A gay couple in Poland have handed out hundreds of rainbow face masks in the country’s so-called “LGBT-free” zones, to fight both homophobia and the coronavirus.
Local leaders have declared a third of the country an “LGBT-free” zone, passing resolutions opposing “LGBT ideology” and vowing to avoid financially supporting NGOs who promote equal rights.
But gay couple Jakub and Dawid Mycek-Kwiecinski , two well-known YouTube stars in Poland, decided that in the face of this homophobia they would instead spread kindness and positivity during the pandemic.
“Many Polish people call [LGBTIQ people] a plague,” Jakub explained on Facebook.
“So we thought if we help people overcome the actual plague, they might change their mind. I know it’s naive, but if we can do something good, then why not?
“We borrowed a sewing machine from my grandmother and started sewing masks to give them away for free in the street.
“Our masks are unique because they are rainbow! With the support of a friend who’s a tailor, we created 300 of them.”
The couple then took them to the streets of towns Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot in Poland to give them away to pedestrians for free.
“We’re trying to do everything we can to stay positive [during the COVID-19 pandemic],” Jakub said.
“We’re delighted to see so much enthusiasm around our rainbow masks. But above all, we hope that as many people as possible will protect themselves from the coronavirus.”
Poland is currently in lockdown and saw its largest spike in coronavirus cases at the weekend, Reuters reported.
As of Sunday, the European country had 9,287 confirmed coronavirus cases and 360 deaths.
Watch Jakub and David’s efforts below:
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