Tag: Poland

Journey into the unknown 2022, or on the perils of international travelling ;)

On By Ola GIn miscellaneous, Ola46 Comments

Well, actually, it was a journey into what we thought was very well known, after all we’ve lived in Poland for a long time ;). But in our post-COVID19 times nothing is as it used to be and the perils are very real ;). 

But first things first.

Our flights (various legs of it) had been cancelled several times, and in a couple of situations we were informed blithely that no alternative flights are available till late September. The last cancellation happened 5 days before departure, and I’m quite surprised I don’t have any white hair from this experience. The worst thing is that there wasn’t really a choice of airlines offering tickets! The ones that we used last time didn’t operate the route anymore (they returning to it in September, so at least there’s hope for the future). Lufthansa seemed a safe bet, all things considered, so I wonder how other people travelling from this part of the world went through with other airlines. That said, the hours spent on the phone with Lufthansa were many, and I really don’t want to count them because I might still develop a rash just from thinking about it. But, in the end, we did manage to get to Poland. The journey took only 72 hours, with a 16-hour layover in Hong Kong and two days (yes, 2 days!) in Frankfurt. 

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The Two Polands

On By reenchantmentoftheworldIn miscellaneous, Ola, Piotrek43 Comments

We get political from time to time, that’s how we are. Remember this? Or this?

Editorial view of Re-E & a quick background to a rant that follows:

Since 2015 Poland is ruled by the nationalistic/populist Law and Justice party. While they did win every election since, they do that with big help from very political Polish Catholic Church and tightly controlled state media (how does it work? read this Guardian piece by Timothy Garton Ash. He knows this sad part of Europe). They dismantle the rule of law, violate and threaten our freedoms, they are methodically building the sort of populist autocracy Orban already has created in nearby Hungary. The usual right-wing drivel about restoring greatness of the local nation has been combined with the ritualistic hypocrisy of an entrenched Catholic Church whose officials feel threatened and yet still strong enough to hold sway over a non-negligible part of the population, and culminated in one party treating the whole economic, cultural and political system of institutions as “spoils” to be shared among their staunchest supporters.

The recent presidential elections were a chance to do something about it. A democratic president obeying the rule of law could defend the last bits of liberal democracy in Poland, instead of supporting their destruction like the president-elect did for the last 5 years. It would not reverse the current situation, as in Polish political system president has limited power, for the most important ruling body is the lower house of Parliament – but it would have at least checked the autocratic slide.

We came close, closer then ever in recent history. Rafał Trzaskowski (his TEDx speech to be found here), a liberal mayor of Warsaw, our capital city, mobilised almost half of the voters. But almost half is not enough.

IMG_20200708_074447Piotrek: My window, with our guy on Wilhelm Sasnal’s poster.

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Kler / Clergy (2018)

On By piotrekIn movie, Piotrek6 Comments

There is now a Polish movie being played in cinemas, in my country and throughout Europe. There are over 200 screenings planned in the UK alone (beginning today!), and that’s a lot for a Polish movie, our pictures rarely go beyond niche festivals. Tickets are mostly bought out by my compatriots living abroad, but they are not its whole audience.

Why? 7856555.6

Well, the title is Kler (our word for ‘the clergy’). Specifically, in the Polish context, the catholic clergy. Catholicism is the default option here. Not just as a religion. To a large extent, especially outside large cities, it’s the foundation of social life and a powerful political and economic force.

In the days when diocese after diocese goes bankrupt trying to pay off the victims of their functionaries’ abuse and, in Chile, the entire bishopry episcopate submits resignations, there are not enough movies about the issue. Spotlight was very good, and certainly educational, Calvary show how a catholic country might look after the problem is largely processed. Clergy is about Church militant, unapologetic and intertwined with the state as close, as the Irish one during the heights of its power.

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