Monday, April 12, 2010

Polish tragedy

It was Saturday afternoon when we decided to head to Target 'cause the little one needed a new pair of gym shoes.  As we were driving through the neighborhood, Polish flags started appearing on cars as they zoomed by us.  Upon further exam . . . we noticed that houses were also displaying the flags.  My hubby asked me if it was Polish Constitution Day.  I told him I thought I was in a couple of weeks.  Looking further still and on the way back from Target  . . . we noticed more and more flags up, but then I noticed . . . black ribbons . . . I told my hubby . . . something's wrong . . . something's happened.  We turned the radio on and when we got home, turned on the news.  Tragedy . . .  plane crash . . . many top officials dead . . .

At first it was hard to believe, I wasn't really comprehending everything completely.  I watched all the news and read all that I could about this tragedy and then I realized . . . I know that word . . . Katyn . . . and then it hit me . . . I knew exactly what they are talking about.  The statuary at the cemetary.  I was at the cemetary just last fall, visiting my mother and brought my camera this time . . . I needed to take a picture of the new sculpture at the entrance of the cemetary . . . it was just so mesmerizing . . .


It's just really hard to describe the mood of the neighborhood and surrounding area here.  On my block alone there are 8 - 10 Polish flags flying.


We happened to pass by the cemetary today and there is a sea of candles and flowers at the base of the Katyn Memorial sculpture.  Cars were lined up all along the cemetary road and people were starting to gather again.

My prayers are with Poland at this time.

4 comments:

  1. Nice post. Northeast Pennsylvania has a lot of Polish folks (including me), so our hearts go out to Poland.

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  2. Thank you for your post. There is much more to Katyn than just a sculpture... 70 years ago Russians murdered over 20,000 Poles. They were high rank military officers, priests, scientists, teachers, professors, doctors, lawyers. Our history books were falsificated, they never admitted the truth until 1990. Now the history repeated itself...

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  3. EvalinaMaria,

    Maybe I should have clarified. At the time I took the photo, I did not know what Katyn was or meant. After all the news and reading about this tragedy this past week, I now understand why Katyn is significant and the history behind it.

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  4. Thank you for this post. I have several good friends who live in Poland. This will be a difficult time for everyone there.
    Nicole/Beadwright

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