Polish ‘hate-hop’ heading to the UK

⚡ UPDATE: Following our revelations, the venue booked in Hackney Wick has contacted us and confirmed it has now cancelled this hate-peddling gig.

Polish author Rafał Ziemkiewicz has also just announced the cancellation of his speaking tour, calling the UK an “increasingly racist and fascist country”.

The gig is being organised by a Polish far-right group, ‘Polska Niepodległa’ (Independent Poland), which has been trying for over a year to organise more recruitment rallies and events in the UK.

Polish rapper Adam Piechocki (known as PiH) will be the main act on 3 March, with three supporting performers. The venue was meant to be in Hackney Wick, but has been cancelled after organisers read this article. They have made clear they knew nothing of the true nature of the event.

In his Facebook posts Piechocki has said:

“If we let refugees in we will have the same as Belgium and France” and that “[a] woman converting to Islam is like a chicken converting to KFC.”

The place is new, there’s no website, Facebook page or any contact details easily available online. A perfect hiding spot for Polska Niepodległa’s race hate event.

Meanwhile, two others performing on the night, Evtis and Bzyk, have previously recorded a track called ‘Stop Islamization of Poland’.

In their lyrics, Muslims and refugees are referred to as “Goat *******” and there is violently homophobic messaging, with calls for action against gay people.

‘Experts on Islam’

Also arriving this Friday is Rafał Ziemkiewicz, a controversial Polish ‘expert on Islam’, who has been invited for a series of so-called ‘cultural events’ by Independent Poland in London, Cambridge and Bristol.

Behind these events lies Piotr Szlachtowicz, a member of Independent Poland and an admirer of Britain First. He runs an internet radio show called ‘Nowy Polski’.

In February 2017, Szlachtowicz invited hate preacher, anti-Semite and ex-Catholic priest Jacek Międlar to speak at a Independent Poland event in Slough.

Międlar was also invited by Britain First’s Deputy Leader Jayda Fransen to appear and speak at a Britain First gathering in Telford. He was stopped, detained and deported by the Home Office.

In June the same year, he tried to sneak into the UK again via Birmingham airport to speak at another Britain First rally – again with no luck.

On this occasion he was accompanied by Piotr Rybak, another notorious Polish anti-Semite.

Rybak was convicted and jailed in Poland for publicly burning a Jewish effigy during an anti-refugee protest in the city of Wroclaw in 2015. He was to serve 10 months, but was eventually released after three.

‘Polska Niepodległa’ quickly organised another event.

A ‘London Book Fair’ took place in Slough last October. Although only 11 right-wing Polish publicists attended, it included controversial ‘Expert on Islam’ Rafał Ziemkiewicz, who is speaking again this week, as well as Witold Gadowski and Marcin Rola of wRealu24 TV.

All three men spoke and espoused views on the “dangers of Islam”.

According to Szlachtowicz’s website, the dangers of Islam event will be repeated in Manchester this June.

In the meantime, he has organised Rafał Ziemkiewicz’s return to the UK this Friday is for events in London, Cambridge and Bristol.

The London event has already moved twice after Polish antifascists based in London contacted the venue’s owners. It will now take place in Slough.

Hate-Hop

​​​​​​In January 2017, Szlachtowicz booked the Quadrant in Brighton for a concert by Polish rappers PiH, Evtis and Bzyk. The venue’s owner cottoned on to the true nature of the event, and cancelled over “concerning far-right content”.

Known for his online tantrums, Szlachtowicz tweeted that the owners were “lefty terrorists who hate Catholics and Polish people”.

Evtis and Bzyk, recorded the track ‘Stop Islamization of Poland’. It’s more than just a hateful ditty:

Where are women and children? They are all men
They rape, kill, they’re brutal terrorists
Islam has attacked, Europe became the target
Open your eyes, it will blow us up
We will not allow Sharia law in Poland
Cross the border, we will do you a jihad here

Szlachtowicz claims the concerts he organises are not political and have nothing to do with his extreme views and far-right activity – the truth is slightly different.

There is already a healthy and mainstream roster of Polish bands and rappers performing in the UK, so it is no surprise ‘Polska Niepodległa’ followed its usual pattern of choosing extremist artists for its Polish ‘cultural’ event.

Clarification: An earlier version of this piece incorrectly linked creative workspace and artist studio provider Arbeit.org.uk to the PiH gig. Arbeit.org.uk would like to make it clear that it has absolutely no connection to this event. We are happy to clarify this point and would like to apologise for any upset or confusion caused.