- September 26, 2013
- 323
25th anniversary of Polish Associations in Lithuania from the years 1988 – 1990
On 29th September 2013, in the House of Polish Culture, the meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Polish Associations in Lithuania will take place. During the meeting the message presented below will be accepted by acclamation.
THE MESSAGE – let us not forget those who were the roots of the Polishness.
We, the members of a jubilee meeting of 29th September 2013 in the House of Polish Culture in Vilnius, declare that we’re anxious about the efforts, ideas and real struggle for maintenance of Polishness, welfare and mental comfort of Vilnius, Vilnius Region and every Pole living in Lithuania, not to be wasted but preserved in every Pole’s and especially the youths’, our children’s, grandchildren’s and future generations’ hearts and minds.
Our concern is that, in spite of having eight Poles in the government, what is a comforting and elevating fact, the basic human rights for Poles still haven’t been achieved. The number of Polish schools is decreasing, students have a limited knowledge of Polish language, history and geography. According to the Ministry of National Education in Lithuania, these subjects will be taught in Lithuanian language which leads to the complete elimination of Polish schools.
Polish language is no longer obligatory on the Matura exam for Poles in Lithuania. This tendency is growing and no strong measures have been taken to counteract it. We ascertain that not enough attention is paid to historical places associated with Józef Piłsudski. Zułów is a good remembrance but not the only place of importance. Less attention is paid, for instance, to Pikieliszki, Józef Piłsudski’s possession, his favourite recreational area, which should be given higher historical rank.
Even though there are four Polish magazines being released in Lithuania, namely ‘Magazyn Wileński’, a weekly magazine ‘Wileńszczyzna’, ‘Nasza Gazeta’ and ‘Kurier Wileński’, there is hardly any distribution. The newsagents in Vilnius don’t sell these newspapers neither in those cities half of the number inhabitants of which speak Polish on a daily basis. There is lack of scientific and literary publishers, such as ‘W Kręgu Kultury’ or ‘Ateneum Wileński’.
With the minor exceptions, there are no places in schools where the teachers who sacrificed their lives in the name of Polishness would be commemorated.
The House of Polish Culture in Vilnius is a great and very necessary institution for Poles living in Lithuania. Yet, when it comes to more significant events, there comes too few Polish teachers and students of Vilnius Region’s schools. We think that Polish schools’ headmasters led by the Polish Educational Society and similar organizations should still encourage their members, teachers and students to participate in meetings, exhibitions, concerts and other events dedicated to Polishness’s promotion.
Special attention should be paid to preservation of the souvenirs and the Polish heritage in Lithuania and returning them to the rightful owners.
We appeal to all the Poles in Vilnius Region and Lithuania and also to Poles from all over the world not to stand hopeless but to fight, with new power and persistence, for preservation Polishness tradition everywhere and every time when it is necessary and where the Polish heart beats.
The above message will be accepted by acclamation on 29th September 2013.
Chairman of the Council – Jan Andrzejewski
Members: Fryderyk Szturmowicz, Stefania Kuźmo, Ryszard Kuźmo, Henryk Sosnowski, Aldona Tuczkowska, Janina Gieczewska, Władysław Ławrynowicz, Danuta Lipska i Romuald Zajkowski.
Tłumaczenie by Elżbieta Szafarz w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Elżbieta Szafarz within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.
