When did you come up with the idea of going to Poland and have you ever thought about travelling to another country?
I come from a simple Polish Catholic family from Vasilishki in the Grodno region of Belarus. I’ve considered myself a Pole since I was a child and I was brought up in the Polish spirit and the Catholic faith. I learned the basics of the Polish language thanks to my grandmother, who was one of the initiators of creating a class with subjects taught in Polish in schools in Vasilishki.
As a high school student in Belarus I experienced harsh criticism from the teachers and the directors of the District Board of Education for having expressed my opinion as a young citizen in a newspaper regarding the situation in Belarus. I experienced the feelings of harm and injustice. I realised very quickly that it is possible to have an opinion, yet you cannot state it publicly. Since that moment, freedom of speech, justice and helping others have become the most superior values for me, as is having respect for other people and their dignity. That was the moment that I first thought that I could study in Poland. I learned about the rules of admission and when I turned 17 I made the first decisive step – I left my family home and entered the adult and student life.
Is there anything about Poland and Poles that surprised you?
The most striking thing is that the majority of Poles love to complain. Everybody complains, regardless of age. Another thing that Polish people enjoy doing is criticising the government and talking about politics. In Belarus, politics is rather a topic of taboo. It is improper to openly criticise the authorities. People, especially the elders, are afraid of potential consequences, and even if they are not afraid, they prefer not to risk discussing it in the open. In other matters, there are next to no differences between the Poles in Belarus and the Poles living in Poland, so I quickly got around and I met many friends with whom I still maintain good relations.
You came to Poland to make your dreams come true, but so many young Poles believe that dreams only come true in the West. What is your point of view?
This is a good expression. For me, studying in Poland offered a great opportunity to make my dreams come true and help me with self-realisation. When it comes to the migration of Poles to the West, I can say that everyone has the right to decide where they want to settle down, where they want to create their own families, where they want to work and where they can be happy. People should be free to make such decisions, and this gives the authorities a sign whether everything is correct in the country. Poland has become my second home. It gave me an excellent education. I finished three courses: Pedagogy, International Relations and Russian Philology. I also had a scholarship for many years. It was a huge investment in me as a person and in my personal development, and in Belarus I could only have dreamed of that happening. I think that hardworking people have greater chances to cope even in difficult living conditions. For me, the trip from Belarus to Poland was also a trip to the West. In the past few years I have travelled a lot and I have visited nineteen countries in Europe. Each is beautiful in their own way and in each of them I met Polish people and conversed with them. Unfortunately, there are also certain problems in the West. Moving comes easier to us, the young people, because we know languages, and the ability to communicate is essential to function properly in a foreign culture and to assimilate into a new environment. During my studies, one of my professors said that one is only worth as many languages he/she speaks. It’s hard to disagree with that, living in a multicultural world where the borders become blurred. I think that Poles know languages well, but at the same time they can be proud of their own language, culture and history.
Apart from studying and being a member of the Student Council and Borderlands Enthusiast Science Club, did you have time to develop your interests? How did you manage to cope with all these things combined together?
Studying was always my number one priority. But at the same time, I am a supporter of the saying: “A student doesn’t live by only studying.” I’ve been a member in the University Borderlands Enthusiast Science Club for many years. This is an organisation bringing together students of Polish origin from former Soviet nations. They are the Poles, whose ancestors left Poland for various reasons. The main objective of the club is learning about Polish culture and history, Polish traditions and customs, and also excursions to different Polish regions. Very often, however, the members just need ordinary conversation, advice or someone with an understanding for what they’re experiencing. I was the club’s chairman for four years. During that time, we managed to organise two large conferences called “Polish Eastern Borderlands and people from those territories.”
Due to my origins, I organised several events in Toruń devoted to the problems of Belarus. In addition to the image of Belarus presented by mass media, dominated by politics and represented in the media every day, together with our friends we wanted to show the other side of this country, its linguistic and cultural uniqueness, we also let the people taste the delicious and nutritional cuisine as well as the original drinks.
Of course, my great passion is travelling. In my room I have a large map of Europe where I mark off all of the places that I have visited. I like travelling with my friends, whom I respect and love. Sometimes I envy myself in that I have so many wonderful people around me.
I am an idealist, problems and obstacles do not discourage me, on the contrary, they motivate me to work harder. I believe that all that matters in life is a good organisation of time and not wasting it on unimportant things. It is necessary to remember that yesterday will not happen again, I honestly believe that you cannot survive in a different way. It is important, because human life is too short to waste time on unnecessary worries and stress.
In 2011, you won the title of the best foreign student in Poland. What do you make of the education system in Poland? Does it fully serve student development or would you change anything about it?
This award was a nice surprise for me. I spend a lot of time studying and doing other things that are not related to it. Perhaps that is why the jury noticed it and awarded it to me for being active in various fields. The education system in Poland is satisfactory in general, but I think there are several things that require changes and areas that could be improved upon. The elimination of admission exams for higher education caused the “university fashion.” Today, every person that has passed a high school diploma can continue studying at university. This is undoubtedly good, because the number of people with higher education is an important indicator of the development of the country. However, this development has to be controlled and balanced. Tomorrow we will have hundreds of thousands of graduates of Business Management, Law, Economics, European Studies and Internal Security, yet there will be very few specialists in Building Engineering, Electronics and Nanotechnology, not to mention the job of an electrician, welder or plumber. Today, there are many people who study two majors because they believe it will increase their chances in the labour market.
As far as personal development is concerned, the academic life provides many opportunities for self-development. There are many university clubs and organisations for students, which give many opportunities to develop one’s interests in the care of good and experienced academic staff. In addition, there are many possibilities for voluntary work and even paid training. Universities offer a wide range of student exchange programs. The number of people going abroad within the Erasmus program is growing rapidly. Universities support financially the student initiatives, organisation of conferences, exhibitions and student forums. It is important to create an interesting project, write down the goals that we want to achieve, and estimate the long-term effects. Personally, I am an author of many projects and I know that obtaining the bailout does not have to be difficult.
Currently, your future in Poland is uncertain. Can the readers of Link to Poland help you in any way?
That’s right. This situation is very unclear and surprising to me. Right now, the most harmful is that, according to the Polish law, you can deport a man without providing any reason of expulsion. I, my friends and thousands of other people who are worried about this matter do not agree to such treatment, violating the fundamental human right to defend. I think we should talk about that, so that such situations do not reoccur in the future. That is why I wanted to tell his story to the readers of Link to Poland. I am also a reader and I have been following it since the very beginning. The situation in which I find myself reminds me of the story of Józef K. in Franz Kafka’s novel “The Trial”. The man is accused and appears before the court; he puts up with the criticism and experiences an internal breakdown. Nobody wants to tell him what is he accused of and he becomes a hostage of his trial. Just like I do not know if they suspect me of spying, or did the Polish secret services not like the fact that I talked with my friends in Russian and taught Russian in language school, or perhaps that we organise Eastern Parties in Toruń, where we spend time with Polish people, whom we invite to join us to have fun with typical music of Belarus, Ukraine, Russia and Lithuania. It is a pity that my ten-year activity in Poland was not appreciated. Moreover, they have made me understand that all I have done is worth nothing. But I do hope that the officials have enough wisdom to provide an objective judgement of my person. I treat this situation as a life test, so that later armed with more experience I may be able to continue my work with devotion and contribution for the good of Poland and Poles in Belarus.
I wish you all the best and lots of good luck. Thank you for this conversation.
Thank you and sending greetings to the readers of Link to Poland.