Russia booted from energy link at 17th CEEE Forum

Transcription

The Krakow Post
NO. 19
WWW.KRAKOWPOST.COM
SEPTEMBER 13-SEPTEMBER 19, 2007 WEEKLY
Russia booted from energy link at 17th CEEE Forum
Arms exhibit draws
crowd in Kielce
An exhibition of advanced military technology and equipment
from 21 nations attracted defense
specialists to Kielce Sept. 3-6
3
Gliwice soldiers
training for Chad
The Gliwice troops have already
begun training for their mission
at an army base in Zagan. The
rigorous training is set to last
until the end of October
4
City of temples
Krakow is famous for its beautiful churches, built in styles from
Romanesque to Renaissance 10
On Thursday, September 6, Huebner signed a European Commission document approving the regional development programs of five of Poland’s 16 provinces, including
Malopolska, whose capital is Krakow. The EU had already announced the approval so the signing was a formality. The five regions will receive a total of 6.716 bln euro.
Michal Wojtas
STAFF JOURNALIST
New coal shaft
found in Silesia
Experts believe that Silesia’s
largest coal layer contains a vein
of coal near Jastrzebie-Zdroj, in
the field of Czeslaw Pastuszek 12
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Two key announcements that involve
Poland’s relationship with Russia came
out of the 17th annual Central and Eastern
European Economic Forum in Krynica last
week.
One was about U.S. plans to build part
of a missile defense project in Poland,
a decision that Russia has been snarling
about. The other was about plans for a
pipeline from the Caspian Sea to Poland
that would make Poland less dependent on
Russian oil.
Daniel Fried, the U.S. assistant secretary
of state for European and Eurasian Affairs,
said the U.S. hopes the missile-defensefacility negotiations between Washington
and Warsaw will be wrapped up by the end
of the year.
He acknowledged that the new parliamentary elections in Poland may affect
the timetable -- and even the plan itself. To
hedge its bets, the U.S. is discussing the
missile-defense project not only with the
current government but also with leaders of
opposition parties that could come to power
in the October 21 vote.
The other key Poland-related announcement at the Economic Forum came from
Poland’s Minister of Economy Piotr Wozniak. He said an important discussion
about a proposed pipeline connecting
the Caspian Sea oil region with Odessa,
Ukraine, and Gdansk, Poland, will take
place in Tbilisi, Georgia, on September 26.
He said he hopes the meeting will produce a
“go” on the project.
The project will allow Poland to obtain
oil from a source other than Russia. Poland
and the rest of Europe want to become less
dependent on Russia for oil and gas because
Russia has been using energy as a foreignpolicy hammer in recent years. It has cut off
oil and gas to countries that were not “playing ball” with it, including Ukraine.
Georgia, Azerbaijan and Lithuania have
signaled they are likely to take part in the
venture. Wozniak said he is encouraging
Kazakhstan and Slovakia to participate as
well.
Wozniak also announced that Poland
will become the 27th member of the International Energy Agency, an organization
established in 1974 to prevent disruptions
in world energy supply. Most EU countries
are in the organization, as well as the U.S.,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan,
South Korea, Norway and Turkey.
In another energy-independence-related
development, the leaders of Norway’s and
Poland’s state-owned petroleum companies
met during the Economic Forum on plans
to build a pipeline from Norway to Poland.
Brian Bjordal of Norway’s Gassco huddled
with Rafal Oleszkiewicz of Poland’s PGNiG about the pipeline, which will also
supply Sweden and Denmark.
Norway is a major producer of oil from
offshore platforms in the North Sea.
Other Polish leaders at the forum besides
Wozniak were Finance Minister Zyta Gilowska, Regional Development Minister
Grazyna Gesicka and former President
Aleksander Kwasniewski.
Neither Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski nor President Lech Kaczynski
showed. They are busy campaigning for the
snap election that the prime minister called
after dissolving parliament on September
7, 2007. Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s decision to
skip the forum led to Prime Ministers Viktor Yanukovich of Ukraine and Gediminas
Kirkilas of Lithuania cancelling. They had
apparently hoped to meet with Kaczynski
in Krynica.
The forum, which this year ran from September 6 to 8, has developed over the years
into a major world economic event. It attracts important dignitaries, including heads
of state, and often generates news.
The original reason for starting the forum
was to facilitate communication between
politicians, business people and academics throughout Central and Eastern Europe.
About 2,000 delegates from Europe, the
Americas and Asia took part this year.
The theme of this year’s forum was “Europe – Crisis, Change or Chance?” The program included 130 discussion panels on 10
subjects – from culture and science to the
“new economy.” The forum also featured
presentations of cities, regions and companies. And it included concerts and exhibitions.
Even though participants from many
countries and professional fields discussed
the issues, the 400 journalists at the forum
focused their reports on the energy security
of Europe – a topic much on the minds of
both European leaders and common folk.
See FORUM on Page 10
P O L A N D
The Krakow Post
N E W S
Lithuania wants to grill Israeli
historian over war crimes
Lithuania wants to grill leading Israeli
Holocaust historian Yitzhak Arad over his
alleged role in war crimes against civilians
and prisoners during World War II, a prosecutor said early this week.
“We have despatched a request to Israeli prosecutors for legal help,” prosecutor
Rimvydas Valentukevicius told AFP.
“We want to send Mr Arad a notice on
our suspicions and to interrogate him in
the framework of a preliminary probe on
his possible participation in crimes against
humanity in Lithuania during World War
II,” he said.
The 81-year-old Arad, who served as
the director of Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Authority for 21 years,
rejected the allegations in an interview to
Poland’s Rzeczpospolita newspaper.
A probe launched in May 2006 showed
that Arad, who was a member of the Soviet NKVD secret service, may have been
involved in the killing of Lithuanian resistance figures at the end of World War II.
Lithaunian-born Arad, who was active in
the underground movement before joining
the Soviet partisans to fight the Germans,
has rebuffed suggestions that he was guilty
of the cold-blooded murder of civilians.
“I have never killed a civilian,” he said.
“It could have happened during battle but I
have never killed a civilian or a prisoner of
war in cold blood.”
Arad said the allegations could be part
of a vendetta campaign as he had painstakingly listed atrocities committed by Lithuanian collaborators.
But Lithuanian prosecutor Valentukevicius said suspicions against Arad are based
on his own memoirs and documents provided by the Lithuanian Genocide and Resistance Research Center.
“We have many documents, which allow
us to think that Arad participated in criminal activities,” Valentukevicius said.
Lithuania was home to some 220,000
Jews before the war and was known as the
“Jerusalem of the North.” (AFP)
Czech Green leader clashes
with prez over climate speech
Relations between the Czech Republic’s
Green environment minister and head of
state heated up early this week over President Vaclav Klaus’ plans to make an environmentalist-bashing speech at a UN conference on global warming.
Klaus’ intention to relaunch his attacks
on environmentalists who fuel “hysteria”
over the global warming and threaten individual liberty will jeapordize Czech chances of winning a non-permanent seat on the
UN’s Security Council in 2008 and 2009,
environment minister and Green Party
leader Martin Bursik declared.
“I have no doubt that if such a strong
speech is given we will not get the support
of island states,” Bursik warned, referring
to the expected fight in the coming months
to fill vacant security council seats.
Klaus’ climate change views are so singular that they cannot be taken seriously
and shame the Czech Republic in diplomatic circles, Bursik added.
“He conceives of this theme in a really
original way so that it is him against millions, undermining the official position of
the Czech Republic,” Bursik added.
The former right-wing premier has already indicated that he intends to make an
“energetic” speech at the UN-organized
climate change conference in New York
scheduled for the end of September on the
eve of the UN’s general assembly.
U.S. citizens were given a taste of Klaus’
views when newspaper adverts in quality
dailies detailed his attacks on leading crusaders against global warming, including
former Vice President Al Gore.
The ads were placed in those dailies by
the free-market promoting think tank, the
Heartland Institute. (AFP)
London battles for Polish votes
Mayor of London Ken Livingstone enters fight for Poles
Danuta Filipowicz
STAFF JOURNALIST
Ken Livingstone, the present mayor
of London has started a battle for Polish
votes. The Federation of Poles in Great
Britain comprises 55,000 or even more
Poles eligible to vote in the elections set
for May 1, 2008.
The mayor of London is reaching out to
the hundreds of thousands of Poles in the
city as part of his effort
to get re-elected.
He is cultivating
leaders of the Polish
community and Polish
newspapers.
He has even added
to the City Hall menu
Slavic
dumplings,
pierogi with mushrooms, red cabbage
and kotlety schabowe
or Polish-style pork
chops, the Guardian
newspaper reported.
Livingstone has pointed out to members
of the Polish community that they are the
10th-largest ethnic group in the metropolitan area.
Although most Poles have not been in
Britain long enough to become British citizens, the City of London allows EU citizens
who are more than 18 years old to vote in the
election. London residents who are citizens
of a British Commonwealth country, but not
yet British citizens, also can vote. London is
home to an estimated 500,000 Poles.
Livingstone’s efforts to reach out to Poles
have landed him on the cover of the Polishlanguage magazine “Cooltura” and on the
front pages of the daily newspapers Nowy
Czas and Dziennik Polski.
The weekly publications Polish Express
and Goniec Polski have also given him “a
lot of ink.”
When he invited Polish leaders to his office, he discussed the possibility of an official celebration of Polish culture in years
to come.
“This year in Trafalgar
Square we’re celebrating
Indian culture,” he said.
“In a few years’ time, I
can see a Polish festival
in Trafalgar Square. I am
sure that thousands of
Londoners would go to
experience Polish culture,
music, film and cuisine,”
The mayor also expressed support for opening a center which would
help trained Polish engineers find work in their field when they
come to London, the Guardian added.
The mayor, a member of the Labor Party,
got 120,000 more votes in the last election
than his Conservative rival, Steven Norris.
Livingstone is facing a much more popular Conservative candidate this time – Tory
Boris Johnson. He needs all the help he can
get – one reason he is reaching out to Poles.
It remains to be seen whether Johnson
and other politicians reach out to Poles as
Livingstone has done.
The mayor of London is reaching out
to the hundreds of
thousands of Poles
in the city as part
of his effort to get
re-elected on May 1
next year.
Mayor of London Ken Livingstone.
New title on press market: Polska
Presse to launch nationwide daily
Latvian 12-month inflation
rises to 10.1 percent August
Consumer prices grew by 0.4 percent in
new EU member Latvia in August compared
to July, putting 12-month inflation at 10.1
percent, the national department of statistics
said early this week. Average 12-month inflation, which is one of the key indicators for
countries wishing to join the eurozone, was
7.8 percent in August. (AFP)
cc:sa:Xerxesirl
R E G I O N A L
SEPTEMBER 13-SEPTEMBER 19, 2007
cc:sa:Medienzentrum der Verlagsgruppe Passau
2
Polska Presse is the Polish branch of German Verlagsgruppe Passau, owner of eight
local newspapers.
ranks it among the top five in Poland.
But the strongest competitor of the new
Competition in the Polish press market Polska Presse daily will be Gazeta Wyborwill become even tougher in October with cza, which has been surpassed by Fakt in
the introduction of a new nationwide daily circulation but remains the undisputed
newspaper.
leader in advertising revenues with 636
Its publisher is Polska Presse, Polish mln zloty in the first half of 2007.
branch of German Verlagsgruppe Passau,
Gazeta Wyborcza is the flagship of Agoowner of eight local newspapers.
ra Co., which also owns many magazines,
The company began preparation in 2006 the Internet portal gazeta.pl, and several
for the launch of the new publication. More radio stations.
than 100 people, led by editor-in-chief PaThe newspaper, which sells 410,000 copwel Fafara, work in the paper’s Warsaw ofies daily, was established in 1989 by memfice. Its marketing cambers of the Polish antipaign will likely cost 100
Communist opposition.
The
goals
for
the
new
mln zloty.
The third-place Poldaily are already known. ish daily press is Super
It is still unclear what
the name of the new paExpress (190,000 daily)
The publisher wants to
per will be. The Polish
– another tabloid and
establish a high-quality
press has pointed at posmain rival of Fakt. Dzisibilities such as Dzieennik is followed by
newspaper with a daily
nnik Polski, Monitor,
Rzeczpospolita in fifth
circulation of 500,000.
Polska or Wiadomosci
place with circulation of
24, but Polska Presse
Polska Presse has signed 145,000. The partiallly
confirmed none of them.
state-owned paper is
But the goals for the a partnership deal with the known for its Economy
new daily are already
London Times in order to and Law sections and
known. The publisher
by businessmen and
strengthen the new daily. read
wants to establish a
lawyers.
high-quality newspaper
Media researchers are
with a daily circulation
not sure whether there
of 500,000. Polska Presse has signed a
is enough demand for another nationwide
partnership deal with the London Times in daily in Poland. During the last two years
order to strengthen the new daily.
two companies have suffered spectacuCurrently only one Polish daily newslar defeats after they have tried to launch
paper sells more than 500,000 copies daily
newspapers. Agora released Nowy Dzien in
– Fakt tabloid owned by Axel Springer, the
November 2005 but it was abandoned just
company that also publishes Germany’s
three months later when it failed to reach
biggest newspaper Bild. Bild was also a
250,000, which likely would have guaranmodel for Fakt, which has become Po- teed its profitability. land’s circulation leader since its introducAlso in February 2006 billionaire Michal
tion in 2003.
Solowow gave up his plan to start another
In April 2006 Axel Springer launched its
nationwide daily based on the local Zycie
second general-interest daily newspaper in
Warszawy just a few days before its launch.
the Polish market. It’s called Dziennik and This decision came out shortly after Nowy
sells 170,000 copies daily – a number that Dzien was closed.
the krakow post
P O L A N D
The Krakow Post
Danuta Filipowicz
STAFF JOURNALIST
An exhibition of advanced military technology and equipment from 21 nations
– missiles, propellants, rockets, armaments,
explosives and more – attracted defense and
industry specialists to Kielce September 3-6.
Nearly 200 spectators turned out for the 15th
International Defense Industry Exhibition,
held under the honorary patronage of Polish
Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
As in previous years, exhibition pavilions
of Kielce Trade Fairs hosted representatives
of the world’s leading defense industry companies. The exhibition is one of the largest
defense industry fair events in Europe.
The event attracted considerable attention by military experts, Polish and foreign
exhibitors and organizations related to national defense. The exhibition is an initiative
supported by the Polish government. Przemyslaw Gosiewski, deputy prime minister,
presided over the opening day ceremonies,
together with Aleksander Szczyglo, Poland’s minister of defense. Claude Bolton,
assistant secretary of the army represented
the U.S. at the opening, together with Victor
Ashe, U.S. ambassador to Poland. In addition, the director of the Defense Advanced
Research Project Agency and chief scientist
of the U.S. Army were presented.
This year’s edition of the fair boasted the
most rented exhibition space, some 18,931
square meters accommodating 364 companies from 21 countries. The companies
included Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems,
Sikorsky, Rafael, Patria and General Dynamics, as well as Boeing, SAAB, IBM,
Toshiba, Panasonic and Motorola. A total of
178 Polish and foreign journalists covered
the fair.
In the outdoor display area, the Land
Forces and some exhibitors organized
presentations of military equipment in operation. The range of products exhibited
encompassed armored equipment, classic
armament, missiles and rockets, explosives,
equipment and materials for chemical-warfare units, air and air-defense equipment,
as well as equipment for the Navy, Police,
Border Guards, Fire Brigade, Civil Defense;
transport, electronic and optoelectronic
equipment and metric devices.
What has become a tradition of the exhibition are presentations of the potential of
individual countries’ defense industries. In
recent years, presenting countries have included Germany and France and – in 2006
– Israel. This year’s fair included a national
exhibit from the U.S.
The U.S. national exhibit was entitled,
“Developing Forces for Coalition Operations: Supporting Soldiers from Ground to
Space.” Twenty-four American manufacturing firms were represented, including industry leaders such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin
and Raytheon.
The U.S. Department of Defense organized seminars and conferences on defense
and security issues at the fair. The series
began September 3 with a seminar on ballistic missile defense led by Maj. Gen. Chris
Anzalone, deputy director of the Missile Defense Agency. Seminars also covered issues
including armaments and security cooperation, research and technology, U.S. Army future development and joint operations.
At the exhibition Deputy Prime Minister
Przemyslaw Gosiewski announced the Polish government defense companies’ consolidation plan. He said that by mid-2010, the
government plans to boost the number of
companies in the Bumar Group by 17. The
Bumar Group is the largest defense industry
group in Poland.
Bumar, which is concentrated mainly on
land systems (ammunition, military vehicles,
missiles and propellants, arms and weapons,
air-defense systems), includes 19 manufacturing and trading companies of the Polish
Defense industry. The capital of the Bumar
Group, amounted to 800.4 mln Polish zloty
(around $288 mln) as of October 2006.
“The target for the Bumar group is to
grow to 36 units from 19 at present,” Gosiewski told a news conference. He said the
project should be completed in two to two
and a half years. Noting that today on the
European market big and strong companies
are needed, Gosiewski assured listeners that
Poland will have such a company.”
Divorce rate increases nationwide.
Alicja Natkaniec
STAFF JOURNALIST
Twenty-one nations participated in the exhibition of advanced military technology and equipment.
High school student Kaczynski twins
exchange programs
reappoint
made possible
ministers sacked
between U.S., Poland
last week
Justyna Krzywicka
STAFF JOURNALIST
A U.S.-Poland Parliamentary Youth Exchange Program bill was approved on September 5 by the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill will create the opportunity
for high school students both in Poland and
the U.S. to spend a year abroad experiencing each other’s cultures and education
systems.
The bill needs to be authorized by President Bush, but this is seen as a formality
only. The high school exchange program
is modeled on the already existing program that is in force between the U.S. and
German high schools. The U.S.-Germany
Congress Bundestag program sees full
scholarships given to students living in
their respective host countries and studying
within the host country for a year.
The bill was propagated by the Republican senator Richard Lugar. A long term ambassador for international student exchange
programs, Lugar has also vouched for Poland before. He was one of the first senators
to back Poland’s entry into NATO.
Students under the age of 19 will be
eligible to enter the program. If accepted, a
full academic year of study abroad will be
carried out. The two nations will establish
a mutually accredited program whereby
the academic year will account for in the
student’s home country. The concept is to
create awareness of the differences in cultures, but also to learn about the countries’
respective histories, constitutions, political
systems and languages.
Undoubtedly the program will prove
successful for both countries. With an estimated 10 mln Polish Americans living in
the U.S. who claim Polish decent, this exchange program will be a way to become
familiarized with the history and culture of
their ancestors. For Polish students this will
obviously be another way to become more
aware of the workings of a successful Western society and get a look at what Poland is
aspiring to be.
Universities both in Poland and in the
U.S. already offer many exchange possibilities for tertiary students. This high school
exchange program will mean such experiences will become available at a younger
age.
The students will be placed with host
families with whom they will live and participate in daily life. It will be an opportunity to see how differently families function, how values are placed differently on
elements in day-to-day life.
Most importantly it will be a possibility to experience the language of their host
country first hand.
A budget for the program has not yet
been approved.
Divorce
rates show
remarkable
increase
cc:sa:Jason Hutchens
15th Int’l Defense Industry Exhibit
3
agence france presse
President Lech Kaczynski has reappointed ministers in his twin brother’s government who were sacked last week in a tactical
move to avoid no-confidence votes, officials
said early this week.
Fifteen ministers in Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s government were dismissed on Friday, the same day parliament
voted to dissolve itself and clear the way for
October 21 elections. The dismissals were
carried out ahead of planned no confidence
votes on the ministers in parliament, which
the government risked losing. The Kaczynski brothers no longer hold a majority after
their coalition collapsed last month. After
the dismissal of the ministers, the no confidence motions were withdrawn.
On Saturday, the Kaczynski brothers began reinstalling the ministers, with the president reappointing the final 10 on Tuesday.
Polish MPs dissolved parliament late Friday,
clearing the way for snap legislative polls
which are being seen as a referendum on the
Kaczynski twins.
Opinion polls published last week suggested the main opposition liberal party
Civic Platform is heading for a win next
month, with between 26 and 36 percent of
support, compared to between 27 and 30
percent for the Kaczynskis’ Law and Justice party (PiS). Ahead of the 2005 legis-
lative elections, however, the liberals were
ahead in the polls but a strong campaign by
the PiS turned the tide.
The past few decades have shown
a remarkable rise in divorce rates in
Poland. Recently the new “divorce
rates report” was published by Gazeta Wyborcza. According to the report,
Polish marriages are starting to follow a general tendency seen across
Europe. Almost everywhere the probability of divorce has been significantly increasing over time.
From January until July 2007 as
many as 47,000 Polish marriages
ended in divorce. In the same period
of 2002, there were 45,000 marriage
breakups, an increase of 2,000 divorces within five years. The statistics found that the tendency is more
common in urban environments than
in small villages. In about 70 percent
of cases, it is the woman who files for
divorce.
Among the main factors leading to
marriage dissolutions, the statistics
highlight alcoholism, domestic violence, physical cruelty and extramarital relationships. Findings also suggest
that physical abuse is more prevalent
amongst lower income classes. People with a higher degree of education
name the difference of characters and
marital infidelity as the main motives
for divorce. Although sometimes, the
reason for a divorce is more prosaic
– the couple split because of the attitude towards political issues.
The average length at which the
majority of marriages break up is 13
years. People in their 30s who have
also been married between 5 and 9
years have the highest chance of divorce. The majority of previously married men and women marry again.
One of the main reasons for the increase in divorce rates is that divorce
no longer carries its former social
stigma for “ex-spouses.”
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Yushchenko says Russian lab
made dioxin poison: report
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko
said he is convinced the dioxin poison that
disfigured him was made in a Russian lab,
according to an interview given to an edition of the French daily Le Figaro early this
week.
“Three laboratories in the world produce
this type of dioxin ... Two laboratories sent
samples. But not the Russian lab. That limits the inquiry,” he told the paper.
He did not explicitly accuse the Russian
government of being behind his poisoning
in 2004, but he did say he had “practically
put all the pieces together” and the attempt
against him “was not a private action.”
“The investigators know when, what
meal, where, who. There is information
on three key people who are in Russia,” he
said, adding that he had spoken about the
matter to Russian President Vladimir Putin
last December. “Since then, unfortunately,
there has been no response. I am convinced
that after these people are questioned the
facts will be proved.”
Yushchenko, a pro-European politician
who wanted to bring his country out of Russia’s shadow, fell gravely ill on September
6, 2004 as he was competing in presidential
elections against a pro-Moscow candidate,
Viktor Yanukovich, now prime minister.
Months of tests in an Austrian clinic
determined that he had ingested a massive amount of dioxin, a poison. Although
he survived, his face was left bloated and
pockmarked, and he had to undergo regular treatment in Switzerland to rid his body
of the toxin. Yushchenko told Le Figaro
that his pro-European instincts were unchanged, and that he still intended to have
his country one day join NATO. He also
said that reports of disharmony with the
Russian-speaking population in Ukraine in
the lead-up to early elections on September
30 were exaggerated.
“Of course the east and west of the country belonged for 300 years to different empires, but the common heritage and efforts
are very strong. The people are different,
but they aren’t enemies.” (AFP)
Vitali Klitschko undergoes
spinal surgery: source
Former world heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, who is due to face
American fighter Jameel McCline in Munich on September 22, has undergone spinal
surgery in an Austrian clinic, a sports source
told AFP Sunday. Klitschko’s spokeswoman
Kateryna Kyrytchenko confirmed to AFP
overnight that a surgery had been done on
Klitschko, but did not give any details.
“The surgery was very serious and took
several hours” at a university clinic in Innsbruck, the source said without elaborating
on the boxer’s condition. Klitschko was seriously injured during a training session in
Kitzbuhel in Austria, the source said. (AFP)
Gliwice soldiers training for Chad mission
Road workers
uncover remains
from Jewish
cemetery in Lodz
cc:sa:Piotr Sereczynski
N E W S
Jewish cemetery in Lodz.
Agence france-presse
One hundred five soldiers from the army base at Gliwice and 45 from elsewhere in Poland will go to Chad early next year as UN peacekeepers.
Joanna Zabierek
STAFF JOURNALIST
One hundred five soldiers from the army
base at Gliwice and 45 from elsewhere in
Poland will go to Chad early next year as
UN peacekeepers, the newspaper Dziennik
Zachodni reported.
The Polish soldiers will find themselves
in the middle of one of the most brutal wars
in the world.
Chad’s second civil war began in 2005. It
pits government forces against rebels from
Chad plus Sudanese militia. Human rights
organizations have accused the rebels and
the Sudanese of killing many unarmed civilians in Chad.
The Gliwice troops have already begun
training for their mission at an army base in
Zagan. The training will last until the end of
October.
Most of the soldiers have already been
on overseas combat missions, including in
Africa, but they are unlikely to see anything
like they will see in Chad.
The rebels have been accused of murdering women, children and old people. About
250,000 civilians have died of hunger and
thirst since the war started. And tropical
diseases and unsanitary conditions are rampant.
“It will be the hardest” recent overseas
mission that Polish troops have faced, said
Colonel Dariusz Siekiera, head of the Gliwice contingent. “I have been part of many
missions, and I know that Iraq or even Afghanistan can’t be compared with Chad,
where the scenes of children killing each
other or dying from hunger” occur daily.
The Gliwice contingent will be the combat arm of the Polish force in Chad. The
45 non-Gliwice soldiers will be logistics
people. Seventy to 80 percent of the Polish
force have already had overseas combat experience.
Sergeant Grzegorz Szterleja is one of
them. He returned from Afghanistan six
months ago.
“Most of the soldiers have already been
to Congo,” where a civil war raged until
2003, Colonel Siekiera said. “They know
what Africa means. They know the specifics
of this job.”
Private Karol Frackowiak, who joined
the army in April, is one of 20-30 percent
of the Polish contingents that has yet to go
overseas.
Frackowiak, who is thinking seriously
about making the army his career, said he’s
“going to Chad for adventure.”
Overseas-combat veterans like Szterleja don’t talk about adventure. They see
the Chad mission as a test of their soldiering
skills and their ability to maintain their sanity under extreme conditions.
The Gliwice soldiers are being trained in
tactics 10 hours a day in Zagan. The training
includes conducting patrols, escorting convoys, protecting civilians and maintaining
their health.
A Warsaw University cultural anthropologist will also teach them how to deal with
people in that part of the world, letting them
know what behavior is acceptable and what
behavior would anger local inhabitants.
Road workers have uncovered human remains from the oldest Jewish
cemetery in Lodz, Poland’s secondlargest city, the head of the local
Jewish community told AFP late last
week.
“The workers were digging a
trench almost two meters (six feet)
deep when they found a human skull
and spinal column bones. They immediately stopped work to avoid desecrating the remains,” Symch Keller
said.
“We believe that there are others
buried, which could pose a big problem for the city,” he added. The Jewish religion prohibits moving human
remains.
Poland’s chief rabbi Michael
Schudrich was expected in Lodz on
Friday to discuss the issue with city
authorities.
The discovery was made Thursday
in the Baluty neighborhood, once a
major Jewish area transformed into a
ghetto by the Germans during World
War II.
“The Germans demolished numerous graves, but the cemetery survived,” Keller said.
“After the war, the Communists
built a working class neighbourhood
over the site of the cemetery, in spite
of the protests made by the Lodz Jewish community. They promised to
transfer the remains, but they never
did it.”
The cemetery dates to the beginning of the 19th Century. Some
15,000 people were buried there.
East Slavonic Language of Carpatho-Rusyn
Lemko resurfaces on streets of Bieszczady
Justyna Krzywicka
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Although seemingly homogenous, Poland
fosters ethnic minorities that have inhabited
Poland’s territory for centuries. One of these
ethnic groups is the Lemko minority. The minority is currently seeking to have all official
administrative and street signs displayed in
the Gorlice region in both the Polish and the
Lemko languages. The Lemko Youth Organization, led by the Lemko poet Helena Duc
in Krakow, filed a motion with the regional
councils in the area to have these changes
passed. Situated in the villages and towns of
the south-eastern corner of Poland, the Lemko
minority speaks an East Slavic language using
a version of the Cyrillic alphabet. Belonging
to the eastern branch of Orthodox Christianity, the Lemko minority group practices their
religion according to the Byzantine Rite. Neither Ukrainian nor Polish, the Lemkos have
fostered their own traditions and language
that are still in existence today.
The territory inhabited by this minority is
closed in a triangle which includes the Beskid
Sadecki, the Beskid Niski and the western
edge of the Bieszczady Mountains. Oniondomed wooden churches mark the landscape
of the area. The term “Lemko” originated in
the 19th Century. Other terms for the minority
used are Carpatho-Rusyns.
This ethnic minority appeared in the mountainous region of Poland in the 15th Century.
As a sheep-herding nomadic society, the Lemkos settled in what was an uninhabited and
rugged area. A mix of eastern Slavs and Vlachs
(Romanians) they fostered Balkan, Slavic and
Byzantine Christianity customs. At the end of
World War II, the official displacement of the
Lemko minority commenced. Until then almost 100 percent of the population in the area
was Lemko. Today as an official minority of
Poland they are able to practice their religion,
language and customs freely.
Statutes passed allowing for the reinstatement of minority languages alongside the
Polish language is a recent thing. According
to the statute, the existence of dual languages
is only possible if the majority agrees to such
changes.
According to Gazeta Wyborcza, this general
acceptance is evident in the region. The Polish
majority has agreed to the implementation of
Lemko signs as have the local governments.
Local Poles in the area have accepted the
changes wholeheartedly with no formal voices
against the idea being heard.
The signs will be written in Cyrillic and
situated in various villages in the Lemko area.
cc:sa:Mzopw
R E G I O N A L
cc:sa:Zandarmeria
4
Lemko people of the Bieszczady Mountains.
P O L A N D
Poland quietly celebrates anniversary
of agreements legalizing “Solidarity”
minute,” Borowczak said.
“We climbed onto an excavator, which
was immediately surrounded by a crowd
of people. We said this: ‘We must appoint
a strike committee. We need trusted people
who are respected in their work units. Let
them contact us.’
At that point the shipyard director and his
entourage turned up. “We invited him onto
the excavator,” Borowczak said. In fact, “we
helped him climb”
But “ when the director started to speak,
we suddenly saw Lech Walesa,” who asked
him “in an ominous whisper: ‘Do you remember me? I worked in the shipyard for
10 years, and I feel that I still belong here,
because the crew trusts me. I have been jobless for the past four years.’”
Then Walesa told the director: “We are
going to stage a sit-in strike.”
The strike spread to other shipyards, ports
and the public transit system in the metro
area, which consisted of the cities of the
Baltic Coast cities of Gdansk, Gdynia and
Sopot.
To try to hamper the mushrooming union
movement, the authorities cut off telephone
service between the coast and the rest of
Poland. Two days later, on August 16, the
Gdansk Shipyard management agreed to the
workers’ demands. But the shipyard workers
decided to continue striking in a gesture of
solidarity with the striking workers at other
places.
During the night, workers representing 21
enterprises that were on strike set up a coalition strike committee. with Lech Walesa in
charge.
“It will be a television channel popularizing religion for those who are interested in
religion and who practice it,” says Father Kazimierz Sowa, responsible for managing this
new media initiative.
“The channel will include documentary
films, public debate talk shows. We will have
12 of our own programs dealing with human
existence in general in a religious context,”
he told The Krakow Post. “We will even have
a cooking show led by nuns appealing to the
cooking enthusiasts” Sowa adds.
The religious channel will include infomercials dressed as self-help shows, guiding the
viewer to books and games that are suitable
for young children. “We are not just about
Christianity though. The channel will also
include programs dealing with other world
religions. We want to target an audience interested in religion in general” Sowa enthuses.
Even though the makers of the channel argue
the programs aired will also provide debating
platforms, it is difficult to imagine a religious
television channel without an evangelical
Christian agenda. “Our programs are aimed at
those who already have some knowledge of
religious practices. We will not be explaining
things from the basics,” Father Sowa underlines. The channel will also air regular Mass
footage from various parts of Poland. This in
turn quashes the past stance of the Tygodnik
Powszechny community. The weekly Catho-
lic newspaper dealing with socio-cultural issues in Poland tended to view the mass popular culture approach to religious practices
as shallow and unnecessary. Currently staff
from the newspaper will be assisting in the
production of the N religion channel.
The digital subscription to Platforma N,
will see the religious channel included in its
free TVN “Information and Entertainment”
package for its subscribers. “The religion
channel will be free of charge to those already
subscribing to N,” says Katarzyna Szczepanik from the digital media N group. “We will
be announcing the official name of the religion channel and its logo within the next few
days,” she adds.
cc:sa:Ludek
unity for the progress of the country,” said
Adam Burakowski, a historian at the Polish
Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Political
Studies in Warsaw.
In 2005 the European Parliament recognized Solidarity’s legacy by declaring August 31 a Day of Freedom.
The Solidarity movement began on August 14, 1980, when workers in the Gdansk
Shipyard went on strike. They demanded
better pay, a monument to the 42 shipyard
workers killed during a revolt in 1970 and
reinstatement of their leaders, Walesa and
Anna Walentynowicz, whom the government had fired for their activism.
Worker Jerzy Borowczak recalled that
he arrived at the shipyard at 4:15 a.m. on
August 14 to put up banners announcing a
strike. Then he prepared 500 strike leaflets.
“I gave a leaflet to every single person entering the shipyard, saying: ‘Take it and read
it. The whole shipyard is on strike today.’
About 30 of us gathered and off we went.”
Two of the 30 workers at the front of
the procession carried a banner. “People
emerged from all over the place to see what
was going on,” Borowczak said. “We shouted: ‘Turn the machines off and join us.’”
So many obliged that soon the crowd
grew to more than 1,000. In fact, it “grew
so dense that we could no longer see the end
of the procession,” Borowczak said. “At that
time we were already sure that we would
succeed.”
Workers emerged from the insides of the
ships they were building. Those noticing
the commotion from high up on gangways
would descend. “Our group grew minute by
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Internal Affairs created a task force to get the situation
under control.
The coalition strike committee then prepared a list of 21 workers’ demands.
A few days later, on August 18, the workers’ movement encompassed 156 workplaces. On August 21 it was 350 workplaces.
Basically the whole Baltic Coast was on
strike.
Then the huge Lenin Steelworks in Krakow, on the other side of Poland, joined the
strike.
On August 25 in Moscow the Political
Bureau of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union appointed a special Commission for Poland.
On August 25 strikes broke out at workplaces and at city transit systems in Lodz,
in central Poland, and in Wroclaw in the
south.
By then the coalition strike committee
was representing workers from more than
500 organizations. The strikes in Krakow
and Wroclaw spread. A strike began at the
Manifest Lipcowy mine in the Silesian town
of Jastrzebie.
In fact, strikes began spreading across the
whole country.
At a secret meeting, the leadership of
the Polish United Workers’ Party (PUWP),
or Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza
(PZPR), decided to continue the dialogue
with the strikers, rejecting some officials’
calls for suppressing the uprising by force.
Party leaders decided to approve both a
Gdansk Agreement and a Szczecin Agreement. The Szczecin and Gdansk agreements
allowed citizens to implement democratic
changes within the Communist political
structure. The workers’ main concern was to
establish a trade union independent of Communist party control and achieve the legal
right to strike. Other major concerns were to
control prices and curtail the use of foreign
currency in internal economic dealings, ensuring the proper supply of resources within
the nation and the export only of excess
goods. This would ensure a better chance for
prosperity within the nation for citizens.
Szczecin is another Baltic city.
On August 31 the government and the coalition strike committee signed the Gdansk
Agreement, ending the strike. Its most important provision allowed the formation of
independent trade unions.
As part of the agreement, Deputy Prime
Minister Mieczyslaw Jagielski agreed to release all political prisoners, including those
jailed for union-related activities. The Moscow-based Communist Party newspaper
Pravda newspaper warned the Polish party
leadership against further concessions.
Lech Walesa said he wanted to “thank
once again Mr. PM and all those forces
which prevented the imposition of any forcible solution, thanks to which we really
came to terms with each other as a Pole with
a Pole.”
“We go back to work on September 1,”
he told the strikers. “You trusted me at all
times, so please believe in what I say: We
have achieved all that we could achieve in
the present situation. And we will achieve
the rest, too, because we have the most important thing – our independent, self-governing trade unions. This is our guarantee
for the future.”
On September 1, the government released
strikers and other political prisoners. Strike
committees transformed themselves into
founding committees of trade unions.
A historic meeting of delegates of founding committees from all over the country
convened in Gdansk on September 17.
Those at the meeting decided to set up a national union federation known as Solidarity.
It was officially registered with the government on October 24.
On August 31, 1980, after shipyard workers had staged on 11-day strike, the Communist government agreed to recognize Solidarity as a trade union and meet 20 other workers’ demands. Lech Walesa, the legendary leader of Solidarity, signed the agreement.
Danuta Filipowicz
STAFF JOURNALIST
It has been almost three decades since
the Solidarity movement in Poland gave
repressed peoples all over the Soviet Union
the hope that they would be free.
It’s such a milestone in this country that
27 years later it continues to be celebrated as
the beginning of the end of the Communist
yoke.
Each year dignitaries and common folk
alike descend on the cities of Gdansk and
Szczecin to commemorate the movement.
Last week was no exception. President Lech
Kaczynski was the ranking dignitary this
time, Polish Radio reported.
On August 31, 1980, after shipyard workers had staged on 11-day strike, the Communist government agreed to recognize
Solidarity as a trade union and meet 20 other
workers’ demands. Lech Walesa, the legendary leader of Solidarity, signed the agreement on behalf of the workers.
With the stroke of a pen, Solidarity became the first independent union in the Eastern bloc. People across the Soviet Union
took notice that you could achieve a measure of freedom if you were brave and determined enough.
Polish Radio noted that political movements today are quick to embrace the legacy
of the Solidarity movement.
“Post-Solidarity parties that emerged
after the collapse of communism try to explore and use this moment in building their
own identity, because it is portrayed as a
moment of emerging freedom and national
The Krakow Post
5
Poland
unearths
remains of
Stalinist
victims
Agence france-presse
The remains of hundreds of Polish
victims of Joseph Stalin’s repressive
Soviet regime have been discovered
in the southwest of the country, the
Institute for National Memory (IPN)
said late last week.
“We have started the first exhumations. The results have confirmed
what we originally thought,” said IPN
historian Krzystof Szwagrzyk, cited
by the Polish Press agency (PAP).
The IPN is in charge of investigating Nazi and Communist crimes.
The remains, from the 1946-1956
era, were identified by x-ray in numerous areas of the Osobowicki cemetery in Wroclaw.
“We already knew that 350 people
were interred in two areas of the cemetery. We are still missing more than
500 people,” said Szwagrzyk, adding
that the search continued for those
missing.
The remains of the victims will be
exhumed and buried in a mass grave.
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TVN plans to launch new, holy channel
the krakow post
The financial success of Radio Maryja and
the religious cable channel Trwam is impressive. It is no wonder therefore that other television media companies want to jump on the
Catholic bandwagon to secure the “faithful”
demographic of viewers. The digital broadcaster Platforma N is first in line with its own
alternative to Trwam, launching its religion
channel mid-September. The official name
for the channel will be released within days.
ITI Neovision, the media group that owns
the digital Platforma N broadcaster as well
as TVN is looking to hit its audience with a
populist approach to religion.
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P O L A N D
The Krakow Post
Sushi takes on traditional kielbasa nationwide
GNUFDL
Justyna Krzywicka
STAFF JOURNALIST
With an increase in the fresh fish
distribution sector sushi bars are
sprouting across Poland like mushrooms after the rain. Although Poles
appear to be much more in favor of
forest fungi than raw tuna, Japanese
cuisine is proving popular among the
rich and the trendy.
Far from being a quick take-away
food option, the Polish sushi bar in the
past was a place considered modern
enough to take a business client to or
hip urban girlfriend on an anniversary.
This model is slowly changing. With
an increase from 50 to 80 sushi bars in
Warsaw this year alone, the trend in
fresh fish dining is leaning towards the
franchising option.
The idea is to take the cuisine out
of Poland’s major cities like Wroclaw,
Warsaw, Krakow and Gdansk and
make it popular in smaller regional
towns. Existing sushi restaurants such
as Sushi77 and Wilbo are planning
their expansion across Poland.
The Dziennik reports Sushi77 is
planning to open 20 new restaurants
within the next year in other towns outside of Warsaw. This has only become
possible with the increased availability
of fresh fish distribution companies.
National economic statistics indicate
fresh fish import rose by 57 per cent in
Sushi finds its place among kielbasa and cabbage as the newest dish in Polish cuisine.
agence france-presse
Poland late last week blocked a proposal to designate October 10 as “European Day against Capital Punishment,” arguing that it should also embody opposition to abortion and
euthanasia, an EU official said.
Poland expressed its opposition to the European Commission proposal, which already has the support of the European
parliament, during a meeting of EU ambassadors. The unanimous support of all EU member states was needed to adopt
the idea. Poland, which is currently governed by the highly
conservative and Catholic Kaczynski brothers, considers the
initiative of no interest because capital punishment has already been abolished in all EU countries.
Instead, Poland wants to create a “day in defense of life
which would condemn capital punishment, abortion and euthanasia,” according to the official.
The EU’s current Portuguese presidency said at the meeting that any debate about the Polish proposal was “useless”
because “there is no European policy on euthanasia and abortion but there is one for the abolition of capital punishment.”
Portugal hopes to change Warsaw’s opinion by October 9,
when a European declaration in favour of the universal abolition of the death penalty is to be signed at an international
conference in Lisbon. The Kaczynski brothers have publicly
regretted in the past that the death penalty has been abolished
in Europe. Poland is in the midst of a political crisis after the
Kaczynski twins decided mid-August to dissolve their rightwing coalition and attempt to organize early elections in autumn, two years ahead of schedule.
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GNUFDL
Poland blocks Climate changes may
EU anti-capital
reverse Europe’s
punishment day tourist destinations
Early winter in
September: First
snowfalls in Tatras
the krakow post
Alicja Natkaniec
STAFF JOURNALIST
Climate changes are constantly progressing. Scientists,
ecologists and politicians have
for many years warned of
global warming, but it seems
that some European countries
may profit from the environment’s changes, the newspaper
Gazeta Wyborcza reported.
According to recent scientific studies by Doctor Christos Giannakopoulos from the
Institute of Environmental Research and Well-Balanced Development in Athens, countries
like Greece, Turkey or Croatia,
currently best-ranking tourist
destinations, are likely to become unbearably hot in future
summers.
Dr. Giannakopoulos predicts that in coming decades,
Mediterranean countries will
experience heat waves and
extreme temperatures above
40 degrees Celsius. Every decade the temperature will rise
between 0.3 and 0.7 degrees
Celsius with likely occurrences of extreme weather episodes such as droughts, fires,
thunderstorms or windstorms.
This year’s heat wave especially affected Greece, Croatia,
Bulgaria, Bosnia, Macedonia
and set records in Romania,
where temperatures exceeded
45 degrees Celsius at the end
of June. Over sixty people died
in Greece during terrible heatsprung fires. Not surprisingly,
tourists may prefer calmer and
safer places to take their vacations. Winter tourism will
also be affected by the climate
changes. The ski season will
be shorter and mountains more
dangerous as increasing snowfall and higher temperatures
cause dangerous avalanches
and glacial reduction.
Of course the climate
change will vary from region
to region throughout Europe.
In Europe’s northern countries,
at the moment less attractive to
tourists, temperatures are predicted to rise. Countries still
considered “too cold” may become perfect destinations for
summer tourists. Most desirable temperatures for the average tourist hover around 21
and 22 degrees Celsius. Polish
beaches are beginning to compete with Western Europe’s as
perfect destinations to avoid
the scorching heat. Great Britain and Normandy can expect
more tourists as well.
2006, making it one of the most sought
after fresh food products in Poland.
By entering the EU, bringing back
dining experiences from abroad, Poles
are starting to consume more fish and
increase their demands for quality.
Until now a typical Polish fish dish
has been fried, marinated in oil, baked
or breaded. Friday being the traditional
non-meat eating day has seen the same
old tired recipes reproduced on Polish
dinner plates.
Frozen fish fillets such as panga or
cod, usually breaded and fried, would
be served on a plate with potatoes and
a salad.
However with the increased availability of fresh fish in supermarkets
Poles are beginning to experiment
more, looking towards the west for inspiration. Salmon, trout and even sea
food such as lobster, mussels, shrimp
and octopus are entering the Polish
home more regularly.
Ethnic food shops such as the
Sklepik Naturalny on ul. Krupnicza
in Krakow are becoming well stocked
in produce complementing fresh fish
dishes inspired by world cuisines. Offering their clients sushi rolling equipment for example is becoming more
popular, although still expensive.
The Sklepik Naturalny also offers
its clients sushi making courses and
traditional Japanese serving dishes for
a more authentic effect.
Winter is expected to hold fast in the
mountains for at least the week. Over
thirty centimeters of snow has fallen on
Kasprowy Wierch in the Tatra Mountains
this week. Thermometers showed temperatures plummet to 4 degrees Celsius.
Nearly half a meter has fallen in the area
of Morskie Oko and the Hala Gasienicowa. Standing in Zakopane, one can see
the white capped peaks of Gubalowka and
the Wielkie Krokwy. Although snowfall
during this time of the year is not unheard
of, half a meter of snow is indeed considered unusual. The mountain emergency
rescue services (TOPR) have announced a
grade 2 avalanche state of emergency. The
snow that has fallen is wet and can slide
off ridges easily, as the temperatures stay
above zero.
Hiking enthusiasts have been caught off
guard with the rapid change in the weather.
September, usually considered a preferable month for hiking due to the smaller
crowds, has this year impeded the trekkers.
An avid hiker from Krakow says he came
with all the right warm clothes and rain
gear but didn’t think to take his cramp-ons.
Unable to reach the higher peaks, he was
disappointed to be able to trek in the lower
parts of the mountain ranges only.
Tourists are being warned of the rapidly
Tatra Mountains.
changing conditions and are being asked to
be well-prepared when trekking.
Rainfall momentarily changes to snowfall and can make walking conditions all
the more difficult. Sturdy footwear, wet
weather gear and warm attire are essential.
Checking weather forecasts and hiking information at the national park center is also
recommended.
The TOPR statistics show that in the
last month alone there were 55 incidents
in the mountains where tourists were involved. Three accidents involved mountaineers. One person died and thirty four
were injured. Since January of this year,
some twelve persons have died in the Tatra Mountains. The good news is weather
forecasts predict that sunny days will still
be seen in September. According to meteorologists, the harsh weather changes seen
early autumn may be a sign of an excellent
skiing season ahead.
The mountains being a short drive south
of Krakow means great opportunities for
skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts. Zakopane, the heart of the mountains, is well
connected by private coaches as well as rail
from Krakow. Weekend skiing trips and after-work night skiing are all forms of recreation enjoyed by Krakow’s locals. Perhaps
we shouldn’t complain too much about the
awful week of weather we have been having, if it means that a white winter awaits.
K R A K O W
The Krakow Post
7
Alicja Natkaniec
STAFF JOURNALIST
Most years they meet at Oskar Schindler’s
tomb in Jerusalem.
In April of next year they will come to
Krakow to honor the man who saved them or
their parents and grandparents from the Nazis. Next year’s gathering of what are known
as “Schindler Jews” will be even more special
than usual. Those coming to Krakow, the site
of Schindler’s first factory in Nazi-occupied
Poland, will be celebrating what would have
been his 100th birthday. Schindler died in
1974. The amazing story of a German member of the Nazi Party who rescued more than
1,000 Jews during World War II became known
worldwide through the Thomas Keneally book,
“Schindler’s Ark,” and the Steven Spielberg
movie, “Schindler’s List.” The movie was shot
in Krakow.
The Krakow City Council is so excited
about the gathering’s possibilities for promoting the city that it has joined with the Schindler
descendants’ group to co-sponsor the event.
Krakow officials plan to invite some of the
stars from the movie to the event, a highlight
of which will be an exhibition on the history of
the Schindler Jews at the Palace of Art.
Schindler arrived in Krakow soon after Germany started World War II by invading Poland.
In December 1939 he bought a bankrupt enamelware factory from a Jew named Abraham
Bankier. He ran it on cheap Jewish labor.
After the liquidation of a ghetto in Krakow’s
Podgorze district in 1943, Schindler obtained
German occupation authorities’ permission to
establish an arm of the infamous Plaszow concentration camp at his factory.
Those working there escaped the main
camp’s inhumane conditions until 1944, when
the Nazis ordered them transferred to Plaszow.
Schindler then established an arms-making
factory at Brünnlitz. He received permission
to use as his workers many of the Jews whom
the Nazis had sent to the Plaszow camp. It was
then that Schindler drew up his famous list,
comprised of the names of about 1,100 Jews
whom he told the Nazis he badly needed for
his factory. The Nazis sent them there. Three
hundred women from the famous list were accidentally redirected to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Schindler stepped in to rescue
them, bringing them all back to Brünnlitz.
Schindler not only risked his life several
times to save many Jews, but he also spent
huge sums to bribe members of the Waffen SS,
which ran the Nazi concentration camps, into
leaving his workers alone.
The government of Israel and many Jewish organizations have honored Schindler. In
1962 he received the Holocaust-memorial organization Yad Vashem’s “Righteous Among
the Nations” medal. It bears the Talmud inscription “whoever saves one life saves the
entire world.”
cc:sa:Jf1288
Schindler’s Jews return to Krakow
Schindler’s factory.
Baby boy left in Window of Life this Saturday
the krakow post
A third baby has been dropped off at
the “Window of Life” made available by
the Nazarath Nunnery on ul. Przybyszewskiego 39. The baby boy is healthy and
weights 3.6 kilograms, Gazeta Wyborcza
reports. He has been taken to the local hospital for observations.
Created by the metropolitan diocese, the
purpose of the Window of Life is to save
unwanted infants. The window serves as an
opportunity for mothers who are in desper-
ation. Offering the option of handing over
infants to the Nazarath Nunnery anonymously, the window is intended to decrease
infanticide levels in Krakow.
Often in dire straits, knowing they will
not be able to raise their newborns sufficiently, desperate mothers have left infants
in rubbish dumps and on the streets in the
past.
The idea for the window was to eliminate such disasters. The window opens
from the outside onto the street and there is
a small crib in it for mothers to place their
unwanted babies.
The window became available in March
last year.
The baby boy left in it this Saturday
is the third baby to be left anonymously.
Gazeta Wyborcza reports that the nuns are
expressing their thanks to the desperate
mother who left the baby unharmed.
The two baby girls who were left in the
past year have already found homes and
been adopted. They have been placed with
good families and are stable and healthy.
The adoption and foster center in Krakow
claims there is a long line of would-be parents waiting for the opportunity to adopt
newborns.
There is no lack of homes for abandoned
infants.
Finding a suitable family for the baby
boy left on Saturday will not prove difficult. Critics of the window say however,
that the program complicates the adoption
process.
If a mother abandons her child and does
not formally renounce her parental rights, a
tiresome administrative process commenc-
es. The court must assign the child a name
and a surname, assign a guardian and commence an official search to find the child’s
natural mother.
The abandoned infant may only be given
up for adoption if its natural mother cannot
be located. The process can take months.
The baby boy left on Saturday was probably dropped off shortly after he was born.
He will be in the hospital for a week before
he is released into the hands of an official
guardian.
8
K R A K O W
The Krakow Post
Plans for a new private bus company are underway to commence operations by the
end of September, with a mini “Telebus” service.
Justyna Krzywicka
Staff JOURNALIST
Plans for a new private bus company are
underway to commence operations by the
end of September. The NV Media company
intends to enter the public transport market
with a mini “Telebus” service transporting
commuters to Krakow from various re-
gions around the city. The chain of buses
will operate via a phone-in system whereby
commuters will be able to book their transport like a taxi service.
According to Gazeta Wyborcza, the
Telebuses will operate on the most popular routes. These will take people from
Brzesoko, Bochnia, Wieliczka, Myslenice, Wolbromia, Wadowice, Miechow and
Olkusz to Krakow. The buses will not only
service outer regions of Krakow but also
its suburban sprawl which now includes
Tyniec and Swoszowice.
These areas are currently serviced by the
local MPK (Krakow’s Municipal Public
Transport). If the Telebus scheme proves
successful, MPK will have some sturdy
competition on its hands. At the moment
NV Media does not have any official plans
to enter the transport market within the city
itself.
The idea is to create one private mini
bus company under one name where buses
can be dispatched to where the commuter
is waiting. There will not be one designated
bus stop.
Commuters will ring in, book and be
told by the operator where to wait. They
will also be given the buses reference number and the estimated time of its arrival.
This method will mean the bus services
will be more flexible and convenient for
those commuters who do not live near a
direct bus route. This will connect people
who have until now been bypassed by bus
companies that have allocated routes and
bus stops unavailable in smaller villages to
pick up commuters.
To convince the new potential commuters of its new service, the Telebuses will be
equipped with bike racks.
Taking your bike on any MPK bus is
close to impossible. Telebuses therefore
will provide bike transportation services
as an option currently unavailable to commuters.
The NV Media company is putting emphasis on comfort, reported Gazeta Wyborcza. Commuters will be assured to have a
seat on all the routes and the possibility of
peacefully reading the paper.
The idea behind the concept is not to
pack as many commuters in as is currently
the trend in private bus companies. The
company plans to upgrade its fleet to 600
by spring next year.
Older buses will be exchanged for newer
models to assure comfort and safety.
An estimated time of three months is allocated to see whether the venture proves
successful.
opens in Nowa Huta
the krakow post
The newest attraction to come to Nowa
Huta opened on Wednesday. The Experiment Garden, located in the Park of Polish Aviators in Czyzyny, will provide new
educational and recreational outlets for
children.
The team charged with creating the Experiment Garden hopes to make learning
much easier for kids by displaying real examples of physical phenomena described
at school. Much of this was made possible
through the use of equipment designed by
scientists from Physics Faculty at Jagiellonian University.
Children will be given the opportunity
to move models themselves and see how
theories evolve into reality. Currently, there
are 35 fully functional devices in the park,
but this number will see an increase to 60
by Autumn. The venture was launched by
the Partnership of Nowa Huta Initiatives
– a group that connects local councils,
entrepreneurs and other inhabitants of the
district.
Much of the budget of the Experiment
Garden was secured by the EU’s European
Social Fund.
Projects on the horizon for the Partnership of Nowa Huta Initiatives includes the
construction of new conference buildings,
a cafeteria and a view tower.
The whole project should be finished by
the beginning of 2009 and cost about 6.3
mln zloty. According to its organizers, the
venture should create 50 new workplaces.
Inspiration for the Experiment Garden
came from a similar project that began in
Nuremberg, Germany over a decade ago.
cc:sa:l_A_Krzyycho
cc:sa:Ireneusz S. Wierzejski
Phone-a-bus: Krakow gets better connected Experiment Garden
Experiment Garden in Nowa Huta.
Adrian Paci’s exhibition at Bunkier Sztuki
Magdalena Kownacka
her story, an imaginary cock and cow come together with
multinational forces and explosions, illustrating the true history of her family.
Other films are “staged.” Some reenact life situations, like
Adrian Paci’s exhibition is a successive show of the Trans“Believe me, I am an artist.” This video shows Paci being
cultura Project started at Bunkier Sztuki in November 2006
questioned by police as a suspect of sexually abusing his own
by curators Magdalena Ujma and Anna Smolak. This is the
daughter after a Photography Lab reported seeing strange
team’s sixth individual project dealing with identity issues
photos Paci shot of a little girl with an Albanian border exit
of inhabitants of a contemporary globalized Europe. Having
stamp on her back. The sign is a metaphor for abandoning
previously showed Iranians in Germany, Poles in Berlin or
your country, explains Paci. It’s a mark that indicates how
Norwegians and Czechs in Europe, Bunkier now presents the
your life becomes part of your body. Although the situation
work of an Albanian artist who lives and works in Italy. Unis staged, it preserves a documentary-reportage atmosphere
like the previous shows, Paci’s presentation seems extremely
with minimal expression and the use of specific technical
personal and autobiographical. The message is straightfornews-camera aesthetics. Showing an opposite approach is
ward and clear. Videos show various periods of Paci’s arthe film “Turn on.” The ambiance is created with montage
tistic activity, utilizing diverse filmmaking techniques and
and sound. Text and narration are not as important. The film
styles. Earlier work seems to be an objective representation
is an image of the artist’s hometown, illuminated by raw light
of existing situations, like “Albanian stories” in which the
bulbs and power generators, symbols of Albania’s energy
artist’s three-year-old daughter tells strange fairy tales, and
crisis. This is an extremely beautiful and sensual picture of
mixes these with images from the Albanian war reality. In
Albanian reality.
Other films present fictional situations in a both theatrical and poetiNEW
cal manner. These are metaphorical
films like “Vajtojca,” which is a
EMPLOYMENT
funeral ceremony of the artist’s own
PORTAL
death. It shows a stirring image of a
LAUNCHING
woman ritualistically mourning over
an artist’s body.
NOVEMBER
Death becomes a symbol of trans2007
formation or even transfiguration of
an emigrant into a new man.
What ties the films together is
Contributing Journalist
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their intimacy, small number of characters, use of narrow
frames and the feeling of concentration and attention.
By focusing on himself and his experience, Paci invites
a new perspective to the discourse of migration. He shifted
a common analysis topic from focusing on relationships between “artist and society” to the relationship between “artist
and his biography.” He changes the understanding of how
being an emigrant shifts from fulfilling a cultural mask or
role to bearing a specific mark, a stigma that remains and determines one’s life. Being an emigrant means to be a victim.
Paci’s films also question the role of biography in artistic
activity. Paradoxically he denies that personal experiences
play a vital role in his art. He searches through his biography
to discover more general problems and definitions.
What gives his work an aspect of timelessness is the aesthetics. Sublimity of religious rituals, theatrical situations and
a sensual narration attitude distance us from the historical
events that the work relates to, from the social or political focus and consequently from temporality. The films’ aesthetics
imply a more existential and general perception.
Adrian Paci’s work builds on paradoxical aspects of proximity and distance, of the intimate and neutral, of objective
and aesthetic, of being emotionally involved and withdrawn.
This multitude of perspectives creates a complex image of
an emigrant, outsider and uprooted man.
The question is whether a man like this can become part of
a trans-cultural society or whether he is merely food for those
arguing that cultural borders are in fact impassable.
Adrian Paci, “Spaces In-Between.” Showing September 7-October 21 at Bunkier Sztuki,
pl. Szczepanski 3a.
From the Paci exhibit at Bukier Sztuki.
Simon Wiesenthal
Center demands Nazi
war criminals tried
K R A K O W
Alicja Natkaniec
Jim Mendenhall, 1993.
Krakow residents were recently rattled with rumors that fungi under Rynek
Glowny in Krakow is health-hazardous.
A 2,200-square-meter area below Rynek
Glowny is being transformed into an archeological restoration site.
The excavations, which began in 2005,
noticed an appearance of the micro-organisms six months ago.
But the specialists are reassuring residents that the fungus can’t move and is
harmless to the air aboveground.
The microbe conforms to its surrounding environment so staying and breathing
in the city center is not risky.
Professor Ireneusz Pluska, lead team
specialist who is preparing a detailed plan
for the museum, claims that the fungus underground is absolutely natural. His team is
preparing a technical plan for dealing with
ventilation and air conditioning systems to
help liquidate any colonies.
Several actions will implemented to
calm the nervous atmosphere created by
local media. Air-quality will be monitored
daily on Rynek Glowny and a special filtration system will be installed.
Specialists guarantee that the fungus
sample will be sent to Case Western University in Cleveland to confirm their statements. Lastly, a military chemical specialist will go underground to liquidate the
fungus colony.
City officials are upset that such rumors
spread before being verified by experts.
They fear such false publicity can negatively effect plans of converting the area
into a museum and ruin the city’s growing
reputation.
But Krakow residents are superstitious.
The rumors quickly become associated
with a “Jagiellonian Curse.”
In 1973 King Kazimierz Jagiellonski’s
tomb inside the Royal Cathedral on Wawel
Hill was opened to conduct research.
In just a few months 12 of the participating historians died.
Residents believe in a “curse,” but the
researchers were probably infected by
a carcinogenic fungus inside the King’s
tomb, Aspergillus flavus.
Rumors of fungi rattle local residents.
RUGBY
WORLD
CUP’07
September
- October
Top: Simon Wiesenthal, Nazi hunter (1908-2005).
Bottom: Headquarters of Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, California.
Alicja Natkaniec
Staff JOURNALIST
The Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization, with headquarters in Los Angeles,
California, has criticized Poland for the
lack of results in prosecuting Nazi war
criminals. The sixth annual report, prepared by the center, criticizes Poland for
not achieving either an indictment or a
conviction of ex-Nazis from March 2006
until April 2007. In this period Poland
didn’t mount any war crimes trials.
The center rated Poland’s activity in
this area as “poor” for the first time since
annual reports by the center began to be
published in 2001. The report was also
critical of countries such as Germany,
Austria, Lithuania, Latvia and Canada,
which opened dozens of inquiries but
brought none to trial. On the other hand,
it praised the U.S. for its success in unmasking and deporting war crimes suspects, and Italy, which managed for a second time to convict 10 Nazi war criminals
within one year.
The author of the report, Efraim Zuroff
from the center’s Jerusalem office, said
it was still possible to prosecute ex-Na-
zis for war crimes despite their advanced
age. And the number of those convicted
of war crimes has risen during the last 12
months. According to his statements, the
only obstacle is a lack of political willpower. One of those the center would like
to see brought to justice is Alois Brunner
who was an aide to Adolf Eichmann – one
of the organizers of the “Final Solution.”
He is believed to live in Syria and was responsible for sending thousands of Jews
to the concentration camps.
The Polish Institute of National Remembrance announced that it would not
respond to the criticism by the Wiesenthal
Center. Poland, which was invaded by
Nazi Germany in September 1939, currently has the highest number of open
inquiries against war criminals in the
world.
The Wiesenthal Center, founded in
1977, was named after the famous “Nazi
hunter” Simon Wiesenthal. After surviving the Holocaust, he dedicated most of
his life to tracking down and gathering
information on fugitive Nazis so that they
could be brought to justice for war crimes
and crimes against humanity. The center
is based in Los Angeles. This week’s report was issued by its Jerusalem office.
9
Harmful fungi or
exaggerated gossip?
STAFF JOURNALIST
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K R A K O W
The Krakow Post
Krakow: City of temples
Over 90 percent of the churches in Krakow are Roman Catholic, built in different styles from Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance through Baroque to neoclassical.
Anna Biernat
Staff Journalist
Krakow is famous worldwide for its
beautiful churches, built in different styles
from Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance through Baroque to neoclassical and
the modernistic.
Over 90 percent of these churches are
Roman Catholic. However, the few that
belong to other religious traditions also deserve attention. The second biggest denomination in Poland, after the Roman Catholic Church (34
mln members), is the Orthodox Church.
However, the exact number of Polish Orthodox worshippers is hard to estimate.
“No official count is kept,” said Jaroslaw
Antosiuk, an Orthodox parish priest in Krakow. “We think there are between 400,000
and 1.2 mln Orthodox worshippers in Poland.” In Krakow there is an Orthodox church
at ul. Szpitalna 24. Again, the exact number
of worshippers is not known.
The Krakow parish not only includes the
city, but also wide areas of the Malopolskie
district. According to Antosiuk, Krakow’s
parish might have between 250 and 350
members. The first Orthodox pastoral center in
Krakow was created in 1918 as a garrison
church. It was located on ul. Lubicz and later moved to a barracks on pl. na Groblach.
Soon after World War II broke out, the
parish was evicted from the barracks. Worshippers started to look for a new seat. In
1940 the Orthodox parish received the
building on ul. Szpitalna where Krakow’s
Jews once worshipped. The Ahawat Raim
synagogue was established around 1900
and devastated by Nazis at the beginning
of World War II. When the war ended, Jews laid claim to
the building at ul. Szpitalna 24. However,
their claims were refused and the building was officially given to the Zasniecie
Najswietszej Marii Panny (Falling Asleep
of the Holy Virgin) Orthodox Parish. The third largest religious denomination
in Poland is Evangelical Augsburg Church,
with about 80,000 members. The Protes-
tants’ seat in Krakow is at ul. Grodzka 58,
where St. Martin’s Evangelical Augsburg
Church is situated. St. Martin’s was built as a Roman
Catholic church in 1637-1644 in the early
Baroque style, following the design of the
acclaimed architect Giovanni Trevano. It
stood at the place of a former St. Martin’s
church that dated back to the 13th Century. Until 1787, Carmelite nuns resided
in the church. When they moved into a
newly built monastery on ul. Kopernika,
St. Martin’s Church was put up for sale.
And in 1816 the church was handed over to
Krakow’s Protestants.
The church has a simple structure – only
one nave, no chapels and an arched roof.
On the altar is the painting “Stilling of the
Storm at Sea,” created by the famous Polish
artist Henryk Siemiradzki in 1882. Above
the painting is a 14th Century crucifix. Poland’s fourth biggest Christian church
is the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
with about 50,000 worshippers. In Krakow
the home of the Ukrainian Greeks is at the
end of ul. Wislna, next to Planty. The Exal-
Energy conference kicks off
From FORUM on Page 1
Those on a panel devoted to energy security emphasized Europe’s need to reduce
dependence on Russian oil and gas and its
need to come up with a co-ordinated, Europe-wide energy policy.
The EU plans on September 19 to establish an agency to co-ordinate members’
energy plans.
The former president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, received the forum’s
Man of the Year in Central-Eastern Europe Award. He promoted his new book,
“Briefly, Please,” in Krakow on his way
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28 Miodowa St.
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to the forum. The EU sent three of its 27
commisioners to Krynica – Commissioner
for Enterprise and Industry Guenther Verheugen, Commissioner for Financial Planning and Budget Dalia Grybauskaite and
Commissioner for Regional Policy Danuta
Huebner, who is a Pole.
On Thursday, September 6, Huebner
signed a European Commission document
approving the regional development programs of five of Poland’s 16 provinces, including Malopolska, whose capital is Krakow. The EU had already announced the
approval so the signing was a formality.
The five regions will receive a total of
6.716 bln euro from the EU. The money
will go mostly for roads, sewage systems
and other infrastructure and for efforts to
clean up the environment.
The European Commission has yet to
approve regional development plans for the
other 11 Polish provinces.
Two other events were held in conjunction with the Economic Forum. One was a
Forum for Young Leaders in Nowy Sacz.
It gave emerging leaders in politics, business and the non-profit world a chance to
exchange ideas.
The second event was a regional forum
in Muszyna. It was convened to allow localgovernment leaders to exchange ideas.
The Warsaw-based Institute of Eastern
Studies organized the first European Forum
in Krynica in 1990. It has been held there
ever since.
The institute does reports on the political
and economic situation in the former Communist bloc, organizes conferences in Poland and abroad and awards scholarships to
top students.
On the first day of this year’s Economic
Forum the institute issued the latest installment of its annual report on the transformation of “The New Europe.” Dariusz Rosati,
an economist, former minister of Foreign
Affairs and current member of the European Parliament, directed the publication of
this year’s report.
tion of the Cross Ukrainian Greek Catholic
Church was built in 1636-1643 in Baroque
style as St. Norbert Church. It was the
home of the Norbertan nuns.
When in 1808 the nuns left the church,
it was passed on to Krakow’s Ukrainian
Greek Catholics. In 1947 the Communist regime liquidated the Greek Catholic parish and the
building was passed on to Roman Catholic
monks. In 1998 the Greek Catholic parish
regained the church. According to Krakow’s
Ukrainian Greek Catholic parish priest, Piotr Pawliszcze, there are about 100 Greek
Catholic worshippers in the parish. Apart from Christian churches, there
are also a few synagogues in Krakow. Before War World II, the Jewish community
in Krakow had about 60,000 members. At
present the Jewish Commune in the city
numbers only about 150 people. Although
many local synagogues were destroyed
during the war, we still can admire some
very beautiful temples that for centuries
served the local Jewish community. In Kazimierz seven synagogues remain.
On Szeroka street is the oldest existing Polish synagogue, the Old Synagogue. It was built either in 1407 or in 1492: the
date varies with several sources. The synagogue was devastated and ransacked by the
Nazis during World War II. During the war,
the synagogue was used as a warehouse.
The building was renovated from 1956 to
1959 and currently operates as a museum. Another beautiful synagogue is Kupa
Synagogue on ul. Miodowa. The temple
still serves Krakow’s Jewish community as
one of the venues for religious ceremonies
and cultural festivals. The Kazimierz Jewish Town’s kehilla
(kahal), a municipality, founded the modest
Kupa Synagogue for the poor in 1643. The
building underwent many alterations in the
ensuing centuries, and recently it has been
meticulously restored. The colorful interior
of the temple serves as an exhibition hall
and a venue for musical events. Apart from these two synagogues there
are five more in Kazimierz: the small Remuh Synagogue from the 16th Century on
ul. Szeroka; a neo-Romanesque Temple
Synagogue on ul. Miodowa, funded by
a fabulously rich local banker, Isaac reb
Yekele, in the 17th Century; Isaac’s Synagogue on ul. Kupa, built in late-Gothic
style; High Synagogue on ul. Jozefa and
Popper Synagogue on ul. Szeroka. All seven of the synagogues of Kazimierz are open to visitors. The Isaac’s Synagogue is accessible only by appointment
from 09:00 to 19:00 Sunday through Friday (phone: (0) 12 430-5577). Admission
to the synagogues is either free (Kupa and
Popper’s Synagogue) or 7 zloty.
K R A K O W
The Krakow Post
11
LUK Agency
Krakow’s nurseries Polish students follow
hit the Internet
workers out and away
Danuta Filipowicz
STAFF JOURNALIST
One fact is known:
The number of pupils
who leave Poland is
increasing every year.
This could become a
big problem soon for
Polish schools.
One class has been eliminated by
transferring the children to other classes.
The migration phenomenon has implications for teachers, too.
“Fewer pupils means fewer work-
places for teachers,” explained director
Nowak.
That may lead to some teachers being
fired. The Krakow Department of Education does not have data on how many
pupils have left Poland since the country
joined the EU in 2004.
“We will collect this information from
this year,” Jan Zadlo, director of the department, told Gazeta Wyborcza.
A psychologist said parents who move
abroad should take their children as soon
as possible because a younger child adjusts to a new environment easier than an
older one. Foreign schools are reported to
be treating Polish pupils very leniently.
The pupils are given plenty of time to
adjust to their new surroundings. And individual, specialized programs have been
created for them.
LUK Agency
The Krakow Department of Education is collecting data this school year to
determine how many pupils have left the
city schools.
One fact is known: The number of pupils who leave Poland is increasing every
year. This could become a big problem
soon for Polish schools, said the daily
newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza.
Parents who have decided to work and
live abroad are changing not only the
country but also the country’s schools.
Barbara Nowak, director of Primary
School No. 85 in Krakow, called the
wave of child migration from Krakow
last year “something incredible. There
was a genuine boom.”
“Eleven pupils from my school went
to England, Ireland, U.S. or Australia,”
Nowak said. “This is more than half of
the class.”
Krakow’s nurseries are now on the Internet.
Grazyna Zawada
ment. Other facilities have computers, but
staff journalist
they are not connected to the Internet. The
city wants to standardize and improve the
Krakow’s municipal government wants
computer systems to improve access for
more information about the city’s nurserboth parents and nursery headmasters.
ies to be available on the Internet. Cur“We want to complete the project as soon
rently, addresses and telephone numbers as possible,” said Pawel Lipowski, the head
of the nurseries can be found on the muof the city’s Health Protection Department.
nicipal web site. But for
“We plan to start computmany parents that is not
er training for the nursery
All nurseries are scheduled
enough.
to supply information for the headmasters in October
Those seeking a good
web site, including their email and launch the system
place for their child most
fully in November.”
addresses. This information
often search the Internet
All nurseries are schedand
improved
computer
acfor locations, and then
uled to supply informavisit the places personally cess should lead to electronic tion for the web site,
registration for the nurseries. including their email adto get detailed information. Unfortunately, of
dresses. This information
the 22 nurseries in Kraand improved computer
kow, only three have their own web sites,
access should lead to electronic registration
which list such things as operating hours
for the nurseries.
and methods used for children’s developAn e-registration system already works
well in kindergarten, helping to avoid long
lines and annoyances. Krakow plans to
launch the e-entry program for nurseries
at the beginning of September 2008. And
to increase opportunities for working parents’ kids, the city wants to open two new
nurseries, probably in the housing districts
of Kurdwanow and Ruczaj. A new nursery
also may be opened downtown.
Parents who have decided to work and live abroad are changing not only the country but also the country’s schools.
Internet access
reaches Royal Road
the krakow post
The municipality is installing transmitters
for wireless web-access along the “Royal
Road,” which stretches from the Barbakan,
through ul. Florianska, Rynek Glowny, ul.
Grodzka and down to Wawel Castle.
Krakow’s wireless web access started after U.S. President George W. Bush visited
Krakow in 2004.
The web’s range remained very limited, and mostly accessible around Rynek
Glowny’s gardens.
For the last three months free wireless
internet has been available in not only the
Rynek Glowny area, but also around Rynek
Wszystkich Swietych and the fragment of
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ul Grodzka which stretches between them.
So far the five transmitters, their installation
and the Internet service have already cost
100,000 zloty, but the Municipality plans
to continue installing transmitters along the
rest of the Royal Road, the Planty Park and
possibly to Wawel Hill by April 1, 2008.
“And it’s not an April fool’s hoax,” comments Andrzej Bohosiewicz, the director of
Krakow’s Municipal Department for Developing Information Technology.
The investment will require installing 40
new transmitters amounting to 1 mln zloty.
The main challenge is placing transmitters
on old buildings, especially church towers.
They must provide a good signal without
jeopardizing any architectural detail.
A final problem will remain for now.
Wireless web access can only be found in
open spaces as the signal has little chance of
reaching through thick medieval walls and
into courtyards where many cafes and restaurants are located.
“Please note that access to the Internet
provided by our city is of a promotional
character, facilitating access rather then providing a strong signal better found in commercial businesses.”
“If funds allow, in the future we may have
someone monitor the transmitters and quality of the web all day. But for now if [a commercial business] wants a strong, reliable
signal, they must organize it on their own,”
underscored Bohosiewicz.
12
K A T O W I C E
The Krakow Post
Joanna Zabierek
sTAFF JOURNALIST
In many Silesian cities and even more in
the villages, there is still a strong belief that
a mine is the only place where one can get
a stable job.
Miners risk their health and lives, but in
return they enjoy steady paychecks every
month, social insurance, early retirement
(at age 44 instead of 65) and many other
benefits. Those who own a business or
farm, on the other hand, can never be sure
how much they will earn every month.
That’s why the residents of Bzie-Debina
are so enthusiastic about a coal discovery
and plans for a new mining shaft in their
village. Mining experts believe that Silesia’s largest coal layer contains a vein of
coal near Jastrzebie-Zdroj, in the field of
Czeslaw Pastuszek. Pastuszek had some of
the best soil in the neighborhood; he grew
cereal grains there.
But when he was asked to rent his field
for coal operations, he didn’t hesitate. And
it wasn’t just the money that convinced
him.
“These amounts are not so high, after
all,” Pastuszek told the newspaper Gazeta
Wyborcza. “I was thinking more about my
son. He will live close to his future job
place.” He sees his son’s future in mining.
His own farming business is too risky. “The
whole hope is in the hole,” he says. There
has been no new mine shaft in Silesia for
30 years.
Instead, mines were closing and jobs
were disappearing. Now everything has
changed. Coal is now considered a more
economic source of energy, as gas is getting more and more expensive.
The coal discovery in Bzie-Debina indicates that the mining industry in Poland is
in good condition. Currently, there are 37
working mines in Poland, 36 in Silesia and
one in the Lubelskie region.
Financial woes struck the mines in the
1990s, and many miners lost their jobs. The
economic situation for mines started to improve about 2004.
Now there is a shortage of workers in
this sector. Thus young people’s attitude
toward mining has changed. New mining
schools are being opened, as there are more
and more people who want to do that job.
The occupation of miner jumped up to
fifth place in the ranking of the most presti-
gious occupations in Poland.
In return, mining students are very
pleased that the new coal layer has been
discovered in Bzie-Debina, as it guarantees that there is a future in mining. Gazeta
Wyborcza reports that new mining operation will start producing coal in 2017.
A drill was rented by Zofiowka mine,
which is part of the Jastrzebska Coal Co.
It has drilled a hole 270 meters deep and
should reach a kilometer in depth by the
end of the year.
Then miners will be able to examine
coal and rock samples, they will estimate
the size of the layer and choose the technology for constructing the new shaft.
When the mine begins operations, it will
extend the life of Zofiowka mine for another 82 years.
Vatican low-cost flight from Czestochowa
Joanna Zabierek
sTAFF JOURNALIST
The Vatican is bringing its faithful “nearer
to heaven” with a new charter airline service
designed to take pilgrims to holy sites everywhere, according to the London Times.
Because the Vatican City does not have
its own aircraft, it struck a deal with Mistral Air, an Italian cargo carrier, instead.
The charter airline’s aim is to transport pilgrims between holy places. It is operated
by the Italian Post. The first flight took off
from Rome on Monday, flying pilgrims to
Lourdes, France.
Officials expect an estimated 150,000
passengers a year will travel with the airline from seven Italian airports to destinations including Fatima, Portugal; Santiago
de Compostela, Spain; the Holy Land; Czestochowa, Poland; and Sinai, Egypt, and in
the future Mexico.
The flights, scheduled to start regular
service next year, conform to the pilgrims’
beliefs, with inscriptions such as “I search
for Your face, Lord,” on the headrests, and
religion videos shown on board. This prepares pilgrims for visiting sacred places so
they can experience more profound contact
cc:sa:Daniel Ullrich, Threedots
Coal shaft reopens Silesian mining
with God.
The Vatican earlier was reported to be
concerned that its week-long preparatory train ride designed to give pilgrims a
chance to get to know each other and to
pray together might undercut the reflective
character of the pilgrimages. The Vatican
believes pilgrims should be prepared for
visits to holy sites so as not to be thrust into
realities they do not understand.
Father Cesare Atuire, delegate administrator of Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi
(ORP), the Vatican organization for pilgrims, said the plane pilgrimage will meet
Vatican objectives. The crew of the aircraft
consists of people who specialize in religious pilgrimages. They are sensitive to listening and welcoming. They wear suits in
blue and yellow. Two charter jets are decorated in pontifical logos and painted with
yellow and white, the papal colors This
stems from the belief that the environment
during travel to a sanctuary should prepare
travelers for their destination.
Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Benedict XVI’s
vicar for Rome, who accompanied the first
plane pilgrimage to Lourdes, seems to understand the changing times.
“In the past pilgrims went on foot and
Time moves back
to Middle Ages
in Byczyna
with opening of
Medieval
Knight Town
Joanna Zabierek
STAFF JOURNALIST
Jasna Gora in Czestochowa is among holy places to which Mistral Air will shuttle pilgrims.
train. Now people are short of time yet
need spiritual solace more than ever, ” he
said. Chartered flights offer a good solution
and a response to the demands of the faithful for a better use of their time.
Jasna Gora in Czestochowa is among
holy places to which Mistral Air will shuttle Catholic pilgrims.
“It is a great thing. As soon as we finish
the A1 motorway, the way from Pyrzowice
airport to Czestochowa will take only 20
minutes instead of the present 35-40 minutes, which is also not so bad,” Czestochowa Mayor Tadeusz Wrona told Gazeta
Wyborcza.
As many as 4.5 mln to 5 mln people a
year visit Czestochowa. Foreign visitors
increase every year. A special package deal
is offered by WizzAir, the low-cost airline.
The airline offers a trip to Krakow, the
home of John Paul II, with a weekend stay
in Czestochowa. It is offered for visitors
from Great Britain, Germany, France and
Italy travelling by WizzAir. The organizers provide accommodation in one of two
optional hotels, sightseeing in Jasna Gora,
mass in the monastery and cultural attractions in the city and region.
Czestochowa authorities were also concerned about how to keep visitors occupied
longer in the city. The shrine of Jasna Gora
has been famous among Catholics for ages.
It was re-discovered by Pope John Paul II,
who never missed a chance to visit it during his pilgrimages to Poland. It is also favored by current Pope Benedict XVI. It is
because of him that there are more pilgrims
from Germany visiting Czestochowa. Statistics from Jasna Gora friars show that
about 16,000 Germans prayed before the
marvelous shrine. Some 21,000 Americans
and an ever-growing number of Italians,
the main target of Mistral Service, also visited. More Italians are expected in 2008.
Medieval Knight Town, the only one of its
kind in Poland, has opened in Byczyna. Its official name is the Polish-Czech Knight Training
Center.
As reported by the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, construction cost 14.5 mln zloty and was
partly sponsored by the EU. Because knight competitions have been held in Byczyna for a long
time and knights from throughout Europe attend
the tournaments, there was no problem winning
the EU grant.
Medieval Town has everything a knight would
need: a hotel and a medieval inn as well as blacksmith’s shop and an armory. Medieval cottages
and craftsmen’s workshops also were built. The
complex is to serve more than knights and tournament enthusiasts. According to the originators,
it also will be a tourist attraction. Some 330 spectator seats will be provided in the auditorium of
the wooden town and an equal number of seats
in a gallery.
The hub of this center is a fortified town situated on a lagoon. The town covers 2,000 square
meters. The concept is based on similar constructions from the early Middle Ages, however not as
old as the town of Biskupin. The Polish-Czech
Knight Training Center will have swords, axes,
spears, bows, crossbows and siege catapults. This
training will include swordmanship, individual
combat, combat in formation, and horse riding
with tournament weaponry. The town aspires to
become the knight’s capital of Europe.
“I have seen such places in south France and
Spain, and it has worked out there,” Jaroslaw
Gawrys, the town’s designer, told Gazeta Wyborcza. “There has been nothing like that in Poland,
so one can say we are the pioneers.”
Last weekend, knights celebrated the opening
of the town by competing in many fields of weapon use. One of the benefits of Medieval Knight
Town is that it generates new places of work,
for example in the inn or tavern. The increase in
tourism activity also helps the job market. Entering the wooden town, we can see that it was
built with great enthusiasm and passion. And it
has made a big impression on the first visitors,
who can imagine for a while that the calendar has
been turned backward to medieval times.
Brazilian restaurant
in the Old Town
ul. Sw. Tomasza 28
We invite you every day
from 12:00 p.m.
Reservations: Tel.: (0) 12 422-5323 www.ipanema.pl
A R T S
&
I D E A S
Andrzej Kowalski
Japanese celebration Tadeusz Kantor’s
of elders at Manggha Return of Odysseus
Soren A. Gauger
sTAFF JOURNALIST
While we wait for the Tadeusz Kantor
museum in Podgorze to become a reality, a
series of exhibitions and lectures has started
up in the unrenovated interiors of the old
power plant on the Vistula (ul. Nadwislanska 4). At present you can see a film/instal-
lation exhibition of a little-known Kantor
work, “The Return of Odysseus,” an underground and independent theater production
that was staged in a private apartment in
Krakow in 1944 – that is, while World War
II was still raging all around.
The exhibit is simple but effective. The
visitor enters a large black space, where a
film showing the surviving photographs of
The Krakow Post
13
the performance is looped against a large
screen. The photographs allow the viewer
to trace the play, and are interspersed with
(Polish language) texts to explain the action as it goes along. To the right of the
screen is an illuminated area which holds
the actual props that remain from the original performance. As the visitors watch the
play, a film of the historical events of 1944
is projected behind them on a second screen
- forming a historical and literal background
to Kantor’s production.
The photographs are fascinating for a
number of reasons. Most obviously, because of the context(s): the clandestine
theater in the private apartment, the staging of Greek myth in the face of nearly unprecedented real tragedy outside. There is
also the context of Kantor’s own work: his
second-to-last play, only two years before
his death, was entitled “I’ll Never Return
Here,” alluding to both his death and to
these underground beginnings.
But the photographs also have their intrinsic interest. They reveal a Kantor who
was influenced by theatrical constructivism
(e.g. Meyerhold, Mayakovsky), though this
is even more evident in his underground
staging of Slowacki’s “Balladyna” in 1943.
It is one of few plays by Kantor that was
based on a text by another author (Witkacy
and Slowacki are other early examples). In
other words, they reveal a Kantor whose
influences became barely discernable in his
later, more freely-developed masterpieces
of the 70s and 80s. In these latter productions, Kantor emerged as a seemingly singular phenomenon, and these early images
allow us a glimpse at how he might have
been inspired. The Cricoteka Tadeusz Kantor Institute will shortly be releasing a series
of five dvd’s with documentary materials on
Kantor’s plays (including “The Return of
Odysseus”) with English subtitles, to hopefully bring the work of this brilliant figure to
a wider public. The “Return of Odysseus”
exhibit will continue until September 22.
“Irina Palm” – No laughing matter
Over the past five years, the Manggha Center organized sushi preparation and concerts. This
year is no different – there will be a chamber music concert by pianist Mariola Cieniawa.
the krakow post
The Manggha Center of Japanese Art and
Technology celebrates “Keiro-no hi” – the
Japanese Day of Respect for the Elderly
– this Sunday, September 16. This is Manggha’s sixth year of holding the celebration.
The genesis of “Keiro-no hi” is shrouded
in mystery – among different explanations
for its origin a particular legend stands out.
It tells the story of a forester and his elderly
father, to whom the son gave great attention and care. Alas, working in the woods
he was not wealthy enough to assure his father even one pot of sake a week. One day,
while working as hard as usual, he tripped
and fell into a ravine. Trying to find his way
out, he came across a waterfall which turned
out to flow with sake. But not only nature
rewarded the young forester’s care; once the
emperor Gensho heard of the story he came
to “Mino,” where the father and son lived.
He appointed the son head forester and renamed the town “Yoro,” meaning “respect
for the elderly.” In memory of these events,
the Japanese honor the elderly in mid-September with special celebrations.
Such a holiday is especially significant in
Japan, where over 18 percent of the population is over the age of 65 – the highest percentage in the world.
During the past five years, the Manggha
Center organized sushi preparation and concerts. This year is no different – there will
be a chamber music concert given by award
winning pianist Mariola Cieniawa and soprano Edyta Piasecka-Durlak. The performance will include “Japanese Utas” by 20th
Century Polish composer Piotr Perkowski,
airs by Puccini and some works of Chopin.
In addition, the curator, Anna Krol, will give
a special tour of the landscapes exhibition
by Japanese-inspired modernist Jan Stanislawski and his students.
Celebrations will begin at 16:00.
Admission is free.
The Manggha Center is on ul. Konopnickiej 26, across the Vistula River near Wawel
Castle. You can get there by taking tram
lines 1, 2, 6 – stop Jubilat/Most Debicki and
lines 18, 19, 22 – stop Rondo Grunwaldzkie
or by bus lines 109, 114, 124, 164, 173, 179,
194, 439, 444 – stop Jubilat/Most Debicki
and 100, 103, 112, 114, 124, 128, 162, 164,
173, 179, 184, 194, 439, 444 – stop Rondo
Grunwaldzkie.
Soren A. Gauger
sTAFF JOURNALIST
You might recall an idiotic film that
came out some ten years ago called “Sister
Act.” The hackneyed premise of this film
had Whoopi Goldberg playing a Las Vegas
showgirl who had to pose as a nun. Hilarity and madcap hijinx, of course, ensued.
“Irina Palm,” a new film by Sam Garbarski
and featuring Marianne Faithfull (famous
for her affiliations with Mick Jagger and the
Velvet Underground), if taken objectively,
is a film with exactly the opposite premise:
a woman with a cloistered life in a depressing British suburb is thrust into the sleazy
world of the sex trade to earn enough cash
to save her dying grandson. Whoopi comes
out of her convent adventure with a reawakened spirituality, Faithful experiences
a sexual reawakening giving anonymous
men hand jobs. And here all comparisons
between the two films abruptly end.
One can easily imagine how “Irina
Palm” might have been a dreadful film. If
indeed Whoopi Goldberg had been cast in
the lead role and the director had wanted to
put a slapstick spin on everything, the issues which are given serious treatment here
could have easily vanished behind some
cheap gags. But Garbarski has subtler and
more ambiguous intentions here, and the
actors are of such high quality that none of
these characters ever fall into caricature.
No doubt there is something problematic about the presentation of the sex industry here. Generally speaking, women
do not become employed in sex parlors
because they are in search of their own
erotic satisfaction; nor do they find true
love in the person of their kind-hearted
employer (here played by the outstanding
Miki Monojlovic, who was also one of the
main protagonists in Emir Kusterica’s “Underground”). Some viewers will no doubt
take offense at Garbarski’s painting the sex
trade in such fairy-tale colors, and to some
extent they will be right. Ultimately, however, his “Sexy World” (the shop where the
protagonist works) is being portrayed as the
contemporary 50-something woman’s only
recourse in a society that will not employ
her anywhere else, and her only flight from
the stifling hell of British suburbia.
The sex shop also provides Garbarski
with ample opportunity to show how little
control over their own lives older women
are given. When he finds out about his
mother’s new occupation Faithfull’s son
becomes irrational and abusive, even forcing his mother to quit, in spite of the fact
that the job is a sacrifice for his own son’s
health. And so in spite of its sentimentalizing of a vulgar business, “Irina Palm”
has a great deal to say that is feminist in
its outlook. It is also self-reflexive in an interesting way. Much as Faithfull’s character rediscovers emotional depth and sentimentality through obscenity, the film itself
seems to posit the vulgarity of its subject
matter as a license to be sentimental. Nothing much happens on the “date” between
the professional hand-job-giver and the
sex-shop owner, but the dialogue that takes
place between them would not have been
out of place in “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Paradoxically, “Irina Palm” even sometimes comes across as a somewhat old-fashioned film. The important difference being:
whereas previously pretexts needed to be
invented to show risque subject matter in
a film, now it is sentimentality that needs
justification – and in this case through risque material.
Irina Palm is now showing at the Pod
Baranami Cinemas on the Main Market
Square.
14
The Krakow Post
A L T E R N A T I V E
C O N S U M E R
Bottled water of healing
cc:sa:Luther777
Joanna Zabierek
many. Many scientific papers were written
on Zablocka’s positive influence on health.
However its fame wasn’t enough to overA century-old well-spring in Zabloc will come the financial problems of Polish spas
soon begin producing brine many people bein the 1980s. They stopped buying the salt
lieve is beneficial to our health.
and because of that saline production was
The spring, in a city park near Strumien,
halted.
has a hundred years of history. Soon, after a
Two years ago a company was launched
long break, brine will again be drawn from to re-open the excavation of salt, Gazeta
the spring, bringing benefits to people who
Wyborcza reported.
will be able to drink or inhale the iodine
“We have already dealt with the whole
the brine consists of, Gazeta Wyborcza rebureaucracy. We have received the concesported.
sion from Ministry of Environment at the
The brine ledge shelf
beginning of this year and
has accumulated in the
thanks to that we can start
The
brine
in
question
is
millions of years that sea
the excavation,” company
actually just water, but
plankton have lived, died
owner Boguslaw Golik
and decayed in the brine.
thanks to its richness of told Gazeta Wyborcza.
The brine in question is
The company is hoping
minerals it is believed
actually just water, but
the saline will become
to be beneficial to our
thanks to its richness of
as well-known as it once
minerals it is believed to
was.
health and body.
be beneficial to our health
“It has a wonderful
and body. Water from the
quality. It’s the world’s
Zabloc well spring, called Zablocka, cononly brine of such sodium, with a concentratains the world’s highest concentration of tion of even 130 mg per liter. Sea water has
iodine and bromine. It also has high cononly 2 mg per liter,” Golik added.
centrations of calcium, potassium, ferrum,
The company has already initiated a partchlorine, sodium, selenium, magnesium and nership with spas, pharmacy companies and
many other micro-elements important for other businesses who want to make use of
good health..
the water. The water can be purchased for
Poland is uncommonly rich in various
private use in 2-liter bottles in markets, almineral waters, including the famous wellthough there are more expansive plans for
springs in Krynica or Naleczow but also the the product. Soon the saline will be used also
smaller and sometimes overlooked water in Strumien, where the brine is located. In
resources, like Zablocka.
spring the town will open a fountain with a
This water is widely used at spas for resaline circulation. The water spread all over
habilitation purposes, in curing a variety of the park will make a mist and people sitting
ailments from skin conditions to bladder
on the banks will be able to inhale the iotrouble. Its influence on our body was disdine.
covered about a hundred years ago as AustriStrumien Vice Mayor Roman Gren told
ans searched for coal resources. They didn’t Gazeta Wyborcza, “We want to promote our
find them, but inside the 1 kilometer-deep saline and encourage tourists to come to
hole (called the crown), which remained Strumien.”
after drilling, saline produced so-called ZaAnother idea is to use the brine to make
blocka iodine-bromine salt.
pools with healing water. If investors can be
After World War II the saline was used by
found, such pools would no doubt become
spas in Poland as well as in Austria and Gerpopular and attract visitors to the village.
sTAFF JOURNALIST
Poland is uncommonly rich in various mineral waters, including the famous well-springs in Krynica or Naleczow but also the smaller and
sometimes overlooked water resources, like Zablocka.
BAYIT HADASH
Encounters with Jewish Culture
September 16-November 28
4 Tishri – 18 Kislev 5768
Sunday, September 16, 18:00
THE NEW YEAR’S CONCERT –
ROSH HA SHANA 5768
Concert performed by CRACOW BRASS
QUINTET: Bartosz GAUDYN, Michał
WARZECHA, Paweł DZIEWOŃSKI,
Paweł CIEŚLAK and Jakub URBAŃCZYK.
Tuesday, September 18, 18:00
Jews – Ancient Rome – Contemporary
Times – a lecture by Prof. Aleksander
KRAWCZUK.
Wednesday, September 19, 18:00
Warsaw Notes on the Holocaust – The
Diary of Wilm Hosenfeld –- a lecture by
Prof. Tomasz SZAROTA.
Monday, September 17, 18:00
Thursday, September 20, 18:00
GREAT CHALLENGES OF THE
CONTEMPORARY WORLD
Le Marais – The Jewish Quarter of Paris
– an opening of the photographic exhibition by Bogdan BORKOWSKI (France),
organized in cooperation with the French
Consulate General in Krakow.
EU: Memory and Tolerance –
A lecture by Prof. Stefan MELLER.
Sacrum-Profanum Festival
ARKA NOEGO
Our restaurant is located
in one of the oldest
buildings in Kazimierz.
We serve all kinds of Jewish
cuisine, based mostly
on local recipes.
Come to enjoy delicious
Jewish dishes.
Live klezmer music
every night at 20:00.
Open daily: 09:00-02:00
ul. Szeroka 2
+48 (12) 4291528
[email protected]
www.arka-noego.pl
Sacrum Profanum Festival.
Soren A. Gauger
sTAFF JOURNALIST
Hard to believe that we already have the
fifth edition of the Sacrum Profanum Festival, a slick, international, high-budget “concept” undertaking that serves both as a way
of popularizing classical music and giving
popular music a classical facade. This happy
(or unhappy, depending on your point of
view) confusion is particularly evident in
this year’s festival, devoted to the country
where this confusion perhaps thrives the
most: the U.S. Things kick off on September
16 with conductor Marc Minkowski, one of
the world’s leading lights in classical music,
and Leszek Mozdzer, a jazz pianist of superlative abilities, devoting their considerable
talents to the mediocre works of Gershwin,
of all people. Can the best of performers inject life into the most threadbare material?
The next day (September 17) has two
concerts – Tomasz Stanko and his quartet
will play Miles Davis (this will seem a very
logical pairing if you know this world-famous jazz musician’s music) at 19:00 at the
Philharmonic. Stanko has been paring down
his sound over the years to become more
and more minimal, and probably his best
years are behind him, but the combination of
him and Davis does seem to promise some
good moments. Then later, at the onetime
“Emalia” Factory on ul. Lipowa 4, the Silesian Quartet will play five (!) Philip Glass
quartets. The Silesian Quartet has by now
made a remarkable name for themselves,
and their renditions of contemporary composers (particularly Lutoslawski, Schnikte,
Shostakovich) are really first class, but can
they keep an audience awake through five
Glass quartets in a concert starting at 22:00?
No small challenge.
Many of the remaining concerts feature
performers and composers that are more
equally matched. The remarkable 19thCentury “outsider” composer Charles Ives
once wrote: “Beauty in music is too often
confused with something that lets the ears
lie back in an easy chair.” His quartets and
piano music (which are indeed not for the
lazy-minded) will be performed by Maciej
Grzybowski (piano) and the Royal String
Quartet on Tuesday, September 18 at 18:00
at the Philharmonic. The repertoire includes
the “Concord” piano sonata, which critic
David Johnson described as “the thorniest of
Ives’ work.” Steve Reich will have two concerts devoted to his work, performed by the
London Sinfonietta and the Schonberg Ensemble (September 18 and 19, respectively).
And John Cage’s “The Music of Always”
will be performed at the aforementioned
Emalia Factory at 22:00 on September 20.
These concerts all sound promising for those
who can stomach a bit of the avant-garde.
The final concert will be an absurd spectacle at the Nowa Huta Steelworks, involving scenes from “everybody’s favorite”
Leonard Bernstein musicals. Sounds like a
bad night out, though it must be confessed
that the steelworks do have an incredible
post-industrial grandeur.
And finally, a warning: this kind of highpromotion, heavily-marketed festival does
not come cheap.
Don’t expect to go to a “Sacrum-Profanum” concert without it burning a hole in
your wallet to the tune of 50-190 zloty. As
a rule of thumb, the more avant-garde and
the later in the evening the concert, the less
you’re likely to pay. Caveat Emptor!
C L A S S I F I E D S
ADVERTISING:
+48 (0) 77 464-0492
BUILDING & REPAIR
ANGLO-POLISH EXPERT BUILDERS
Specialists in Interior Renovations. Quality,
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WOODEN HOMES
Companies wanted who can built wooden
houses in Western Europe. [email protected]
MEDICAL SERVICES
MEDICUS Health Care Professionals
We will solve all your medical problems
quickly and professionally. Team of
clinical doctors, nurses and rehabilitators.
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bills for your insurance. Since 1990.
CLASSICAL GUITAR
Are you looking for classical guitar music
for your restaurant, club or corporate
party. Spanish and Argentinian classical
music. Jurij Bejczuk: +48 507-606-451
EDITING SERVICES
Need help editing your English-language
texts? Write: [email protected]
PRIVATE LESSONS
Looking for a Persian-language teacher
from Jagiellonian University for private
lessons. Email: [email protected]
NETWORKING
A Dutch businessman is looking to meet
fellow countrymen based in Krakow and
the region for networking, chatting, barbeques, parties and generally being cheap
together. Please drop me a line at my
email: [email protected]
Momotown Hostel
ul. Miodowa 28
Tel.: (0) 12 429-6929
[email protected]
www.momotownhostel.com
Barbakan
ul. Ks. St. Truszkowskiego 52
(0) 12 683-3599
eMail:
[email protected]
www.taxi.barbakan.krakow.pl
Tele-Taxi
ul. Dzielskiego 2
Toll Free!
(0) 800 500-500
Tel.: (0) 12 413-9696
(0) 501-449-626
[email protected]
Looking for Russian speakers to hang out,
talk, have a good time. Please write me at:
[email protected]
Hotel Amadeus
ul. Mikolajska 20
Tel.: (0) 12 429-6070
Fax: (0) 12 429-6062
[email protected]
Searching for lonely depressed people
who are questioning the meaning of life.
[email protected]
CONGRATULATIONS!
TAXIS
Tele-Taxi offers the quickest and safest
taxis in and around Krakow. Call us for a
ride anytime toll free at: (0) 800 500-500
PERSONALS
An 82-year-old English businessman is
looking to meet a nice Polish lady aged
18-25 for a long-term relationship. Must
look good in a string. Please email:
[email protected]
AUTOMOBILES
Looking for ANCIENT VW vans!
I’m looking for old VW vans to add to my
collection. They can be any year, shape,
size, condition, etc. Send photos and short
descriptions to: [email protected]
INVESTORS
Looking for business-minded individuals,
who are interested in exploring investment opportunities in Russia and Ukraine.
Spheres of interest include print media and
hospitality. Write: [email protected]
CATERING
Interested in trying homemade Russian pelmeni or Armenian pierogi? Top
Russian chef offers great quality for low
prices. Write: [email protected]
Jacek Gruszczynski, we would like to wish you and your
wife Agata the best on your wedding day. We are honored and grateful to have the pleasure of working with
you. May your first child be a masculine child.
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