April 9th
A drunk sleeping on the doorstep- a common sight in Lodz. At least he's sitting up and not lying in the street. So much for not reinforcing stereotypes...
A note on the flag- in Poland we have no habit of displaying the national flag without special occasion. I mention this because I noticed in the US, where many of my friends come from, the flag is everywhere, all year round. Over here, if flags are out, you can be certain that an important national anniversary or event is coming up.
In this case, the flag is up to commemorate the plane crash which took the lives of 96 of our kinsmen last year, including the presidential pair. The anniversary is tomorrow, on April 10th.
More here:Wikipedia entry on Tu-154 crash
The crash is a very sensitive issue- I won't go into too much detail but it is worth knowing that the officials on board were on their way to honour the 70th anniversary of the Katyń massacre, a series of mass executions of Polish citizens (mainly officers), performed by the Soviets through April and May 1940. Russia has denied this crime for an extremely long time, it's one of the bigger thorns in the relationship between our countries. Around 22,000 people were killed, and their fate kept secret for many long years.
And it would take many long years to explain all the symbolism, conflict, paranoia and anger that has been dividing this country ever since the Tupolew crash, so I won't even try.
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