“Remember that you are not alone down there. We are with you in our prayers, in whispered conversations at night, in the looks of children asking when you will return. Your struggle makes sense. Your voice matters. And your strength gives us strength,” reads the letter received by miners protesting for another day at the Silesia Mine.
Representatives of the Podbeskidzie Regional Board of NSZZ Solidarność shared on social media the letter written by the families of the protesting miners to their loved ones, who have been underground for the sixth consecutive day.
“We are writing to you from the places where our everyday lives beat—our homes, kitchens, courtyards, from beneath gates and windows. Although meters of earth and the silence of the underground separate us, we are with you in every thought and every heartbeat,” the letter delivered to the miners reads.
“We know you did not go underground out of recklessness. You went there out of dignity, responsibility, and concern for the future—not only your own, but that of our families, our children, and entire generations. Your protest is not a rebellion; it is a cry for respect for work that has always been hard, dangerous, and undervalued,” the authors emphasize.
The letter was written mainly by women—mothers, wives, partners, and sisters.
“Each of us carries the same fear—for your health, your strength, your breath. Each of us counts the hours and listens for news. But alongside fear there is also pride—great, quiet pride in your courage, perseverance, and solidarity. In the fact that you stand together and leave no one behind,” the women wrote to those leading the protest.
The letter concludes by stressing that the miners are not alone. Their loved ones are with them in prayers, whispered conversations, and in the glances of children asking when they will come home. There is also an appeal to take care of one another.
“Breathe, rest, stay together. We are waiting for you. Always. Come back to us whole. With your heads held high. With the sense that you did everything that needed to be done,” the senders conclude.
Saturday marks the sixth day of the miners’ protest at the Silesia Mine in Czechowice-Dziedzice. The protesters are demanding that Energy Minister Miłosz Motyka come to the mine. He has invited them to talks—but in Warsaw. The miners are also calling, among other things, for the same protective measures granted to workers at other mines and for the payment of their overdue Barbórka bonus.