Building a positive image of Poland abroad requires titanic work and the inclusion of all forces friendly to Poland in this task. The largest and strongest of these groups is the Polish diaspora, which on a global scale includes approximately 20 million Poles and people of Polish origin. It is 1/3 of the Polish nation living outside the country. The Polish diaspora all over the world has a significant economic and intellectual potential, which can not only help strategically support Polish interests, but also change the current, not always favorable image of Poland.
In 2015, the patriotic Polish diaspora lost the elections in the Polish American Congress. President Frank Spula cut the entire conservative opposition from the national board, leaving those who support his not fully-defined liberal-leftist vision of an organization that panically avoids getting involved in American politics and is totally indifferent to systemic changes in Poland. After five years, as a result of this well-thought-out move, the picture of a total stop to the activities of the organized Polish community emerges. This problem requires separate analysis. Now, after the years of communism and the era of post-1989 government adhering to the Round Table agreement, the Polish nation is waking up from lame lethargy, Polish flagship projects remain silent, as if they did not notice the transformations in Polish society and its diaspora. One can only hear the muffled laugh of General Kiszczak, coming from the depths of hell, who enjoys statements such as: we must not get involved in politics, because the statutes of the organization prohibit us from doing so. Since 2015, the conservative option of the Polish diaspora has been doing various acrobatics to create some alternative to filling the huge gap that has arisen. The Polish community is plunged into enormous chaos. The need to create a conservative organization referring to the great and charismatic leaders of the Polish community, Rozmarek and Mazewski, and to the old line of Polish organizations supporting the Polish nation, sovereignty and independence of Poland is still alive, especially at the time of such a great attack on Poland and the good name of Poles. Such trials took place in California and Pennsylvania, and in Chicago. These attempts, however, fail, and a clear inability to use modern knowledge on this subject is intertwined with mutual accusations of being compromised. The key point is the absolute lack of cooperation skills when working out a compromise. Often, anger and lust for power replace factual arguments. There are rumors overheard who knows where, that are supposed to "take out the competitor". Everywhere, it is all too evident that there are basically two reasons for the failure of these projects: inappropriate people and inability to raise funds for such projects. Everywhere, it is all too evident that there are basically two reasons for the failure of these projects. Inappropriate people and inability to raise funds for such projects. where gossip to "take out a competitor." Everywhere, it is all too evident that there are basically two reasons for the failure of these projects. Inappropriate people and inability to raise funds for such projects.
The essence of our compatriots' activities outside the country should be an active and global internal policy within the Polish community itself . This concerns the reconstruction of its weakening structures, strengthening the participation in the political life of the country of residence, but at the same time nurturing and protecting Polishness, as was the case in the heyday of the Polish diaspora movement. Today's policy of passive persistence only leads to a further extinction of organizational structures, the loss of the remains of prestige and image, which also results in the inability to undertake an active and assertive policy towards the authorities in Warsaw.
In order to conduct a partner discussion with the government of the Republic of Poland (not against this government), it cannot be done from the perspective of people unknown, or without any achievements in the activity of the Polish community abroad, representing some social-couch group. Let it be an institute, think-tank or other organization with a few recognized and recognizable people in the Polish community. Otherwise, the Polish government will never take us seriously.
The greatest danger for the Polish diaspora is its complete assimilation (denationalization) , which has been progressing in Europe and both Americas for a long time. It is strengthened by the influence of the policy of cultural Marxism, therefore the main task now should be to create a global diaspora program based on the cultural code defining Polishness: God, Honor, Fatherland, and which is a condition for the survival of the Polish nation not only outside the country, but above all within the Motherland itself.
Training the leaders must be an important part of this process in the Polish community in order to engage them in the political and social life of a given country of residence, and also on this level to strive for the interests of the Republic of Poland. The paradox is that after 1989, the greatest and progressive passivity of the Polish diaspora, preoccupied with itself, quarreling, deprived of financial resources and the media, began. All this is compounded by games involving the so-called activists of the Polish community abroad and Polish diplomacy of the era of the ministers Skubiszewski and Geremek. Today we are only harvesting the fruits of this short-sighted, devoid of vision, focused on the showiness of the policy, exaggeratedly called diplomacy of the Third Polish Republic. Despite this sad state, in the spring of this year in Warsaw, members of the new, prominent and extraordinary caste in Poland, i.e. former Ambassadors in the USA, Belgium and West Germany, gathered to denounce the democratically elected Polish government in a special statement,
Meanwhile, if it were not for the harmful activity of the signatories of the appeal, today it would be enough to have one congressman, committed to Poland's affairs, to block the US from passing the famous anti-Polish law S. 447 by asking for a quorum check.
This is combined with the activity of thousands of agents among the Polish diaspora during the communist period and after 1989, which led to its complete disintegration, distrust and pathological inability to cooperate. An example would be making the President of the KPA, Edward Moskal, an anti-Semite and, consequently, diminishing the role of the Polish American Congress, which was reflected in the ceasing to accept the KPA at the salons in Washington later, taking into account the opinion of the KPA, and striving for voting votes of Americans of Polish origin.
One should also invest in shaping the cooperation skills of leaders, especially if we want to participate in the process of building pro-Polish lobbying in countries that are strategic for Poland. Therefore, serious conferences and political debates should be organized, inviting the broad community of the Polish diaspora to participate, or even establishing in Chicago, for example, the Paderewski Institute, which would put the American Polish community in order and breathe spirit into this somewhat sleepy environment.
The generation of 50, 60 or 70-year-olds, currently active in the Polish community movement, should now intensively seek and educate successors who will be able to face the challenges of globalization, digitization and general ideological confusion. Unfortunately, it will be difficult to teach them the ethos of a leader by jumping into the division of Senate or government subsidies or by fighting for tickets to events at Consulates, Embassies or national dance floors, financed by the Polish taxpayer. This is what the relations between the diaspora and the authorities in Warsaw boil down to today, and the explosion of national political sympathy for the Polish diaspora grows proportionally to the date of the upcoming parliamentary or presidential elections.
The question of " lustration of the Polish diaspora", as well as organizations in Poland cooperating with it, remains a question mark , but only on the condition that it is carried out by a professional department of the Institute of National Remembrance and not by self-proclaimed madmen and individuals with the syndrome of persecution mania. Another question arises here: how do we want to inspect those who penetrate and surveillance Polish organizations at present, as part of the activities of the services of the countries of residence of the Polish diaspora? They are often recruited SB agents, which is confirmed by the case of Mr. Mazur. In Poland itself, this issue has completely disappeared.
The essence of the further development of the Polish diaspora is its professionalization and self-organization , which should result in the development of knowledge about professional management of organizations and, most importantly, the development of the ability to obtain finance for activities, i.e. grants and donations in the countries of residence, from Poland and most importantly from the Polish community. Remember that in order to receive foreign grants, an organization must have a specific legal status.
Generational change . Functioning of the so-called "Forest grandparents" who do not have any achievements or skills in cooperation with the Polish community only lead to the extinction of the Polish community infrastructure. Therefore, it is worth asking questions to such leaders: what specific achievements and skills do you have to perform managerial functions in our organization? For any significant changes to take place among the Polish community, a profound generational change should also take place. It is time to retire not only those who served Poland's enemies, but also those with disease entities, and those who only lasted for the last 30 years.
Polish media. There is practically no Polish institution or media that would have a vital cultural element. Reading Polish media you get the impression that these are reprints of articles from Poland, after all, this is not about selling the sausage, or finding out what the Head of State invented to derail the opposition. It is about the progressive assimilation of the Polish community, and whoever does not believe in this process should compare the situation from many years ago. The Polish-American media must be bilingual, reach the readers of the country of residence and cannot deal with what the global media do, i.e. with gadgets, which lady is the most beautiful in a given class, or who killed whom in the south of Chicago. Let us not imitate the mainstream media, because we will fall into hedonism. If we want to survive, we must realize each day that, in exile, only hard, organic works counts, and the people who perform it.
Education of young generations. The essence of this problem is the professionalization of the entire system of Saturday schools in large Polish diaspora centers. Okay, but what about centers where there are no Polish schools. Time for bold decisions to create a global project for Polish children from Kansas, Brazil, Siberia and other places where there is no organized Polish education. The Polish state is responsible for this, and parents can only financially support such a project.
You might ask: what is the point of all this? After all, I have a big house in a good neighborhood. The times have come when we must again defend our sovereignty and good name. We must stop enjoying gadgets and take up specific activities based on organic work and thinking about the Polish national interest, so that no one in the future, our children at work or at the university, will ask the question: Why were Poles anti-Semites and helped Germans kill Jews?
Photo: Waldemar Biniecki
