Agnieszka* is a 49-year-old university professor.  She is married and the parent of two teenagers.  She was born in southwestern Poland, near the Ukrainian border.  She identifies as Roman Catholic.

Reflect on your experience during COVID-19 Pandemic:

I will start by saying that I’m grateful to have returned to my “normal” job of in-person teaching.  Online teaching, during the lockdown, expanded my skill set, but I prefer teaching in-person.  I don’t like it when students turn off their cameras during class.  I’m glad we’re resuming some sense of normalcy, albeit with enhanced digital tools and skills.  Online meetings during lockdown with colleagues in my field—at my university and across Poland—fostered new connections and collaborations. Today, we engage a hybrid model, with in-person and online teaching. 

When we first went into lockdown, I questioned whether this was the reality or if I was experiencing some sort of odd dream.  Who would have predicted that we’d all lock ourselves in our homes?  There were times when the restrictions felt a bit absurd—we couldn’t even walk in parks or in the forest.

How do you feel about Poland’s membership in NATO?

Very simply, I feel better that Poland is a member of NATO; I feel safer.  I never thought protection from NATO might be needed. We now have a war next door with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  I’m counting on NATO if Poland requires military assistance.

How do you feel about Poland’s Membership in the EU?

It’s obvious to me that this is a good thing for Poland.  We are more open as a nation. I like the ease of travel, being able to cross borders without having to get visas or show all of these documents.  As a mother, I see the benefit for my children who can study, live and work anywhere in the EU; this gives them a more assured future, with options.  My children have spent their whole lives in the EU.  Some people in Poland express anti-EU sentiments; I hope Poland does not leave.  I want Poland to remain open to the broader world.

Talk about women’s rights in Poland today:

Poland became a new country in 1918–after over a century of partitions.  Polish women were granted the right to vote in 1918 (ahead of the United States).  That said, Polish culture is traditional, conservative.  Traditional social expectations for women imply we are supposed to be doting mothers, focused on family; career aspirations come secondary.  Highly ambitious women are a bit of a “curiosity” among some traditionalists who question why a woman might leave her children with babysitters or prepare obiad–the main meal–without soup! Those of us who juggle our professional lives with family responsibilities still have this nagging feeling that we should, somehow, be doing more.  

Talk about the 2021 refugee crisis on the Belarusian Border:  

It was an uncomfortable and complicated situation.  Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, manipulated desperate migrants, inviting them to fly to Minsk and then bussing them to the Polish border–the eastern border of the EU–without even telling them where they were.  In my view, the Polish government should have provided basic humanitarian aid. People died in that forest.  Polish volunteers, such as doctors providing assistance and people who took migrants into their homes were later questioned by police.  

Comment from Katherine: This situation reminds me of migrants from the United States’ southern border being offered false promises of assistance and then being bussed or flown to northern cities and simply dropped off, leaving northern leaders like NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ administration unprepared for the influx and scrambling to meet immediate needs.  Some Americans welcomed the migrants.  An October 31, 2022 article in The Boston Globe, “White supremacists demonstrate outside Kingston (MA) hotel where migrants are staying” demonstrates that some Americans do not support migrants.

Talk about refugees entering Poland following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022:

To me, this is a very different situation.  After the Russian invasion, many women arrived with children.^[i]  There is this perception that refugees are poor.  Those who traveled by train were limited to one backpack; some carried only a shopping bag.  That said, wealthier Ukrainians arrived by car.  Many Poles have demonstrated considerable support via volunteering, hosting refugees in their homes and donating goods and services.  That said, some Poles are growing weary as the war continues.

Talk about LGBTQ Rights in Poland: 

LGBTQ slogans are manipulated by political forces who need an “enemy.”  Conservatives see LGBTQ status as an “ideology” which, in Poland, has negative connotations.  My university has students and staff who are openly gay.  These is also an office on campus to counter discriminatory behaviors and/or practices.

How do you feel about Poland’s upcoming 2023 Parliamentary Elections?

I hope something will change.  (The conservative PiS party is currently in power.)  I only seem to see political parties I dislike (Agnieszka laughs).  Politicians on the left are a bit removed from everyday lives of Poles living in more provincial areas.  

What do you feel Americans should know about Poland and the Polish people?

American should know that we are all not like stereotypical Poles living somewhere in the United States.  We are diverse.  We are educated.  We don’t all vote for PiS.  We are not all Roman Catholic.  We are not all antisemitic.

I invite you to follow my blog, Present Time, at https://presenttime.blog.

*Agnieszka is a pseudonym

This Time, This Place interviews capture perspectives from Poles and non-Poles, living in Poland today.  Views expressed are those of the interviewees and not necessarily those of the interviewer.

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^[i] Statista.com reported on November 21, 2022 that more than 7.87 million refugees from Ukraine crossed into Poland since the Russian invasion began on February 24, 2022.