board77

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8612825.stm

They were on their way to honour the anniversary of the Katyń murders (to which Russia is still on and off about admitting).

Wary as one can be of conspiracy theories, no one here thinks it was an accident. History doesn't really make it easy to believe that.

Personally I'm just waiting for more information. In any case, we have no President, no head of National Bank, no head of Institute of Rememberance, we lost quite a few Members of Parliament, religious dignitaries...

Freaking sci-fi film.

Like a movie indeed... How horrible. I feel so sorry for Poland today, and of course for the dead and their friends and families.

Well this is fucking embarrassing, almost all of our military command was on that plane. Heads of army, navy, air force, the goddamn vice minister of defence...

Polish jokes come to mind, wtf, who puts the entire top tier of command on one plane????

As a person of Polish ancestry, this is a double sad and tragic event. Poles are nothing if not strong and resilient. This too shall pass.

Thanks, SF. We'll be fine. I just wonder what this will do to our country, our economy, our government, our relations with Russia(holy crap!)...and the stupidest thing is that no matter what we see on the surface will have nothing to do with what is actually going on in politics. I personally hope it was just an accident, but you know what? I'll never know. No matter what the investigation shows, there is no way anyone can trust that verdict.

The one thing I am extremely proud of is of how people are reacting. Usually under such circumstances it does not take ten minutes for people to start spewing insults at whichever party or community they dislike, but right now everyone is behaving so well, I'm in shock. No one is making fun, no one is pointing fingers, no one is fighting. At least for today the victims aren't politicians and representatives of parties and religions we may or may not like, but they're just people.

Such a dreadful thing, Rodia. I hope people continue to be civil so the country can get sorted out and move on.

Oh, how awful! I'm so sorry, Ro. I hope it all sorts out well in the end, though my heart goes out to the families who lost loved ones. That will never sort out well.

Ro for you and your people...sadly it seems that only tragedy like this can bring people together, uniting them in spite of their differences. Your nation has my prayers and best wishes as they strive to overcome this latest blow.

I just read online that the President's twin brother identified his body and that of the First Lady. The one picture I saw today showed him with such tear-swollen eyes...poor man.

I was out for most of yesterday and didn't catch the news till late and immediately thought of you Rodia; and your Dad too. I was almost too scared to check here in case it was bad news.
How cruel for such a tragedy to happen on a journey that was intended to help heal the terrible crimes of the past. You would have thought Poland had suffered enough.
Please tell your father that Polish people are still honoured in the UK and our thoughts are with him and his people.

Thank you, Tosh and all. My father is quite upset right now because things are so uncertain.

Sorry I've been quiet. It's insane over here. A week has just passed since the plane crash- sirens and church bells sounded this morning at 8:56.

Warsaw is overflowing with people, I've never seen such crowds. It has been a week and the streets are full.

There are grave candles and flowers everywhere. People stand in line to see the casket of the Presidential couple for as long as 13 hours. I know some didn't make it before the viewing times were over- there will be a mass and ceremony in Warsaw today, and the funeral is in Kraków tomorrow.

I have a train ticket to go there, but the police have closed off certain streets, including the one where I'm supposed to be staying. I'm not sure if they will let me through.

Yesterday another plane full of coffins arrived, our neighbour's among them. We see it all on tv, they transmit every return. Soldiers bring them out, one by one, and set them on makeshift catafalques on the tarmac as an orchestra plays Chopin's funeral march. Then the families welcome their dead home.

Then the coffins are driven across town to the sports stadium- because where else can you place nearly a hundred caskets? After the mass today they will be taken across the country to wherever their families wish to bury them.

Yesterday, we buried the first one- his name was Ryszard Kaczorowski and he was our last President in Exile. I took a photo of a scene dripping with symbolism, but moving in a very honest and straightforward way:



Let me explain.

The body has just been taken into the Sacred Cross Church for its funeral mass.

This church (a basilic actually) is special.
Look at the Christ figure draped in the Polish flag. There is an extremely famous photograph of that same figure, taken during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944: http://pl.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?tit ... 0127023655

Fallen among the rubble, Christ still points at the heavens.

Today, only those with special passes can attend the mass, the rest can only pay their respects with a moment of silence outside. This frail, elderly woman standing watching is wearing a white and red AK armband. AK stands for Armia Krajowa, the Home Army, the Polish resistance movement of WW2.

This woman fought for our freedom. Her armband says 'Komenda Główna', which means Headquarters. She was an officer.

More pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cefeida/se ... 747372859/ and in my sister's photoset: http://www.flickr.com/photos/samolot/se ... 841787696/

(cross-posting this to other forums where I've talked about this)

Thank you for sharing, Ro. And the photos are great. How awful this must be for Poland.

I have such a lump in my throat, Rodia...the photograph of the old lady is especially poignant.

Such a dreadful, dreadful time for everyone over there. My heart goes out to you all.

Those photos are beautiful and moving. Thank you for sharing.