Polish plane crash leaves students sad, others suspicious
By Katarzyna Barnak
On April 10, the world learned of the tragic Tupolev-154 crash in the woods of Smolensk, Russia. Aboard the plane was the Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, along with 95 others, including members of Parliament and the Polish elite.
Poland dedicated a week of grieving and tribute to the late president, his wife Maria, and government officials that died in the crash. At Lane, students also showed their sorrow and had a moment of silence.
“We felt like something died inside of us,” said Ewa Cwalina, Div. 350. “The reason for this might not just be that many people died, but that many people, such as family members of the ones killed, suffered. Feeling patriotic made this situation feel more important in my life.”
“I decided to be in mourning and to show my grief. All week I wore dark colors. My car and house had a flag with a black ribbon,” said Joanna Żak, Div. 174.
“My friend said that she wore the black ribbon close to her heart as if keeping those that died close to her heart,” said Rumana Nazeer, Div. 159.
The news of President Kaczynski’s death spread even to those who were on the road.
“My friend and I were at the college tour when we found out about this tragedy from our chaperone during breakfast. First, we were in denial, and later in shock that something like this could even happen,” said Kinga Magiera, Div. 151.
“As soon as we got on the bus, me and my Polish friends looked it up on the iPod touch. We could not stop reading, although it was a terrible piece of news,” said Żak.
Many wanted to know what caused the crash, and whether it could have been prevented. There were many speculations.
“I think Russians had to be involved since this occurred so close to the Katyn remembrance event, and the Russians did not want information on Katyn to come out. It is suspicious that Tusk [the Prime Minister of Poland] went alone a few days earlier for the remembrance of Katyn,” said Magiera.
“I don’t think that the speculations are true, it is a tragedy, and because we are human we are looking for an explanation and a scapegoat for it,” said Justyna Jakubaszek, Div. 045.
“I think it’s really important to know if it was intentional, even if it starts a conflict, because you can’t just kill the president and leave a country without a leader,” said Yamilleth Lopez, Div. 153.
A British online paper, dailymail.com, reported that poor weather conditions were the cause of the accident and that the pilot did not understand Russian. However, according to the Polish radio station, 1080am Chicago Wietrzne Radio, the pilot was fluent in Russian and aware of the weather.
Recent investigations, according to The New York Times, have shown that there were two non-crew members present in the cockpit. While one was identified as Poland’s air force commander, Andrzej Blasik, the other is still undergoing the identification process.
“Maybe the President forced the pilot to land at that very airport. I’m not trying to say that it was the President’s fault, but I just do not believe that the pilot decided to land [of] his own will during a terrible weather…He knew what the consequences might be,” said Cwalina.
The Polish government had only that Russian plane for diplomatic and business travel. There have been a total of 16 fatal accidents involving the Tupolev-154, as exposed by the Kyiv Post. However, the 40-year old plane went through a thorough check-up two months earlier and was found to be safe.
“It was surprising how they put so many important Polish officials on one plane,” said Victoria Sanchez, Div. 177.
There are many unanswered questions and controversies, but some feel that too much attention is given to the event.
“The tragedy should be put aside and the Polish government should focus on the domestic issues that it has put off for a long time. I personally don’t believe that there should be a demonstration of grief every month because at this point it doesn’t feel genuine and becomes more of a political tactic,” said Jakubaszek.
Nonetheless, students find that this incident has made its mark on history.
“This is something that affects all Polish people, no matter where you live. It is my background, and I can’t just erase it because I don’t live in Poland. Yeah, some people can say that it is stupid and it doesn’t matter, but I will argue with them anytime, that it does!” said Żak.
The mourning mood was reflected in this year’s Polish Constitution Day Parade, which took place on May 1st.
“This year the parade was dedicated for this tragedy. Even though it wasn’t as exciting as the last couple of years, I still had a great time by spending time with my friends and showing our patriotic side to others,” said Cwalina.
But the effect of the tragedy was far more than just a spur of Polish nationalistic pride. More countries recognized Poland while many world leaders traveled to Krakow to attend the funeral of President Kaczynski and other victims, as reported on CNN.
“Most of my friends felt bad for what had happened and they also ended up learning more about Poland and its history,” said Cwalina.
“Poland, as a country, really did get a wake-up call, especially in the government system. Things weren’t really running smoothly before the tragedy; the event just gave a painful reality check,” said Polish Club President, Joanna Szczudło, Div. 090.
“Just like Haiti, this impacted a lot of people. News like this doesn’t happen everyday and it cannot be just shoved under a rock,” said Żak.
