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P.A.C. Responds To Anti-Polish Article

Dear PAC Members and Friends,

The following letter, of which our three National Directors, Ania Karwan, Leszek Pawlik and Edward Wojciech Jeśman, are signatories, was sent to Chicago Reader and posted on Mr. Clifton Facebook page in response to his anti-Polish article. http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/trump-white-supremacy-racism-revival/Content?oid=23812562

Best Regards,
Edward Wojciech Jeśman

 

Dear Mr. Clifton:

The Polish community rejects your offensive and disturbing portrayal of Polish Americans, and specifically Polish Americans in Chicago as examples of “white supremacy racism”, to use the not so cleverly hidden words in the web link to your opinion article “People who give racism a free pass are part of the Trump problem ” posted in the Chicago Reader. We demand an apology.

Your opinion article only serves to demean Polish-Americans and make us the subject of ignorant hatred. Polish Americans as an immigrant and ethnic group have endured an unfortunate history in the USA of being targeted by hate groups, based on racist attitudes.

Your article evidences severe lack of familiarity with the Polish American community. Many Poles came to the USA after World War II as survivors of racist Germany, a country that brutally attacked Poland and targeted Polish civilians as ‘inferior’ people, resulting in the murder of millions of Polish civilians. In the USA those that escaped the subsequent cruel Soviet domination of their homeland had to endure lies about Poles and Poland, and demeaning anti-Polish “jokes” that continued the German lies about their ‘inferior’ racial status. Poles never had a ‘white supremacy’ status or acceptance by racist white groups in Europe or in the USA.

We noted that your piece tried to use Poles to portray a pro-white immigration issue. What you are obviously unaware of is that Trump only pledged to support VISA waiver for Polish citizens. Poland has a history of being a faithful partner in NATO, yet is the only NATO country that is not covered by the VISA waiver, which means Polish citizens need to apply for a US tourist visa at the US Embassy or Consulates in Poland, before they can visit the US. VISA waiver has nothing to do with legal or illegal immigration.

You then mention Poland being praised by Trump for not accepting Syrians. You are obviously unaware that by 2015 Poland has already accepted and granted visas to 924,000 Ukrainians fleeing military conflict, as well as economic migrants. You then accuse white Americans of giving a free pass to racism and give Chicago as an example of a city with systemic racism. The only white group you mention in your article are Polish-Americans. What did they do? The Polish American Congress (“PAC”) welcomed presidential candidates from the Democratic and the Republican parties to speak to them so we could hear their positions on issues of importance to Polish-Americans. Two such issues are: Supporting NATO troops in Poland and VISA waiver for Poles. To date, only the Republican candidate for president, Mr. Trump, accepted the invitation to speak to PAC. Representatives from the Democratic party spoke to PAC leaders at their recent national meeting. PAC still awaits the Democratic presidential candidate to accept our invitation to meet our community’s leaders.

You also mention that Trump compared his campaign to the right-wing movement that led to Brexit. Are you also unaware of how Poles are being targeted by racists in Britain, one man even being murdered just for being a Pole in Britain?

Your illogical tie between Polish Americans meeting presidential candidates to discuss issues of interest to our community and to racism in Chicago or in any other city of the USA is so outrageous that it can only be described as your own descent into irrational bigotry against Poles based on their skin color. Your article demonstrates your complete lack of understanding of the Polish community and the Polish American experience and their fight against discrimination against Poles in the USA and in Europe.

Again, the Polish American community demands an apology. We also demand that Chicago Reader remove this bigoted hate piece against Polish Americans from its web page and any other publications.

On behalf of the Polish American community:

Stanislaw Sliwowski, President & National Director
Polish American Congress New Jersey Division

Edward Wojciech Jesman, President & National Director
Polish American Congress Southern California Division

Andrzej Prokopczuk, President & National Director
Polish American Congress Northern California Division

Zygmunt Staszewski, VP & National Director
Polish American Congress New York Long Island Division

Ania Karwan, Secretary & National Director
Polish American Congress Southern California Division

Leszek Pawlik, VP & National Director
Polish American Congress Southern California Division

Andrzej Burghardt, VP & National Director
Polish American Congress New Jersey Division

Barbara Blinska, VP & National Director
Polish American Congress Eastern Massachusetts Division

Edmund Lewandowski, National Director,
Polish American Congress Northern California Division

Marie Lewandowski, National Director
Polish American Congress Northern California Division

Halina Koralewski
Polish American Congress New York Long Island Division

Zbyszek Koralewski, Secretary & National Director
Polish American Congress New York Long Island Division

Tadeusz Walkowiak, VP & National Director
Polish American Congress Eastern Massachusetts Division