Samoobrona doesn't play on Broadway
It's all at their fingertips in New York. They can hail a yellow taxi to catch Roman Polański in Andrzej Wajda's "Zemsta" at a movie house on West 57th street, buy tickets to see '90s Polish grunge band Wilki play in Brooklyn, or tune in to Polskie Radio RYTM, a local radio station for politics, sports and music in their native tongue. The thousands of Polish nationals residing in the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut tri-state area can delve as deeply into their culture as comfort warrants. But the geographical detachment America provides also allows some nationals comfortable distance from politics and the economy at home.
Nowy Dziennik, Głos and Kurier Plus, Polish-language newspapers based in the tri-state area, feed Poles up-to-date stories on Poland, politics, the economy and European Union accession, as well as international news. Daily, American Poles dart in and out of the Polish consulate in Manhattan to snatch free copies of their favourite rags.
But riding the subway back to Brooklyn, where many Poles reside, they are more likely to thumb past the article on Finance Minister Grzegorz Kołodko's latest shenanigans for more local news - on America.
I asked Maciej Wierzyński, the editor in chief of Manhattan-based Polish daily Nowy Dziennik, for a quick report on nationals in New York and where their interests and concerns lie.
"My impression is that most of the people see the Polish political scene as a mess and, at times an embarrassment," he said. A case in point, he explained, is that Poles who pay attention to the news see the exploitation of peasants by politicians, particularly Samoobrona, as shameful.
"There is a lack of maturity among politicians," he said. "That's the prevailing feeling. Many American Poles are pretty disappointed at the state of Polish affairs."
Wierzyński left Poland 20 years ago and today maintains dual citizenship. During the 1980s, Poles came to America to flee political turmoil at home. Today, however, immigration is all about money. Thousands leave Poland on tourist visas and find off-the-books jobs, he noted. "Most, in recent years, have moved for economic reasons," Wierzyński said. "There is still the vision of America as paradise. They come with the idea that they will stay for a short time. Most stay here for good."
Poles can enjoy that they are many degrees separated from Poland - politically, economically, but not culturally. Take EU accession. Most accounts point to Poland reaping long- and short-term rewards from joining Euroland.
But Poles living in America feel they have taken this westward leap single-handedly.
"There's not very much interest in the EU," Wierzyński said. "It doesn't make much of a difference since they are living in the U.S. It doesn't affect Poles in America."
But another American Pole was quick to point out that EU accession is a good thing. However, in their conscious ignorance of affairs, he said that some of his compatriots tend to overlook all the virtues of Poland.
"In general, I think that the situation is really not that bad," he said. "The situation seems much better than the press reports. When I went to Poland this year, I expected a country that was in a real crisis. I didn't see any signs of catastrophe. I found a better picture than I expected."
