SIMI joins Central European refugee appeal

We are facing a humanitarian crisis on an enormous scale. Hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Middle East and Africa are attempting to reach Europe in search of safety, hope, and the chance to lead a normal life. Not so long ago, we were the ones knocking on Europe’s door.

We must not deny them our help. Regrettably, there are many in our region who disagree. After 1989, there were doubts in the European Community regarding the capacity of Central European countries, from the Baltic States through Romania and Bulgaria, to integrate with the West, owing to our history, political traditions, and the state of our economies. Yet, our part of Europe has not been the principal cause of the threats to the Union in this difficult decade.

But this rift within a united Europe resurfaces today. This time it has a moral dimension. It is true, we are not accountable for the instability and collapse of refugees’ home countries. We are not the ones who have turned them into states plagued by incessant fear, where people are at risk of violent death, and where human life is “solitary, poor, brutish, and short.” Unlike the former colonial and imperial powers that took in large numbers of immigrants after the Second World War, have little experience of co-existing with people of different cultures, from far-off lands.

Nonetheless, as human beings, we have a duty to show compassion and to provide them with assistance. This is also our duty as Europeans. The European community was founded on the principle of solidarity. Today we must not refuse to take joint responsibility for the Union, nor turn a blind eye to human suffering and the situation of countries most affected by the rising tide of migration.

In refusing to help, we deny the idea of European solidarity. Furthermore, we undermine the solidarity that other nations have shown towards our countries. That would erode the foundations on which, for the past 25 years, we have been building our security, our prospects for development and our hope of escaping the historical tribulations of war, foreign rule, and poverty.

In the name of our humanity, our principles and values, we call upon the authorities and people of our region to demonstrate practical solidarity towards refugees so that they may find safe haven in our midst and enjoy freedom to choose their own future.

1. Bronisław Komorowski, president of Poland from 2010 to 2015

2. Aleksander Kwaśniewski, president of Poland from 1995 to 2005

3. Jerzy Baczyński, editor-in-chief of the „Polityka” weekly, Poland

4. Gordon Bajnai, former prime minister, Hungary

5. Mirosław Bałka, sculptor, Poland

6. Zuzana Bargerova, lawyer, Human Rights League, Slovakia

7. Zygmunt Bauman, sociologist, University of Leeds, Poland-Great Britain

8. Igor Blaževič, founder of One World Festival

9. Uldis Bērziņš, poet and interpreter, Latvia

10. Henryka Bochniarz, president of Konfederacja Lewiatan, Poland

11. Michał Boni, member of European Parliament, former minister of administration and digitalization, Poland

12. Marek Borowski, senator, former finance minister, vice prime minister and Marshal of the Sejm

13. Bogdan Borusewicz, marshall of the Senate, Poland

14. Martin Bútora, sociologist, adviser to the president, Slovakia

15. Bogusław Chrabota, editor-in-chief of the „Rzeczpospolita” daily, Poland

16. Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, former prime minister, Poland

17. Liudas Dapkus, deputy editor-in-chief of the “Lietuvos rytas” daily, Lithuania

18. Aleš Debeljak, poet and essayist, Slovenia

19. Pavol Demeš, former minister of foreign affairs, Slovakia

20. Tibor Dessewffy, president of DEMOS Hungary, Hungary

21. Ivaylo Ditchev, professor of social science, writer, Bulgaria

22. Magda Faltová, director, Association for Integration and Migration, Czech

Republic

23. Zsuzsa Ferge, professor of social science, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary

24. Władysław Frasyniuk, former dissident and member of parliament, Poland

25. Rajko Grlić, director, Croatia

26. István Gyarmati, diplomat, Hungary

27. Tomáš Halík, theologian and writer, Czech Republic

28. Agnes Heller, philosopher, Hungary

29. Agnieszka Holland, director, Poland

30. Štefan Hríb, editor-in-chief, “.týždeň.” weekly, Slovakia

31. Michal Hvorecký, writer, Slovakia

32. Ivars Ījabs, political scientist, Latvia

33. Josef Jařab, former senator, rector emeritus of Palacký University in Olomous, Czech Republic

34. Leszek Jażdżewski, editor-in-chief of the „Liberté!” quarterly, Poland

35. Jerzy Jedlicki, historian of ideas, former dissident, Poland

36. Jana Juráňová, writer, Slovakia

37. Aleksander Kaczorowski, journalist and essayist, Poland

38. Éva Karádi, editor-in chief of the „Magyar Lettre Internationale” quarterly, Hungary

39. Dávid Korányi, former undersecretary of state, deputy director of the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, Hungary-United States

40. János Kornai, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University and Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary

41. András Kováts, director, Menedék – Hungarian Association for Migrants, Hungary

42. Dominika Kozłowska, editor-in-chief of the „Znak” monthly, Poland

43. Ivan Krastev, chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies, Bulgaria

44. Marcin Król, historian of ideas, University of Warsaw, Poland

45. Andrius Kubilius, former prime minister, Lithuania

46. Jarosław Kuisz, editor-in-chief of the “Kultura Liberalna” internet weekly, Poland

47. Ewa Kulik-Bielińska, director of the Stefan Batory Foundation, chairman of the European Foundation Centre

48. Tomasz Lis, editor-in-chief of the „Newsweek Polska” weekly, Poland

49. Ondřej Liška, former minister of education, chairman of the Green Party, Czech Republic

50. Ewa Łętowska, former ombudsman, Poland

51. Vita Matiss, political analyst, essayist, Latvia

52. Jiří Menzel, director, Czech Republic

53. Adam Michnik, editor-in-chief of the „Gazeta Wyborcza” daily, Poland

54. Piotr Mucharski, editor-in-chief of the “Tygodnik Powszechny” weekly, Poland

55. Alvydas Nikžentaitis, president of Lithuanian National Historians Committee, Lithuania

56. Jan Němec, writer, chairman of Czech Writers Association, Czech Republic

57. Zbigniew Nosowski, editor-in-chief of the „Więź” monthly , Poland

58. Janina Ochojska, president of Polish Humanitarian Action, Poland

59. Andrzej Olechowski, former finance minister and minister of foreign affairs, Poland

60. Jurica Pavičić, writer, Croatia

61. Márta Pardavi, co-chair, Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Hungary

62. Solomon Passy, former minister of foreign affairs, Bulgaria

63. Jiří Pehe, political scientist and writer, Czech Republic

64. Dimitrina Petrova, Executive Director Equal Rights Trust, Bulgaria

65. Petr Pithart, former prime minister, Czech Republic

66. Adam Pomorski, president of the Polish PEN Club, Poland

67. Wojciech Przybylski, editor-in-chief “Respublica Nowa” and “Eurozine”, Austria-Poland

68. Zoran Pusić, president of Civic Committee for Human Rights, Croatia

69. László Rajk jr., architect, designer and political activist, Hungary

70. Rein Raud, author and cultural theorist, Estonia

71. Pauls Raudseps, journalist, „Diena” daily, Latvia

72. Adam Daniel Rotfeld, former minister of foreign affairs, Poland

73. Martin Rozumek, director, Organization for Aid to Refugees, Czech Republic

74. Andrzej Seweryn, theatre actor and director, Poland

75. Sławomir Sierakowski, director of the Institute for Advanced Studies, Poland

76. Martin Milan Šimečka, writer, journalist, Slovakia-Czech Republic

77. Marta Šimečková, journalist, interpreter, Slovakia

78. Karel Schwarzenberg, former minister of foreign affairs, Czech Republic

79. Aleksander Smolar, chairman of the Stefan Batory Foundation, Poland

80. Ladislav Snopko, playwright, former minister of culture, Slovakia

81. Andrzej Stasiuk, writer, Poland

82. Petruška Šustrová, former dissident, Czech Republic

83. Jerzy Szacki, sociologist, University of Warsaw, Poland

84. Małgorzata Szczęśniak, set designer, Poland

85. Monika Sznajderman, editor, Wydawnictwo Czarne, Poland

86. Soňa Szomolányi, political scientist and sociologist, Slovakia

87. Erik Tabery, editor-in-chief of the „Respekt” weekly, Czech Republic

88. Béla Tarr, director, Hungary

89. Stefan Tafrov, diplomat, human rights activist, Bulgaria

90. Vesna Teršelič, direktore documenta – centrs, kas nodarbojas ar pagātni, Slovēnijā

91. Róża von Thun und Hohenstein, member of European Parliament, Poland

92. Dubravka Ugrešić, poet and essayist, Croatia

93. Rimvydas Valatka, journalist, former member of parliament, Lithuania

94. Magdaléna Vášáryová, member of parliament, Slovakia

95. Tomas Venclova, poet, Lithuania

96. Krzysztof Warlikowski, theatre director, Poland

97. Jakub Wygnański, chairman of the board, Unit for Social Innovation and Research – Shipyard, Poland

98. Adam Zagajewski, poet and essayist, University of Chicago, Poland-United States

99. Péter Zilahy, writer, Hungary

100. Andrzej Zoll, former president of the Constitutional Tribunal, Poland