Solidarity returned to Poland on the weekend when the Katowice collapsed roof tragedy brought complete strangers together.
“Solidarity, unknown in Poland since the early 1980s, when the Free Trade Union “Solidarity” was organized to oppose the communists came back in a wonderful demonstration,” Warsaw based journalist David M. Dastych told Canada Free Press.
“People proved themselves very helpful to each other and to the direct victims of the catastrophe,” said Dastych. “On Saturday, dozens of inhabitants of Katowice and other Silesian towns brought in blankets, food, hot beverages, and accompanied the families of the victims, inviting them to their homes, arranging transport for them and phoning their families in many Polish cities, towns and villages.”
The toll of death reached 67 on Monday, as one young man (34) died in a hospital of injuries.
The twisted metal and rubble that is now the exhibition hall, eerily silent in winter's cold, is now almost empty. Quickly dubbed “Ground Zero” by Poles, on Tuesday it will be surrounded by heavy machinery to remove the steel beams and the tin roof, which collapsed. No one in authority can guarantee that there will be no more dead bodies found under the debris.
Dastych says the rescue effort had been marred by problems. “Police dogs, used to search for people, couldn't find dead bodies because of the frost. Technical means were applied to help with the search, but these also proved not very effective.
“On Saturday night, when the first groups of firefighters arrived to rescue the victims, they had no flashlights and people rushed to shops to buy torchlights for them. Later on, the situation improved as the firebrigade trucks were equipped with generators, and lamps were installed inside the hall.”
For three days, up to and including Wednesday, February 1, Poland is in a state of deep mourning. all shows have been cancelled, and there is only soft music emanating from the radio and TV, interspersed by many interviews and updates about the tragedy.
“In Katowice the investigation into the possible cause or causes of the roof's collapse has begun,” Dastych says. “It is evident by now that there was a thick layer of snow on the roof on Saturday. But there may also be other reasons for the collapse, like the possible technical failure of the steel frame of the roof.”
The massive exhibition hall, the scene of so many happy events, had been constructed some six years ago, patterned on the Spanish blueprints of similar halls. But as Spain is a country, which enjoys a somewhat mild climate, there are different rules of technical specification.
“The Polish government ordered an all-country control of all large, flat-roof structures,” Dastych explained. “We are seeing many of them built here, as there are hundreds of new supermarkets in the country, new exhibition halls, public swimming pools built under roof and similar buildings.
“In the South, most of the buildings, also including people's private detached houses, have steep roofs for easier snow removal. Traditional buildings are therefore safe, it's the new constructions that are exposed to danger,”
Meanwhile, it seems that the politicians in Poland are like their global cousins. That is, they can't agree on many issues and Poland will likely face new parliamentary elections in March 2006.
“But this tragedy has shown that political differences don't really matter, when the main issue is life or death.
This could be a good prognosis, if people behave like this for a longer time,” Dastych concludes.
(See David M. Dastych's story, PromisGate on CFP's cover tomorrow).
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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