Poland has been in the news a lot recently for all the wrong reasons, with several towns and cities in the country declaring themselves “LGBT-free” zones, as well as the Parliament of Poland voting to continue to associate homosexuality with pedophilia in an attempt to ban LGBT+ inclusive sex education. However, one Polish couple have taken it upon themselves to fight back against this ignorance while also protecting their community from the coronavirus. 

Jakub Kwiecinski and Dawid Mycek are a gay couple who have begun to sew and distribute rainbow facemasks completely free of charge in order to help curb the spread of COVID-19, as well as homophobia. The pair have been making the protective facemasks with the help of their friends using a borrowed sewing machine and rainbow print fabric. The group made 300 masks and gave them away for free around the northern Polish city of Gdansk. 

Both Kwiecinski and Mycek are adamant that the masks are not for sale, they are being given away for free to those who need them, and they plan on making more soon with the leftover fabric. They do not want any monetary compensation for their kind act, they just want to help protect fellow Polish people from the coronavirus while spreading a positive message about the LGBT+ community. 

The couple posted a video of them giving away the masks in Gdansk showing the largely positive response they received from the community. 

Speaking to Star Observer, Jakub said: “Many Polish people call us a plague, so we thought if we help people overcome real plague, they might change their minds. I know it’s naive, but if we can do something good then why not?”

The video shows members of the public in disbelief as they are told the much sought after facemasks are completely free, with many even taking some for their friends and family as well. 

Hopefully their masks will not only protect the public from the spread of COVID-19, but also maybe encourage a change of heart in those who see nothing wrong with Poland’s anti-LGBT+ laws.