Thoughts about April in Poland

April was a difficult time in Poland. A plane carrying 96 Polish citizens crashed in Russia. On the plane were; their president, top generals, the head of the central bank, key politicians, advisors, religious leaders, cultural figures, pilots, and flight attendants. They were on a plane to commemorate a sad moment in Polish history. Sadly, in a way, it seemed like a cruel joke, but there is no punch-line it really happened.

The crash initiated a spontaneous outpouring of grief. Polish citizens came out in the tens of thousands of all ages with flowers and candles to lay at the presidential palace. This marked off a weeklong period of mourning, which sparked a flood of citizens to lay tribute to the victims. An ensuing media circus circulated around Warsaw day and night, flags hung over buildings at half mast (two black flags blew in front of the gates of the University,) and the world gave its condolences as the international arena was respectively at a loss for words.

Poland is a nation that has had a lot of misfortune historically. In recent times things had been going well here. Yet, there was an unusually long cold winter this year, and this event happened just as it was getting into spring. It was like the gods were not over with handing down to Poland unwanted and unfortunate news.

Despite this, looking over the past month, I must admit I am impressed to see how well this nation has dealt with this tragedy. So much has already been reported, analyzed, updated, and cited. Yet, as visitor to Poland living through this, I would like to humbly add how impressed I am at how a relatively large European nation has been able to get back on its feet and show amazing resilience.

On a human level, it’s unfathomable to lose so many people in such a sudden manner. The memory of the victims will always be enshrined in Polish history. Yet Poland has always been regarded as a strong nation, and the strength comes from its people. After this catastrophe, the nation is as strong as ever.