Who am I? 

My name is Rado Papiewski. For the last seven years I have been running the ‘Building Bridges’ project, aimed to integrate fishing communities from continental Europe with local anglers in England. 

The Case

Recently I came across a very disturbing and discriminatory sign that said "No Polish or Eastern Bloc Fisherman Allowed". The sign was displayed at a private fishery, which made many fellow law-abiding migrant anglers and me very upset and angry. 

I proposed some other solutions to the fishery owner only to be told that sign is there to stay and he won’t let me fish his venue as he does not allow any migrants to fish it.

After a police investigation and a letter from the Equality and Human Rights Commission still nothing has changed. After careful consideration and advice, I decided to stand my ground and fight this case by bringing a private prosecution. The grounds of action are in relation to a breach of the Equality Act 2010.

I believe this sign is very discriminatory to all migrant anglers who live and fish in this country. I felt that I need to take some action - and I promised anglers that I will do everything I can to have it removed.

What we want to achieve

Quite simply - we want the sign removed and to show that discriminatory signs like this one have no place in the angling community of Great Britain. 

With a help from Angling Trust – which has contributed £2,000 towards legal fees - I have managed to get solicitor who is going to represent me. Now we need to start proceedings and my solicitor estimates that it might all cost in excess of £11,000 to get to the required result which I cannot afford on my own. 

How much am I raising and why?

To complete next step of the process I need to raise £5000 by the 9^th of January. This should allow us to serve the defendant with a formal letter before action and an issued claim.  I will continue to raise again, if this doesn't bring the required results.

I will fight it to the end but I need to ask you all for a financial support. All money raised will go straight to the solicitors account to cover their work on this case. All money received back from court proceedings will go straight to the fishing charities. If we won't raise the required £5,000 within 30 days I will have to drop this case which would be really unwanted outcome. 

Please support my campaign to remove this sign and show that Great Britain is a welcoming place where fisherman from across Europe can co-exist peacefully.  

Case Background 

I work to inform many local anglers about fishing culture, traditions and regulations on the continent, so they can understand why issues might occur in the first place. 

During this long and bumpy road, I come across many people who choose not to be educated and instead remain ignorant and negative. In this circumstance, I strongly support positive enforcement and have encouraged many migrant anglers to join the Angling Trust/Environment Agency Voluntary Bailiff Service and become club bailiffs. This way we can deal with both prevention through education, and those who refuse to comply with the law.

I was shocked when I visited this fishery in April and was told by the owner that he won’t let me fish as I am from Poland, because all Polish end Eastern European anglers are here to steal from him. The fishery owner felt very strongly about this behaviour and hence this disgusting sign. I felt very strong about the fact that I am being treated in this way - only because I was born in Poland. 

I reported this to the police but after several weeks of investigation have been told that this is not a police matter and that I should seek redress elsewhere. With professional help from a colleague I submitted an appeal against this decision and again told that the police won’t deal with it, as this is a matter for Equality and Human Rights Commission. 

So, I went to the Equality and Human Rights Commission and was advised to send a letter to the fishery owner, giving him time to respond. I did, but have received no response. Next step was for Equality and Human Rights Commission to send a letter, which has likewise generated no response.  The Commission has consequently advised me to launch a private prosecution. After careful consideration and advice, I decided to stand my ground and fight this case -  as I believe this is very discriminatory to all migrant anglers who live and fish in this country.

Please support my legal campaign and spread the word by sharing on FaceBook and Twitter. 

Thank you for your support!