The Emigration Museum in Gdynia joins the Library Without Borders initiative (Biblioteki bez granic) which aims to create new and support existing libraries in guarded centers for foreigners. Together we are collecting books for refugees and migrants in detention centres in Poland.
People who seek asylum are forced to wait for months for life-changing bureaucratic decisions. The situation of refugees in most centres is dramatic. Hundreds of people face bleak existence in extremely overcrowded conditions, with little to no contact with the outside world. Computers and smartphones are banned, while internet access is strictly controlled. Boredom and hopelessness have a very negative effect on their mental health.Let’s help them get through this time. Please contribute to Libraries Without Borders (Biblioteki bez granic)!
We are looking for:
- books for both adults and children in Kurdish (Sorani and Kurmanji), Arabic, Turkish, Dari, Pashto, Farsi – we are happy to accept all kinds of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, comic books, photo albums, picture books for children, etc.), dictionaries and phrasebooks (e.g. Arabic – English, Arabic – German etc.), as well as textbooks for learning languages;
- all kinds of simple board games, e.g. chess, backgammon, checkers, cards, puzzles, Rubik’s cubes;
- e-book readers;
- Mp3 music players for audiobooks and music (but ONLY models without sound recording, e.g. old iPods);
- art supplies like drawing books, sketchbooks, crayons, paints, brushes, markers, (please NO glue or scissors).
All people who would like to support the collection, please contact Marta Otrębska by e-mail: m.otrebska@muzeumemigracji.pl
Donated books will go to centres in Biała Podlaska, Białystok, Czerwony Bór, Krosno Odrzańskie, Kętrzyn, Lesznowola, Przemyśl and Wędrzyn. We kindly ask you not to donate materials with racist, misogynistic, homophobic or transphobic content to the fundraiser.
More information about the collection and the Library without Borders initiative (Biblioteki bez granic) can be found on Facebook.