My recent travel to Poland
By Dr. Selim Erhan, TLT Editor | TLT From the Editor September 2024
This country has advanced with new roads, infrastructure and businesses.
I have been traveling to Poland since the early 2000s. It was a developing country then, just out of the iron curtain block. One day I walked into a bookstore while waiting for my wife to complete some government business. It was a large bookstore, and what amazed me was that half the bookstore was devoted to children’s books. The quality of the books and the quality of the pictures made each one a piece of art. I had never seen so many children’s books in any country I had visited, and I have visited quite a few countries. I knew then that Poland would advance very quickly.
Polish people have a strong family structure, a hard-working nature and a great respect toward education, especially the education of their children. This dedication to education continues in the Polish people in the U.S. In Chicago, where the Polish descendant population is second in numbers after Warsaw in Poland, every single child that has a Polish heritage goes to a Polish high school every Saturday until they complete an 11-year education in literature, history and social sciences.
I saw Poland advance every year as we went back for family visits and vacations. New roads, new infrastructure and new businesses sprung up like mushrooms. Older buildings were restored, magnificent museums were built and palaces that were left to ruin during the communist times were restored and opened to the public. One can attest to the hard-working nature of the Polish people and their dedication to their heritage when comparing pictures of cities that were leveled after WWII and were restored to their old glory, stone by stone. Artwork that was hidden during the war was put back in their places, which brings these palaces back to their original shape.
I didn’t go back to Poland for eight years, after my wife’s untimely passing. Last year when some friends expressed a desire to go to Poland, I happily volunteered to be their tour guide. I was again impressed by the restorations, the new roads and highways that crisscrossed the country and most of all by the perfect English everyone spoke. After I had lost my translator and had forgotten my elementary Polish in the last eight years, I was a bit hesitant on the language side but pleasantly surprised when we did not run into a single person who did not speak very good English. We saw an example of a magnificent display of high culture when we went to Lazienki Park in Warsaw to see one of the summer palaces and the Frédéric Chopin Monument in the center of the park. It was Sunday, and the weather was sunny and very nice. As we approached the place where the statue was, we heard piano music, a peace from Chopin. Then we saw that there was a concert. A pianist played their beloved composer’s music under the statue and hundreds of people stretched on the grass all around a small pond in front of the statue were quietly listening to the music of their beloved composer. He never forgot Poland, and Polish people never forgot him.
The Frédéric Chopin Monument.
This huge development and freedom from the communist regime had been catalyzed by Pope John Paul II in 1979. He was Polish and loved his country. Polish people are devoted Christians and 99% Catholic. The regime knew what he was about to do and even tried to have him assassinated, but he survived, recovered and made his visit to Poland. The whole country came to a standstill, and everyone was listening to him in squares, on the radio and from the television as he spoke. He said if all of you stand up, they will not be able to do anything. Immediately after, the shipyard workers went on strike, and the workers all over the country followed. When the country came to a standstill the occupiers quietly left, opening the doors to the true potential of a hard-working nation!
I have a modest hope that this kind of dedication from citizens can solve the problems that result in forever road constructions, which I wrote about in a previous TLT article. We can all stand up and get our roads repaired with modern technology, which will save us time, reduce fuel consumption and help lower carbon emissions. The resources we save can be dedicated to, let’s say, children’s books!
Dr. Selim Erhan is director of business development for Process Oils Inc. in Trout Valley, Ill. You can reach him at serhan@processoilsinc.com.