At that time, Muslim prayers were taking place in the mosque, with people living in Kaunas who practice Islam praying both inside the church and outside, as there was physically no room inside.
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The protest participants expressed their position with the noise of motorcycles, music, and chants, and they also brought a pig’s head. Read more about this in the 15min article.
The protest attracted not only police attention but also reactions on social media. Some well-known public figures also shared public statements.
Opinions differ, but many people express outrage that such actions have crossed the boundaries of basic humanity.
One of them – lecturer and communications specialist, Kaunas resident Laima Petraitytė, agreed to share her thoughts with 15min, which she also expressed on her Facebook page. She illustrated her thoughts with a freeze-frame from video footage recorded by people at the protest.
“On Friday, a protest action against Muslim immigrants took place near the Kaunas mosque. Protesters disturbed prayer time with loud music, displayed a pig’s head, and chose a method that, in my eyes, crosses not only the respect for another person but also the boundaries of basic humanity.
I strongly disagree with such actions. Not because I don’t care about migration policy. On the contrary – I do care.
I work with international students from more than 20 different countries. Among them are citizens of Muslim countries. Every day I see young people who come to Lithuania to study, build their future, and pursue goals. For the most part, I see curious, incredibly creative, respectful, and talented people.
And yesterday (September 11 – ed.) watching what was happening near the mosque, I thought about them. I also thought about my friends from various parts of the world. And I am ashamed. I really don’t know what to say to my students and foreign lecturers on Monday.
Do you think only Bolt and Volt couriers gathered near the mosque? You have no idea how many good, educated, peaceful-minded people holding high positions, treating your parents, mothers, and children in hospitals are in that community.
If your problem is Lithuania’s migration policy, you are protesting against the wrong people. Go talk to those who make decisions. To lawmakers, to institutions. Discuss numbers, criteria, control, and responsibility. I agree that this is exactly what Lithuania needs most now, as it faces an inevitable demographic crisis and is grasping at straws, doing so thoughtlessly. Let’s treat the disease, not the symptoms.
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Once again, I assure you, I also believe that Lithuania needs a clear migration strategy. We must talk about what kind of workers and specialists we need, from which countries and under what conditions we allow people in, what criteria we apply, what safeguards we implement, and how we ensure that migration is managed and does not just happen on its own. No need to look far. Because when my student stops studying, even though they came precisely for that, when my student decides not to attend lectures anymore, even though they came precisely for that – we terminate their study contract and send them home. Without mercy. Because mercy is not a tool of control, but clear processes and algorithms are.
But still, one thing must not disappear along with demography. That is respect for the person.
Since my student days, I have been surrounded and continue to be surrounded by people from different cultures, countries, and religions. Educated, ambitious, value-creating, environmentally sensitive people: from students to entrepreneurs, doctors, scientists.
I have never judged a person by their skin color, nationality, or faith. I have always judged by their deeds and how they treat others. Of course, among immigrants, there are all kinds of people. Just like among Lithuanians.
There are well-integrated ones, and there are those with social difficulties. There are calm characters, and there are sharper ones. There are radicals too. But we have all of that in our society as well. The bikers protesting near the mosque yesterday are the shameful part of society.
Dear bikers, remember yourselves. Have you already forgotten the times when you yourselves went to England, Ireland, Spain, and other countries looking for a better life? When you yourselves were migrants? When you were not always welcomed with open arms? Do you really want to be the society that demands respect for Lithuanians abroad but can no longer show it to the person who lives next to us today?
And one more thing. If we respond to the migration issue not with arguments but with insults, provocations, and hatred, sooner or later we will create exactly what we supposedly want to avoid. Division and fighting in the streets.
We see this happening in some European countries. And if we allow fundamental values to disappear, the conflict will only deepen. Because when a person’s dignity is taken away, sooner or later there is a desire to regain it at any cost.
Therefore, I will repeat once again – let’s talk about migration policy, about exact numbers, not those escalated by the media, about clear criteria, about what kind of people Lithuania needs. Let’s talk about selection, integration (including language learning), responsibility, and safeguards.
We can disagree, strongly criticize government decisions. But we cannot lose respect for the person because of that. I am very sad. I am simply ashamed. Because yesterday it was no longer about migration policy, it was about ourselves. We have not gone far.”
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