Quo Vadis II essay contest 2010 - First Place
"Echoes from the Past: Awakening Agency and Advocacy in Young Polish Diaspora"
by Louiza Szacon
Poland's transition out of Soviet rule has been marked with incredible triumphs due to collective organization and resistance. The Solidarity movement was mobilized by the rule of the people, with an agenda that supported a social democracy. Since, Poland has experienced a declining role of the nation-state relative to local and global levels of political and economic organization, and the weakening of national identity relative to local identity and global integration (Galbraith, 2006, 921). Nationally, some Polish youth have taken to the streets in protest to protect the sovereignty of Poland, as well as advancing their own rights; they are active in their communities and aware of political and socially strife nationally and internationally (Burns & Wiercinska 2006; Fields 1991; Kalwaic 2007). Yet, the same type of mobilization is not evident amongst Polish students and adults in North America (Mandell & Mandell, 2006). This is taking in to consideration Poland's turbulent past and the generations of Polish freedom fighters and activists who have paved the avenues for democracy in Europe. Older generations of Poles migrated to North America due to persecution in Poland, and yet little is done by the younger generation to protect our rights on this new soil. For example, Polish migrant workers are favoured for their dexterity yet receive minimal wages. University campuses have always been the breeding grounds for social movements. Of all nationalities, Polish students should be the most engaged, given Poland's patriotic, empathetic, and revolutionary past.
This begs the question, what has spurred the demobilization of Polish immigrants in Canada? Are Polish rights in Canada so secure that they need not be monitored? This composition will briefly outline some political and economic forces which have altered Polish perceptions, as well as provide some insight for possible remedies, based on my experience as a researcher and activist. I seek to address some of the advocacy gaps which exist between the younger and older generations in Polonia.
Being a post-Soviet state, communism had called for paranoia and individual competition for survival, which weakened the society due to self interest. Poles are threatened, not encouraged by each other's successes, as is typical of many nations who have lived under communist regime (Brzezinski, 1991, 149). Russian philosopher, Alexander Zinoviev, used the term "homo sovieticus" to describe former Soviet citizens, who are now continually plagued by paranoia, helplessness, and self-interest, rather than collective work (Beyer 2006: 13). In other words, the scars of Sovietism bare deep in the life experiences of Poles, making collaborative work difficult. Moreover, the prospects of any leftist or community organizing conjure painful memories of the Soviet past (Beyer 2006: 13). This is also manifested economically and politically: Brzezinski writes, "It is an extraordinarily complex task to undertake the reconstruction of a large economy that has been state controlled for forty years in a setting in which collective motivation has been paralyzed and destroyed, in which the economic culture is out of tune with the spirit of the times" (1991, 149). With most Poles still harbouring feelings of resentment towards each other, these feelings are reproduced in subsequent generations.
In 1989, the Polish economy underwent titanic changes. The Polish Solidarność movement heralded the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe and the country sought to adopt a modern market economic system (Jensen, 2007). Establishment of market institutions was based on markets acting as the principal means of coordination, decentralization of information, transfer of ownership from the state to the private sector, and the alignment of social and political interests with those of economic behaviour. Ultimately, the shock therapy process can be summed up with neoliberal ideology: liberalization of the market, stabilization, privatization, supporting market oriented institutions, and integration in to the world economy.
This agenda ultimately took to course when on January 1, 1990, Minister of Finance, Leszek Balcerowicz, implemented the ‘shock therapy' plan (Jenson, 2007). Sprouting from economist Morgan Friedman, shock therapy refers to the sudden fast policy changes, release of price and currency controls, withdrawal of state subsidies, and immediate trade liberalization within a country (Malec 2007). The initial shock often occurs after there has been a sudden change within society, by means of surprise like a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, or collapse of a regime. Essentially this ‘shock' of sudden change is supposed to ease rapid modification to a system, and then allow members of the system to assimilate in to the new structure (Klein, 2007).
Poland experienced this major shock when after years of suppression under a Soviet regime, a new form of democracy and elections were unleashed. With the Polish collective in shock and trusting the new leaders' doctrines of democracy, the transformation was not only easy to disguise, but illustrated as an optimal avenue towards prosperity for all (Klein, 2007). The unprecedented threw the country in to a state of social disarray. Especially during this time, many Poles fled to surrounding countries and the Western hemisphere. Many economists believe that these short term grievances were worth the ultimate outcome: a constructed path towards modernity, as defined by the super powers of the world.
Though the Solidarność movement was based on collective participation, equality, freedom of speech and rights, Poles were alienated from their own identity and each other, paradoxically, by the liberalization instruments of the ‘shock therapy' paradigm. It should be added that during this period of transition, no Polish government was succeeded in being elected for a second term in office (Jenson, 2007). In this way, a feeling of dissatisfaction and uncertainty nestled throughout the country, and naturally, amongst its fleeing emigrants.
The economic shock efforts were questionably successful, considering that even after European Union accession, many Poles continue to flee in search of more profitable employment. Although the unemployment has fallen considerably in the past few years, this is mainly due to a decline in the labour force (Jensen 2007). In the past few years, 1.5 million educated Poles have emigrated to work in other countries, especially Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland, often being underemployed in low-skill, low pay employment (Cebula, Taler, & Weglowski 2007). This poses a considerable threat to the availability of skilled labour in Poland and more importantly, illustrates the large supply (thus cheap supply) of Polish labour internationally. In Poland, the highest states of unemployment were found among educated young individuals aged 20-29 years old, with unemployment staggering as high as 50 percent in some regions (Jensen, 2007). When these individuals leave Poland, they often find themselves "washing pots and pans", offering the world cheap, exploitable labour (Warsaw Voice, 2007, November 21).
Poland has seen a plethora of social movements, fighting for the status quo and equal access to opportunity. Poles have been involved in intense bottom-up struggles of racial minorities, feminists, queers, environmentalists, and antiwar protestors (Mandell & Mandell, 2006, 5). Clearly, passion, agency, and advocacy are still alive in the Polish spirit. This is made even more blatant when illuminating the recent North American achievements of conferences like Quo Vadis, and organizations like PISK, PANGEA, YouNxt, YPCPA, Ekran Film, and SamiSwoi. SamiSwoi is particularly interesting as it attempts to bring easily accessible information to Polish migrants in Canada. With hope, these groups can work together to ultimately advocate for larger improvements in the Polish status quo.
Most of my experiences in activism and organizing have rested primarily outside of the Polish community. The reason for this is because I have found the Polish community to be not particularly engaged in social justice issues, but rather complacent and passive in Polonia, as well as Canada. I found most organizing to be based on culture and fundraising, which are critical, but explicit niches of progressive collaboration were missing. Meanwhile, other ethnic minorities with less dense demographics appear to be more cohesive: Sikhs in Toronto erected the Sikh Activist Network, regularly lobbying for fair treatment and human rights of their people, as well as protesting deportations.
The ultimate catalyst which connected my activism and Polonia was the 2007 murder of Robert Dzieńkanski in Vancouver. At the time, I was studying social justice and peace studies at the University of Western Ontario; a group of progressive and politically engaged students, few Polish, decided to stage a protest at Queen's Park. I was asked to represent students and my rally speech was very warmly received, primarily because Polonia had seen few young people engaged in the political community.
Much like the Dzieńkanski initiative, there is a plethora of niches that are in dire need of attention, lobbying, and activism. Some examples: the alarmingly low rates of Poles in post-secondary education, concentration of migrant workers in low-wage employment, and deskilling of Polish labourers. The older generation fought for rights upon landing in North America because their livelihoods depended on establishing multifaceted roots, socially, politically, and economically. They were very successful, creating the illusion that further work was not needed. Polish activism has remained sparse on the young Pole's radar. It is time to recentralize goals and reconnect with Poland's revolutionary roots. Solidarność had originally brought out the heroism, self-sacrifice, and collective work for collective success amongst Poles. Perhaps it is time to return to these roots of solidarity. CR
Works Cited:
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Burns, T. & Wiercinska, G. (2007, September). Polish nurses inject solidarity in to labour movement. Industrial Worker, 104 (9), 12.
Cebula, A., Taler, J. & Weglowski, B. (2007, May). An assessment of Polish power. Modern Power Systems, 27 (5), 13.
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Warsaw Voice (2007). Warsaw Voice, Inc.. Retrieved December 3, 2007 from Warsaw, Poland. Web site: http://www.warsawvoice.pl/newsX.php/
