SOLIDARITY
SOLIDARITY
Fire sirens went off this morning in the tiny village of Brzegi Gorne, where we set our tents in a farm yard the night before. Children gathered around, their eyes big: “Air sirens, here in Poland? Where do we go, Where is the bomb shelter?...
This week we took 6 students on a high mountain traverse of Polonina Wetlinska, Polonina Carynska culminating with an ascent of Tarnica, the highest point in the Polish Carpathians.
Four of our students were returning, two on their third week, and two on their second. This allowed for a partially existing level of community, closeness and trust.
The expedition started with a bushwalk and a warm farewell from Piotr, a mountain man, who was so genuinely excited to see kids off with their packs that he practically knocked the wind out of each of us with his bear hugs and shoulder taps that almost sent several kids off their feet! And . . . he made a true impression on them!
Along the way we have experienced the hospitality and kindness of many strangers. At one campsite, we met a fellow hiker, a Lemko man named Pavel, and his daughter, Marta. They shared with us an evening of traditional Ukrainian folk songs and a brief history of the Lemko people.
The next day, a group of hikers hearing the children speaking Ukrainian, asked us about them. When we shared what we were doing, one man asked if he could support our work and handed us a 1000-zloty donation. They proudly told us that their community in Krakow raised over fifteen million dollars to purchase a drone for the Ukrainian army! On our last day, we met a group of seven bicyclists. They asked about our work and told us that each of them is hosting a Ukrainian family!
The children all had “big jobs” they were responsible for, as well as helping with cooking and tent set up!
Finally, the children are opening up and sad stories are coming out, creating space for healing and a path forward. One told the story of living in a bomb shelter for three weeks without seeing day light. Another lived in a village that hosted an air force base and spoke about waking up at 4AM to explosions and fire watching his brother-in-law, an air force pilot, quickly getting dressed and running out towards the air field. Another spoke about fleeing from Krivoi Rog, a town on the front line. All spoke about packing their belongings, taking just a few essentials (all of which they could name), leaving behind their pets, grandparents (most old people refuse to leave their homes) and their fathers. Many of them fear for their father’s lives, living from one infrequent phone call to another, while others, who can’t afford the internet have almost no contact with them. The kids cherish warlore: “a grandmother, heard a russian drone outside her hut, grabbed a jar of pickles, ran out and took a drone down with that jar!” “Ukrainian Gypsies” (Roma), known for their cunning behavior, "snuck in to russian occupied territory and stole two tanks for the Ukrainian army in the light of day!" And "another grandmother, invited russian soldiers for dinner, fed them laxatives and showed them to the communal outhouse. While they were all in there, she poured kerosene and set the outhouse on fire…" Sad, yet, if you look at it from the perspective of children who have lost their homes, fear for the lives of their fathers and who call russian soldiers "Orks", maybe not so!
Nearing the end, we are discovering the heart of our work here: being together in nature gave children the opportunity to share some of their experiences, process their trauma and hopefully begin the healing. They also made new friends!
Swimming, washing and playing in the river after our last day of hiking!
With our work complete, after another heart-felt program ending, we ran around Rzeszow gathering bicycles and parts. On Saturday afternoon we met with three of our students and handed them their own bikes.The children were in disbelief and so thankful! Other children from the program received backpacks, tents, insulate pads, knives and maps, as we shared and dispersed all the equipment we had purchased to run the program.
After a small farewell party with soup, cake and cappuccino, we took an evening train to Krakow, arriving after dark to pouring rain and a square filled with thousands of mostly young people draped in Ukrainian flags, singing traditional songs and chanting “Victory to Ukraine, glory to the defenders!”
On Sunday, still under pouring rain, but now 15 degrees colder, we took a bus to Auschwitz. How fitting it was to be miserably wet and cold all the way through the tour walking the muddy path from a cattle car unloading platform to the gas chambers and crematoriums following in the footsteps of one and a half million humans, mostly Jews, who were murdered there! The sign in Birkenau says “This memorial heeds a warning to all of humanity”. Sadly, it seems, humanity is slow to heed the warning…
We want to conclude by thanking friends, family and strangers who made this project possible. Twenty one children had transformative experiences in nature. Three children were provided with bicycles and 2 more are on the way as a result of a recent donation.The bicycles will allow the children freedom to move around the city and be outside and physically active with their new found friends instead of spending so much time sitting at home on their phones.
After 26 days of intense work, we are moving on to new adventures. We believe we made a small, but real difference. The children, their mothers, the workers at the refugee shelter, mountain people and countless strangers we met along the way were uplifted and energized by us coming to help and so grateful to the many people in the United States who have made our work possible. The sense of solidarity we feel with refugees and with people of Poland is strong! They are living through an unimaginable time and need all of us to stand with them through to the end.
Thank you for believing in us!
Thank you Lynne and Misha for giving us the opportunity to be a part of your awe-inspiring journey
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