Poland,,, How Sad

There are many tragic events on our mind at this point in time. Haiti, Chile, earthquakes, China sand storm only to mention a few. For Poland the recent crash of an old plane took away a large segemant of the elite leadership of the country. Paradoxally this plane was travelling to commerate the tragic event of the second world war.

On this occasion the leadership of Poland was rounded up and confined to a small area in Poland. Priests, members of the government, intellectuals, writers, military generals, the head of the polish Navy, professors and municipal leaders were slaughtered during a few days of ethnic cleansing. 22,000 Polish people died during this few days of carnage and were buried in a woods nearby.

At this time it was thought that the German military were responsible but facts released later showed that in fact the Russian KGB were the ones responsible. This event made relations between Poland and Russia very difficult and there never was a proper recognition of this tragic crime. This year the president of Poland, Kacznski was invited along with others to meet and have an opportunity for healing. This was the 70 th anniversary and was to be a memorial service to begin better relations with neighbours too long seperated by hatred and distrust.

The plane crashed very close to the spot where the massacre occurred. How difficult for the Polish people to accept another tragic event. We can only hope that the new leadership will complete the task begun by those who lost their lives in the woods of Poland in the service of their country. Peace often carries a heavy burden by those who struggle for world peace and we should be thankful that there are people who accept the challenge.