions become increasingly unavailable, as the world watches the nightly news in despair at the growing number of cases and deaths reported, it is faced with a choice: to carry on blindly, and come out of this quarantine unchanged; or to open its eyes to the suffering of millions and take action. No human being on this planet is left without a task during this pandemic. While some are left without jobs, everybody is called to do their part. Some must put their lives at risk for the safety of others, some must walk the streets for the safety of others and some must stay at home for the safety of others.

Never before has the suffering of others been so widely reported and never before has the opportunity to help those in need been so widely available. As this borderless tragedy hits the world in its entirety, humanity has a chance to shift its tunnel vision to a more compassionate wide-angle view.

Photo Credits:

Quarantine, congerdesign

Solidarity, geralt

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The Colectiv Phenomenon

Ioana Pavel — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 19:08:46 +0000

You never know when your next beer is going to be your last.

Romania

On November 30, 2015, a fire erupted in a club called Colectiv in Bucharest. The cause of the fire was improperly installed pyrotechnic show during a concert by Romanian rock band Goodbye to Gravity. The fire spread within seconds as the soundproof foam used by the club wasn’t fire-resistant. Many people died because the club had only one exit and at the time it was accommodating around 400 people, much more than its official capacity. It is unclear, given these conditions, why safety inspectors had allowed the club to function at all, let alone without a fire safety permit. Over the subsequent months and years, 64 people died as a direct result of the injuries or complications associated with the injuries. The 65th person, a survivor, took his own life. The owners of the club were charged with negligent homicide, however the trial is still ongoing. In an ideal world, in an ideal country, several things would have changed in the aftermath of such a tragedy. This is the story of all the ways in which Romania is not an ideal country and one reason why it is.

People protesting in University Square on November 5th, 2015

I often say that Romanians are forced, every day of their lives, to learn how the law works. That is the only way to protect your rights. Young and old alike, educated or not, peasants and corporatists, mothers and fathers, people from all walks of life will, at one point or another, have to deal with Romanian authorities and more often than not, they are faced with injustice and misdemeanor. Since the fall of communism in 1989, everyday life has been a constant struggle. The old and disabled live on meagre pensions and allowances while watching politicians enjoy a lush life in huge properties, sometimes in exotic places abroad. Going to the overcrowded, overworked hospitals is a nightmare in the wider context of an overall shortage of critical supplies and antiquated equipment and procedures, when they are not missing altogether. Doctors and nurses alike often protest their unjustly low wages, as well as the inhuman hours they are forced to work, or just don’t simply leave the country for the incomparable conditions abroad.

Abroad

Immediately following the fire, Romanian authorities reassured the population, declaring that our hospital conditions are as good as they are abroad. It was a lie. They later recanted, rejecting blame for the infections originating in our own hospitals riddled with bacteria, which ended up killing some of the burn victims. They also failed to take blame for the improper care which was offered to the burn victims, one of which recalls having her wounds cleaned without anaesthesia, amid screams of pain, gently but insufficiently soothed by her nurse’s soft singing. Hospitals abroad have declared that such care was supposed to be offered during an induced coma, to prevent the patient from feeling the pain.

The bacteria, as well as the inhuman treatment, is still there to this day, impacting whomever is unlucky enough to acquire it or poor enough to be unable to afford private hospitals or care abroad. The appalling truth is that the government has failed to take action to change what is so repelling about Romanian hospitals, and the biggest injustice is that the Colectiv tragedy is only spoken of each time another year passes. We commemorate the dead and injured in marches which are getting smaller and smaller. We built a statue for them, may they rest in peace.

Collecting signatures for a campaign supported by several opposition parties and civic movements

When you live in a country where you’re not sure if you can go out for a beer without risking injury and death, there are several courses of action. One, taken by millions – flee west, where 3.4 million Romanians left in the past 10 years, according to Business Review. Two, isolate yourself. Pretend that politics does not touch you. Pretend that failing hospital conditions, crumblings roads and antiquated school curricula aren’t connected to a failing government. Assume that there is nothing you can do and send your kids to private schools and hospitals – if you can.

Three years down the line, there is one reason to rejoice. Small opposition parties have flourished and are fighting to bring back some sense of normality. Civic movements, such as Coruptia Ucide and the #rezist phenomenon, have grown, encouraging people to vote and become informed. Protests take place routinely. While the incumbent government is fighting to save its own skin from jail time, passing laws aimed at redefining corruption so as to flee accusations of it, people’s eyes are opening – slowly but surely. They’re in the streets despite water cannons and tear gas, despite police brutality and governmental intimidation. They’re joining grass-root political movements and parties because they realize they are no longer represented by those in power.

Much remains to be desired and much remains to be done. Far too many people choose options one or two and nobody can truly blame them. But the memory of the 65 people should never be swept under the rug, because their deaths could and should have largely been prevented. The past cannot be undone. But we can choose and we have a duty to shape the future into one where we know that going out for a beer will not end in tragedy.

by Ioana Pavel

Photos

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The #Resist Phenomenon

Ioana Pavel — Tue, 28 Feb 2017 10:26:41 +0000

An epic battle is taking place in Romania, of all places, between two 9-headed dragons trying to slay each other: us vs them. On their side, they have the corrupt government officials armed with absolute political power and paid internet trolls, a self-perpetuating system. On our side, we have the hipsters and the corporate lackeys, as they call us, armed with pins that read “resist”, signs that read “thieves”, flashlights and colorful pieces of paper.

On their side, they have the Parliament and the government, the former elected by the majority vote and the latter appointed by the former, eloquently exemplifying the tyranny of the majority. On our side, the judicial system, desperately trying to send the other side to jail. Them, passing laws that help themselves. Us, hundreds of thousands of people protesting in the streets for days on end.

This particular battle has been waged for 28 consecutive days at the time of publishing, although the war is years old, perhaps as old as time. Each evening protesters gather in front of the government building demanding the government’s resignation, denouncing the epidemic of corruption among public officials and expressing their support for the judicial system. While the judiciary is trying to send corrupt politicians to jail, they are trying to discredit, weaken or outright dismantle it.

Specifically, in the dead of night, on the 31st of January, the Government passed an emergency decree effectively watering down anti-corruption laws and keeping some of those in power safely in their seats and comfortably out of jail. It later emerged that several governmental advisory bodies had advised against this decree, citing insufficient evidence for the urgency of the move. In spite of this, it appears that they were strong-armed into destroying the original negative notice and providing a positive one with the same registration number. Yes, that is illegal.

While the protests were massive – the biggest since the fall of communism back in 1989 – the government had a rather slow reaction time, presumably because they were expecting the protests to die down. As instead of dying down, they merely expanded in number of participants and number of cities, the government decided to throw us a bone and rescind the decree, not without wallowing, complaining and maintaining that they were right all along. The official reason for the take-back was “maintaining peace”. That’s hardly a legitimate reason, as the protests were so peaceful that people comfortably brought their young children along. Even that was a source of discord: parents were denounced to the National Authority for the Protection of Children’s Rights for supposedly using their children to get political advantage, i.e. taking down the government.

The two dragons are relentless and creative. There is no doubt that ours is the smaller one with the broken wing and nostrils that don’t always blow out fire but rather hot, thin smoke. Nonetheless we are a large group of self-organizing people, using social media to find each other and volunteering our skills for the greater good: copywriters, graphic artists, lawyers, programmers, people from all walks of life and all demographics are coming together to fight the bigger, uglier, stronger dragon. Whether we win or not is irrelevant, because we woke up from our apathy, we reached out and we found each other.

Romanians are facing an uphill, long-term battle, but mine is a message of hope. In the face of adversity, injustice, disproportionate advantage, don’t panic. Organize!

Ioana Pavel, A Concerned Romanian

Pictures taken by Octav Drăgan

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