Record-breaking “Light for Rasos” action

On 1st November lights of about 12 thousand memory lights lightened up the Rasos Graveyard. Scouts from the Association of the Polish Scouting in Lithuania, representatives of the Polish Medical Association and entire families lighted memory lights on graves of the known and distinguished residents of Vilnius but also the ordinary ones from 3 p.m. to the dusk. Memory lights were lighted on all, even the destroyed graves.

This year’s action of the Social Committee of Care for Old Rasos “Light for Rasos” was record-breaking. At schools about 6.5 thousand of candles were collected. The Council for the Remembrance of Fights and Martyrdoms gave about 6 thousand candles. Polish diplomatic institutions in Lithuania, and Polish media, including Wilnoteka, not only announced the action, but also provided candles.

Thanks to such great commitment of various environments on All Saints’ Day, Rasos lighted up with thousands of lights. White and red memory lights were also put on tombs of Polish soldiers resting on the Graveyard for Soldiers in Antokol.

Adam Błaszkiewicz, ZHPnL scoutmaster, the headmaster of the John Paul II Middle School in Vilnius said that this action has a huge educational impact. “It is necessary after all to somehow reach young people. It isn’t good to put young people in the class and explain how great it is to be Polish and that it is necessary to care for the national legacy. And thanks to such acts we are making them aware of the need to care about this legacy, we are building the respect for this necropolis, and for others “, said in the conversation with Wilnoteka A. Błaszkiewicz. In his view this initiative of the Polish Medical Association in Lithuania and of the vice-chairman Dariusz Żyborta to organize the collection on graveyards in the Vilnius district for renovating gravestones on Rasos is extremely valuable. “Scouts often collect on Rasos, but usually on the occasion of 11th November or 3rd May. Thanks to the collected money a few monuments were renovated. Money for saving Rasos is collected in Poland. For the first time, however such social initiative happened here in Vilnius. And that is wonderful. If we won’t take care of our necropolis, who will?”

Collections for Rasos were held on graveyards in Niemieże, Jaszuny, Mejszagoła, Miedniki, Szumsk, Pakienie, Soleczniki, Czarny Bór, Dukszty, and Niemenczyn. “In Niemenczyn the collection succeeded in 100 percent. After almost 4 hours of good, joint work with the wonderful young people we had 4 full cans. We thank warmly the residents of Niemenczyn, who didn’t remain indifferent and answered our plea. On 6th November, after opening the cans, we will learn how much money we collected “, said Paweł Żemojtin, organizer of the action in Niemenczyn, frontman of the team „StaraNowa”. Żemojtin added that to the success of the collection contributed: Artūras Rusecki, Łukasz Mikielewicz, Władimir Gurin, Paweł Paramonow, Darius Palcevas, Łukasz Balkowski, Edgar Sielezniow, Zbigniew Mateika.

Opening cans and counting money from collections on graveyards of the Vilnius district is planned for the 6th November.

Like every year, money for the renovation of the Vilnius Rasos was collected also in Warsaw on Powązki and in Poznań, on graveyards in Junikowo and Miłostowo.

Adapted from: Inf.wł.