Get off the take

In reaction to numerous scandals and affairs revealed by Sejm special committees and the inefficient actions of authorities responsible for fighting corruption, members of Normalne Państwo (Normal State), a civic movement, have launched a series of demonstrations where they invite citizens to make a stand against the widespread approval of corruption in Poland.

"We have realized that today's Poland doesn't resemble the Poland from our dreams in 1989. It's up to us to determine what the country will be like in the future, and what our life will like be here," says Bartłomiej Michałowski from Normalne Państwo.

Participants in the demonstrations, organized across Poland, are staging protests and burning envelopes symbolizing bribery.

The campaign has garnered wide support. "The positive signals we keep receiving both from institutions and private individuals, declaring their willingness to join the campaign, convince us that our actions aren't senseless. They not only prove the growing interest in the problem of corruption in Poland, but also the existence of the willingness to fight the pathology," says Marcin Ślusarek from Normalne Państwo.

Normalne Państwo was established by lawyers, engineers, entrepreneurs, architects, bankers, doctors and many other professionals, and is not associated with any political party. The group avoids contact with politicians, and doesn't look for their support. Its members believe that the state belongs to its citizens and it is they who can change it most effectively.