From the moment I landed in the Warsaw airport I had flashbacks from last year, when I saw with my own eyes the huge numbers of Ukrainians flooding Poland.
Flooding and spilling over, inside a neighbour that wasn’t equipped with the resources to be able to help millions of people who lost absolutely everything, didn’t speak the language, and were just trying to survive.
But despite this, so many Polish volunteers came together on their own, finding resources, creating refugee centres and helping each and every Ukrainian who stepped on Polish soil, since the first day of this war.
For this, the Ukrainian people are extremely thankful.
Currently there are about 1.5 million Ukrainians who have crossed into and settled in Poland since the beginning of Russia’s War. This overwhelming number and the fact that members of my family are a part of this number, as well as Warsaw’s history after WWII are the reasons we decided to travel to Poland last week.
On our first day in Warsaw, we were led on a tour of the old town, discovering the history of a city that was 85% ruined at the end of World War II and the images of which are hauntingly similar to images of cities in Eastern Ukraine today. Destruction is the only thing you see. You see how the city was systematically flattened. The reconstruction and rebuilding of Warsaw that began at the end of WWII lasted into the 1980’s. It took about 40 years to fix something that was destroyed in 5 months.
We discussed people’s rights to remember history during the years after the war, under a government that restricted those rights. This is similar to many instances in Ukrainian history when events were forced out of the memories of the people who lived through them and were hidden from future generations who would never hear of them.
We talked about being in a limbo state, unsure of the future and unable to make serious decisions. We talked about plans that suddenly change.
The importance of taking action, of deciding to do something you think should be done instead of waiting for others to make the first move. This mentality became critical in February of 2022 during Poland’s response to the sudden flood of refugees.
We thought of music as therapy for both composers/performers as well as the audience. We talked about the power of committing to your beliefs and standing strong.
Thank you for your continued support and for believing in this project.
This project is made possible with the support of Canada Council for the Arts.