The farmers’ protest announced for March 20 is expected to paralyze the entire country. How is the organization carried out? We talk about it with Urszula Suchocka, a farmer from the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship.
Talks with the Minister of Agriculture, Czesław Siekierski, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk did not bring anything to the agricultural reality. This means that farmers will not leave the roads. The next nationwide protest is planned for March 20.
Farmer: Mrs. Urszula, what form will the protests planned for March 20 take?
Urszula Suchocka: In my region, in the Ostróda poviat, we will have blockades in basically every commune. The entire protest is coordinated at small protest points. Roads, expressways and, in some places, offices will also be blocked.
The entire society must be educated
Blockades are one thing, you, as a group from the Elbląg area, have set another goal for yourself.
Yes, we want to educate society and reach a wide audience with our message. There is no need to explain our problems to farmers, because they know them perfectly. We need to spread the message. During the next protest, we will try to talk to people who will be stuck in traffic jams, we will hand out leaflets explaining what we are fighting for.
We want to stimulate people’s awareness. Remind them that they have the ability to decide. The elections to the European Parliament are upon us. We need to keep an eye on and check what MEPs, specifically, were doing during this last term. What did they vote for or against? You also need to look at new candidates to make an informed choice.
Support for protests, even in the form of blocking roads, is very high. Do you experience this on your own skin?
We definitely feel it. We are not met with outrage, but rather with gestures of support. People want to offer us tea, they bring us rolls, they openly say that they support us. There are a lot of such gestures and it gives hope that society is starting to become more and more aware and understands that at this point we are not just fighting for ourselves.
The protest on March 20 is the next step. What’s next?
We will prepare for the European Parliament elections. There will certainly be demonstrations in front of MEPs’ offices, and we are planning educational picnics. One thing is certain – we will not let ourselves be forgotten.
If they deceive us, we will strike with redoubled force
What needs to happen to prevent another protest? If at least some of your demands are met, are you able to go back?
For now, it is very difficult to provide specifics. We go to these risky meetings with ministers and the Prime Minister, but nothing has come out of them yet. So far, all actions taken are apparent. Even with restrictions introduced in the Green Deal, the matter does not end there. We could wait if we knew that the words we hear would be followed by actions. However, this is not happening for now, so we cannot stop. Moreover, if we are deceived, we will strike with redoubled force.
Thank you for the conversation.
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