Posted on May 18, 2022
How the war in Ukraine 'changed everything' for a generation of young Poles
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https://www.npr.org/2022/05/18/ [login to see] /poles-polish-youth-war-ukraine-russia-refugees
As Ukrainians were racing to the Polish border to escape the Russian invasion, countless Poles rushed directly to meet them and help.
And these experiences of coming to offer aid, of inviting people into their homes and bearing witness to the suffering of their neighbors, are having a profound effect on this generation of young Polish adults.
Basia Olszewska, Lilia Nguyen, Tomek Mądry are all Poles in their twenties. The war has changed how they see themselves, their government, and their roles in Polish society.
In their own words, they tell NPR what that transformation has looked like.
As Ukrainians were racing to the Polish border to escape the Russian invasion, countless Poles rushed directly to meet them and help.
And these experiences of coming to offer aid, of inviting people into their homes and bearing witness to the suffering of their neighbors, are having a profound effect on this generation of young Polish adults.
Basia Olszewska, Lilia Nguyen, Tomek Mądry are all Poles in their twenties. The war has changed how they see themselves, their government, and their roles in Polish society.
In their own words, they tell NPR what that transformation has looked like.
How the war in Ukraine 'changed everything' for a generation of young Poles
Posted from npr.org
Poland
Russia
Ukraine
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Basia Olszewska 22, student and teacher
It was the first day of the war and I woke up, my flatmate woke me up, and he said that tanks crossed into Ukraine. I was just crying and I wasn't able to stop. And I didn't know what to do. And then, after a day or two, we took a group of three people from Congo, but they were studying in Kyiv. In the morning, there were eight people in my room. So this was the beginning. And then, me and my flatmate decided we wanted to help. And we're helping now in our organization, it is a club of Catholic Intelligentsia.
I should do the things that I can do, you know? Like, I didn't see myself rebuilding the Ukrainian country. I'm sorry, but it's not for me. I can organize camps for children, it is the thing that I usually do. But more broadly, I can't go back to the situation we had before.
Our generation now, we know exactly where the small cities are in Ukraine, and from where the refugees came. And it is a fantastic thing, because we're interested. We love the Ukraine people. I know how it sounds, but we really care."
..."Basia Olszewska 22, student and teacher
It was the first day of the war and I woke up, my flatmate woke me up, and he said that tanks crossed into Ukraine. I was just crying and I wasn't able to stop. And I didn't know what to do. And then, after a day or two, we took a group of three people from Congo, but they were studying in Kyiv. In the morning, there were eight people in my room. So this was the beginning. And then, me and my flatmate decided we wanted to help. And we're helping now in our organization, it is a club of Catholic Intelligentsia.
I should do the things that I can do, you know? Like, I didn't see myself rebuilding the Ukrainian country. I'm sorry, but it's not for me. I can organize camps for children, it is the thing that I usually do. But more broadly, I can't go back to the situation we had before.
Our generation now, we know exactly where the small cities are in Ukraine, and from where the refugees came. And it is a fantastic thing, because we're interested. We love the Ukraine people. I know how it sounds, but we really care."
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