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News Archive 2005-06 NO. 13
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Former Polish leader shares experiences
Speaks about difficulties, life lessons learned
by Katie Clements
News Editor
clemenka@shu.edu
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Former President of Poland and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Walesa spoke about past struggles of the Polish people, their motivation and the future global community at 4 p.m. Thursday in Walsh Gymnasium.
He also received an honorary degree the university had awarded to him in 1982. Due to travel restrictions, he was unable to leave at that time to accept his award.
The Rev. Paul Holmes, vice president and interim dean of the John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations, called him “one of Seton Hall’s most celebrated alumni.”
Walesa said the difficulties Poland has faced during the past 100 years come from the fact that they have two powerful neighbors, Russia and Germany.
“They are two nations that enjoy military tourism, and they visit and represent each other from time to time,” he said. “When there was less technology, horses and carriages, they would take the shortest path, through Poland, through my country.”
Walesa said these two neighbors usually did not make it to their final destination.
“They would look around, see how beautiful it was and decide to stay awhile,” he said.
He said Poland tried to warn the world when the Soviets were gaining in strength.
“We tried to warn the world that half would end up in a communist embrace,” he said.
Walesa said their cry was ignored.
“The powerful people of the world, when they would hear us say this, would add it into their computer. They would add in information about the number of troops, tanks, interests, etc,” he said. “The computer answered, ‘No chance whatsoever. There’s a chance of world war.’”
Walesa said, at that point, the Polish people became so discouraged they wanted to give up their efforts. He said that within a 20 year span, he only managed to recruit 10 people out of 40 million Poles to join the Solidarity movement.
However, one day, the luck of the Polish people was reversed.
“We were given the gift of the pope who was a Pole,” he said.
When Pope John Paul II visited Poland a year later, Walesa said the Polish people were renewed.
“Even the Communists and the Secret Police learned how to cross themselves,” he said. “They wouldn’t say the proper words. They would say 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, but they would cross themselves.”
Walesa said the Holy Father woke up the nation.
“Within a year of his departure, I was able to recruit from those 10 people, 10 million,” he said.
Walesa said the pope gave the Polish people the strength to fight down communism with strikes and negotiations. He said more than 50 percent of the success of the Polish people can be attributed to the pope.
“It was simple,” he said. “We simply knelt down and prayed to a divine power. All the computers failed. All the technology failed. Faith won over.”
Walesa said it was simple to turn Poland into a communist country.
“It’s easy to turn capitalism into communism,” he said. “It’s as easy as making a fish soup out of a fish tank. You don’t even need the seasoning.”
However, Walesa said it is very difficult to reverse the process.
“Try to get the fish tank out of the fish soup,” he said. “This is very difficult, but we can already see a few fish swimming.”
Walesa said the world is witnessing a very special generation.
“A very special opportunity awaits us. Let us not waste it,” he said. “Let us work together and find the solution. Let us kneel down and let the powers up there help us.”
Walesa said the new generation was accompanied by a new era of intellect, information and globalization.
“There is such a large opportunity for peace and prosperity, provided that we notice that the institutional framework we have is inappropriate for a new era,” he said.
Walesa said the world needs to be governed more on values and work to foster individuals of consciousness. He said, without that, in 20 years, he predicts there will need to be at least five policemen monitoring each person.
“On the contrary, an individual of consciousness is a very cheap means of control,” he said.
University President Msgr. Robert Sheeran said the university gives a lot of thought to those speakers they invite and honor, because who the university honors defines who they are.
“It is unusual when someone who is a worker, someone without a university background becomes an icon for hope and justice in our desperately flawed world,” he said. “Such a leader is Lech Walesa.”
Sheeran said Walesa has a powerful story about the triumph of the few over the many and the weak over the brave.
Holmes agreed.
“What could possibly propel one man to climb atop a bulldozer and give a message that could inspire 10 million?” Holmes asked.
As part of Walesa’s visit to the university, he received a belated honorary degree. Walesa was awarded the degree in 1982, a year before he received the Nobel Peace Prize.
“It’s said that good things come to those who wait, and in this situation, that statement could not be more true,” Holmes said.
Walesa’s honorary degree was bestowed by Kurt Borowski, chair of the Board of Regents.
A brief video before Walesa’s speech detailed the history of the Solidarity movement and the role Walesa played in its success.
The visit commemorated the 25th anniversary of the 1980 Solidarity strike, an underground labor movement Walesa helped create and was deeply involved in.
In 1983, Walesa received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in Solidarity. He was elected President of the Republic of Poland in 1990 and servedin that position until November 1995.
Katie Clements can be reached at clemenka@shu.edu.
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