Etnoliga
Too many of the posts on this blog have been depressing, because events in Poland for the past year have been so troubling. But let’s all remember that the Polish government does not define Poland–in fact, even if we add together the supporters of PiS and the smaller radical-right parties, they still don’t constitute a majority of the population. OK–they are at 47% as of now, but that’s not a majority!
I saw something yesterday that reminded me of how many great things are happening in Poland, if one just takes the time to look past national politics and see what people are doing on the local level. I was visiting the wonderful sculpture park in the Warsaw neighborhood of Bródno, when I came across a soccer game organized under the auspices of the “Etnoliga.” This league consists of teams of adults (16 years old and up) with a very distinctive set of requirements: each 8-12 person team must include at least three men, at least three women, and representatives of at least three different nationalities. Connected with the games (which are scheduled for the next eight Saturdays) are various multicultural programs. The best thing about this initiative is that it is really international: not just the familiar East-Central European national communities, but immigrants from Nigeria, Egypt, Iran, Columbia, and more. As my daughter enjoyed herself at the amazing play structure at the Park Bródnowski, alongside her were kids as multi-hued as we might see in a park back home in Ann Arbor–all speaking flawless Polish. Of course I’m aware that this is a tiny microcosm in a country that remains extraordinarily homogeneous. And of course I know that those kids face teasing (or worse) in school, and that their parents face enormous difficulties. But for a moment on that lovely summer afternoon in Bródno, it was possible to set that aside, applaud the organizers of the Etnoliga program, and remember that Poland includes countless local projects like this. Whatever ugliness or idiocy we read about in the news, let’s not forget this Poland.