Polish Events

Communities form when people come together to share or respond to information that affects them personally. Communities form in towns, cities and, with today’s technology, online. There are hundreds of online communities such as Facebook, MySpace, Boston.com and PoloniaToday.com, a Polish news website. Polonia Today offers current events happening across the world concerning anything and everything to do with Poland. Two current events, the Murder of a Polish hostage by Taliban and the passing of American citizenship of Casimir Pulaski by the Senate, are big news issues that many people don’t know about. These two news events relate to current issues in our own country and we need to acknowledge them.

On September 28, 2008, Polish engineer Piotr Stanczak was kidnapped by armed men that murdered the two drivers and bodyguard that were traveling with him. Confirming his murder, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced Piotr Stanczak’s death and stated that footage of his death was released by the Taliban. The Taliban originally kidnapped the Polish engineer and would release him in exchange for a ransom as well as the release of six prisoners. The Taliban gave the Polish government until February 4 to pay the ransom before executing Piotr Stanczak, but the date was later extended by two days. Jacek Najder, Deputy Foreign Minister, declares that the Foreign Ministry worked to the best of their ability to save the engineer and to contact the Taliban. However, their efforts were unable to save Polish engineer Stanczak. It is said that the footage of Piotr Stanczak’s death was very disturbing so it was requested that the media not publish or release the documentation. Presently, there are very little Poles working in Pakistan. However, 1,600 Polish soldiers are currently serving in Afghanistan with the NATO mission. Likewise, only two Poles have ever been kidnapped, besides Piotr Stanczak, but they were eventually released.

Casimir Pulaski was a Polish war hero who became the Brigadier General of the American Cavalry during the American Revolution. Pulaski had many great accomplishments such as saving General George Washington’s life and aiding in the American victory at the Battle of Brandywine. Even though he died on September 15, 1777, Casimir Pulaski is still remembered today because Congress declared that October 11 as Pulaski Day in 1929. This special day is observed by Presidential Proclamation while many other memorial days for this Polish patriot occur throughout the year. Just on March 2, 2009, the Senate unanimously passed Pulaski’s posthumous citizenship and is observed as a Pulaski holiday in Illinois. Now, this bill for citizenship must be passed by the House of Representatives and then be signed by President Barak Obama. As a matter of fact, only six people have ever been given honorary citizenship in the United States including Marquis de la Fayette, Raoul Wallenberg, William Callowhill Penn and his wife Hannah, Mother Teresa and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Both of these current issues relating to Poland greatly tie in with events happening in the United States. The murder of Polish engineer Piotr Stanczak relates to the war in Iraq and Casimir Pulaski’s potential citizenship relates to the outcome of the Revolutionary War and our existence as an independent country. The news in Poland greatly affects our nation because of our alliance and relationship with this country. Despite these close relations, I find it very disappointing that very few Americans are educated about Poland and the help they have provided us throughout the ages. Poland has helped the United States beginning with our country’s initial attempt at freedom from Britain yet I have not heard a single reference to Poland in school this year. For example, in United States History class we learned about people from the Revolutionary War such as Marquis de la Fayette and William Penn, who were two of the six people given honorary citizenship in the United States. As a Polish-American I am outraged that we don’t discuss Poland’s key players yet we still talk about Frenchmen and Spaniards. Likewise, we talk about the United States’ alliance with France and Spain in class, but we still don’t mention Poland. Poland played a key role during the American Revolution yet the curriculum in Massachusetts public schools does not even broadly mention what Poland did for us. I feel that since we talk about people like Marquis de la Fayette and William Penn that we should also talk about their colleagues that also contributed to the Revolutionary War.

Communities can be found within almost any setting, and events occur within their corresponding microcosms. There are certain events that essentially link communities together, building upon an essential principle that we are all connected in some way or form, the human network. Events that take place in other parts of the world can have a major affect on what happens right here in our own backyards. For example, when Revolutionary ideas were developing in Poland when Casimir Pulaski was growing up, new ideas arose in England about religious freedom. Consequently, the colonies were formed and eventually the American Revolution came into play. Likewise, events in Poland in the modern world are related to events happening in the United States and in other parts of the world. Events like the murder of a Polish hostage and Casimir Pulaski’s potential posthumous citizenship link two countries that view each other in different ways. Poland and the United States have played great roles in terms of the history of both countries, yet we don’t seem to know all that much about each other. It is so easy to just go online and search for a new website to visit. We can learn so much if we just give a few minutes of our day to learn about some of the biggest people and events that have made us who we are today.Word Count: 970