Teaching those who want to learn

June 25, 2003
The ship moves to a more publicly accessible space in the harbour to enable journalists and the public to visit the ship. Gunilla and Weronika get help from a local gynaecologist to obtain contraceptives as ours were sealed the day before by customs officials. The contraceptives can be used for educational means today during the Open Day and in our workshops. Some visitors and journalists come to see the mobile clinic in spite of ongoing protests of the anti-choice group. The antis shout threats at the ship “You look like Jews�?, “Torpedoes are coming your way from Hell�?, while others try to push one of the security cars off the pier and into the water. 30 big border patrol officers barely manage to keep the antis under control.

The harbour master visits the ship. We are ordered to pay a fine of 3.000 euros for sailing into the harbour without permission. This is twenty times the normal fine. He also notifies us that the ship can not leave the harbour before a deposit is made. Because we plan to sail tomorrow, we need the money straightaway. Port manager Kazimierz Undro says there is nothing to stop the ship making trips into international waters once the administrative procedures are out of the way. We are forced to submit a deposit, and our lawyers appeal the fine.

Because of the protest the harbour master asks us to move back to the restricted area, otherwise he will have to close down the whole pier. We comply with his request.

Press team, Sjadjana: "Even the press can’t stay unbiased. We receive quite a lot of e-mails and phone calls from the international press. Quite a few of them tell us after the interviews: “By the way, off the record, I totally support your goal and keep up the good work!�? This, even from the religious journalists."

Press team, Jeannette: "The media enjoys the spectacle: on the one side the feminists, something really radical in Poland, and on the other side the LPR, the League of Polish Families, an organization that claims to uphold family values but in fact is deeply anti-democratic. They continually yell at us, is “See you in Auschwitz�?, it seems to be their favourite slogan. There is a battle of sexes going on in the harbour of Wladyslawowo, young men from the LPR fighting women – almost all the volunteers involved in the project are female."

Deckhand, Heike: "I never thought that I would be so happy seeing so many people in uniform around me and I’ll even serve them hot coffee as it is a cold day!"

Gynaecologist Gunilla: "After all our medicines have been sealed, I buy an IUD without receipt at a local pharmacy. I want to be able to show women different kinds of contraceptives. But in order to be able to get the contraceptive pill I need a receipt. Together with the translator, Weronika, I visit a female colleague gynaecologist. She is very friendly, very interested in Women on Waves and offers us some coffee. She starts telling us that she often sees women who show her pills they have bought on the black market, often for more than 200euros. The female gynaecologist also works in a larger hospital, and she expresses her interest to come to one of the workshops on medical abortions that we will organise on board the ship. She thinks her colleagues in the hospital will also be interested. However on the day of the workshop no doctors show up. Probably they are too afraid to be publicly associated with Women on Waves. We have already heard this before from other doctors that we approached in Gdansk. This also shows the hypocrisy of the situation. All gynaecologists perform illegal abortions in Poland but they are dead scared to take a pro-choice position in public. Another reason is that the salary of gynaecologists in hospitals is very low. To increase their income they provide illegal abortions in their private practices. By performing two abortions they earn the same amount as their monthly salary in the hospital. So there is also a financial incentive not to support legalisation of abortion. But I am very disappointed that it is impossible to motivate any doctors to come to a workshop about medical abortion on the ship "

Hotline team, Yvette: “The women call every day to ask if there will be better weather tomorrow enabling the ship to sail. On Wednesday we hear that the weather tomorrow will be milder and that the ship will be able to sail out to international waters on Thursday. We call all the women that were waiting to tell them that they can finally come. One girl finds out that her passport is at her girlfriend's house in another part of Poland. It will be very difficult for her to come on time, and she suspects that her pregnancy has passed the 45-day limit anyway. A few others have too little time, find it too difficult to get away from their jobs or don’t have a passport. Two women K. and A. immediately take the train to the ship in Wladyslawowo. U, a 38 year old woman who already has 2 kids and cannot financially support one more, is coming from Gdansk. The rumour passing through the media is that everyone who was on the ship might be prosecuted. Protestors from League of Polish Families (LPR) and MW (Youth organisation from the LPR) vow to film all of the women that leave on the ship's trip to international waters. Many of the women calling and coming with us express concerns about their safety and anonymity.�?

Some hotline messages:
- A couple from Warsaw in their 6th month, too late, redirected to the website.
- A woman 6 weeks after last expected period, too late, redirected to the website;
- Anonymous woman leaves a message but gets scared when we phone her back. She is seeking information about abortion and anti-conception methods, Wants to find out more about natural contraception from “professionals�?.
- G., 21 years old can’t talk. Her parents don’t know anything. She doesn't want to have a child yet, but doesn't know where she can get the pill.
- A man asks for the name of RU 468 in Germany. Can he buy this in the drug store and how much will it cost? He also asks how many one must take to begin contractions.
- I., 34 years old, now on holiday with husband and two kids in the village next to us, 5 weeks pregnant, Used contraceptives but still got pregnant, I first talk to her husband and tell him I have to talk directly with his wife. She definitely doesn’t want to have another child, Unfortunately she has no passport with her, She will try to ask somebody from the family to send it to her, I call a couple of days later and hear that they have got her passport.
- Anonymous woman from Walcz, 38 years old, last period on 7th may, she is very poor and doesn’t have a passport.
- A., from Warsaw, 26 years old, last period on 30.05, wants help; we try to reach her a few times without success.

Trybuna, 25-06-2003: "Fishermen working on their boats reacted nervously to yesterday's buzz about the possibility that they will block the port in protest of the visit of the Dutch ship." "This ridiculousness is the idea of our local priest (Koscielny)," said one of the fishermen.

The Washington Times, 25-06-2003: “Abortion pills sealed aboard Dutch ship�?. Polish customs officials sealed a cargo of abortion pills aboard a Dutch ship to keep activists from illegally distributing them in this predominantly Roman Catholic country, a spokeswoman said yesterday. Inspectors found 45 pills of the abortion inducing Mifegyne and 180 pills of Cytotec, which enhances the other drug's action, on board the Langenort."

Trybuna, 25-06-2003: "Fishermen working on their boats reacted nervously to yesterday's buzz about the possibility that they will block the port in protest of the visit of the Dutch ship." "This ridiculousness is the idea of our local priest (Koscielny)," said one of the fishermen.

Press team, Sjadjana: "Even the press can’t stay unbiased. We receive quite a lot of e-mails and phone calls from the international press. Quite a few of them tell us after the interviews: “By the way, off the record, I totally support your goal and keep up the good work!�? This, even from the religious journalists."

Hotline team, Yvette: “The women call every day to ask if there will be better weather tomorrow enabling the ship to sail. On Wednesday we hear that the weather tomorrow will be milder and that the ship will be able to sail out to international waters on Thursday. We call all the women that were waiting to tell them that they can finally come. One girl finds out that her passport is at her girlfriend's house in another part of Poland. It will be very difficult for her to come on time, and she suspects that her pregnancy has passed the 45-day limit anyway. A few others have too little time, find it too difficult to get away from their jobs or don’t have a passport. Two women K. and A. immediately take the train to the ship in Wladyslawowo. U, a 38 year old woman who already has 2 kids and cannot financially support one more, is coming from Gdansk. The rumour passing through the media is that everyone who was on the ship might be prosecuted. Protestors from League of Polish Families (LPR) and MW (Youth organisation from the LPR) vow to film all of the women that leave on the ship's trip to international waters. Many of the women calling and coming with us express concerns about their safety and anonymity.�?