“I arrived to Poland Summer 1999 to work for MEMRB International Poland (today Synovate). I had raised my own traineeship in Poland, as there were no fitting traineeships and I wanted to come to Poland to do an internship. I had learned Polish for 6 months in Denmark before coming and already knew some Polish AIESEC'ers from different seminars in Europe, so it was easy to arrive and start living in Warsaw.
After 1 year at MEMRB I ended my traineeship and started studying at SGH and became CEED in LC SGH. Here I mainly took care of reception of trainees, but I was also responsible for arranging trips to a village to teach English. The exchange students at SGH and trainees from around the world took part. We went there every second month and it was really cool. The children were top motivated and we could see how eagerly they had practised since last time we were there.
After the one year as CEED I became LCVP exchange and approximately at the same time I started seeing more and more neo nazists in the streets of Warsaw. One evening in the metro I was standing next to a group of young men. They were dressed as young nazists and were writing graffiti on the walls of the metro saying: Polska dla Polakow. Even though I spoke Polish then I knew that if they asked me anything then they would know I was a foreigner. I am blond, but still a foreigner. A friend of mine came home from a traineeship in Moscow and told me that it was even worse there. Several dark skinned people were beaten half to death. During a football match I also experienced how the police had to protect some dark skinned foreigners against football fans.
I felt something had to be done to change this trend before we would get Russian conditions in Poland. I knew from my childhood that the foreigners that had visited my school had left a great impression on me. I travelled a lot myself and all of this together started forming an idea in my head.
I thought that if you let children and young people meet foreigners and they get a positive experience then it is difficult to convince them that all coloured people are pigs/stupid or whatever racists think about coloured people. First I thought about letting a trainee teach in each school, but that is in the long run boring and lonely. Being the only foreigner in a village somewhere. I love travelling, so what would motivate me would be to get the chance to see as much of Poland at the same chance as making a difference.
So slowly the idea came into place and a project plan was written. I first shared it with the previous years LCVP exchange. He did not believe in the idea and thought it would be difficult to get the money, to get so many trainees to Poland etc. I then presented the idea to my EB and the LCP Ania and LCVP finance Jacek loved the idea from the beginning. We then sat down and started planning it more in details. Jacek and I went to the World Bank and United Nations and got their oral support. (No money). Jacek though managed to raise some money. I raised the TNs in the system and started mailing exchangers all around the world. Jacek and Ania took care of getting a room for the introduction week, contacting schools, planning the trip around Poland, buying train tickets, contacting news papers, arranging visas etc. I took care of finding accommodation in Warsaw for the trainees, preparing them for arriving in Warsaw. There were some people that helped us. Eg. Karol who made our webpage and others that helped us with cars etc., but it was mainly Ania, Jacek and I that arranged it.
During the preparation of the trainees I remember explaining them about the difference in weather from February till April by asking them to put a cup of water into the refrigerator and leave it for the night. Boil another cup and leave that for 5 minutes. Then dip one finger in each cup and bring cloths for minus degrees and for hot weather. I don’t think I have ever written some many emails in my life to exchangers and trainees. It was really crazy and every time I matched one more trainee it felt great, as from the beginning people had not believed in it and I could slowly show them this would be realised.
Especially when they arrived and our LC started meeting them, partying with them and getting to know them I knew this was going to be a success.
Then the tougher part started, as there were of course things we had not thought about. We had two guys from Cote Ivory and they had a goal to get married here and stay in Poland, so after talking with them for short time they would ask you if you wanted to marry them. Poor Agnieszka that had one of them living there. They also managed to have sex in some of the villages they visited and we for a long time feared that we would have to explain small black babies, so one of the LC guys had to talk with them about condoms..... Ups! They tried to get a visa for going to visit other countries in Europe and were really disappointed when it turned out that they only had a one entrance visa. Ania and Jacek though almost bodyguarded them at the end in order to make sure they got to the airport.
Trains in Poland are also not always punctual, so ones one of our groups with Tobias- Germany, JC - Taiwan and Gaby - Brasil was travelling close to the German border and had to get out at 18.01. When the train stopped at a station at 18.01 they got out and only after the train had left they realised they were on the wrong station. Tobias managed in German to tell a lady in a house nearby the problem they had. She then explained back that it was the last train, but asked them to wait. She then got hold of her husband that was a locomotive driver. He started up a really old one and they managed to get three large suitcases and themselves several steps up and into the locomotive and started driving to the right station. Here a whole school with families waited with flags and music to receive them. They were rather surprised when our three trainees jumped out of the locomotive.
When the trainees left they had bought too many souvenirs and the things they had brought from their countries they also left behind. So I still today have a whole collection of different things they left behind. I have a lot of them in a cupboard with glass, as a small exhibition from my international life.
Today I live in Denmark, work for IBM with IT, currently on assingment in Germany. In my spear time I teach overweight people sports in water, as that is many of them the only place they can do exercises with so many extra kilo. I have a boyfriend, but no children. So I am fairly free to be able to travel to Poland and participate in the celebrations of PEACE 2011.”
PEACE history has not been finished yet. We can be part of it. You can be part of it. This year we want to celebrate this special 10th edition with Anja and other ‘PEACEmakers’. Share experiences, get to know one another and enjoy the moments of history that we CREATE. PEACEful moments that are priceless. We would like to thank each of you who has contributed to PEACE. But remember, we still need you all to create the world of Tolerance and Cross-Cultural Understanding!"
As an intern who was part of the project last year and had a GREAT experience, I am really glad that Anja started this project. A year later I can see the impact it has had on my life.
