Memoirs of a Polish correspondent
A Polish foreign correspondent reveals how he brought the outside world to the folks back home, says James Wallman
Published both in Polish and English, Travels with Herodotus is an unputdownable memoir of one man´s escape from communist Poland into the outside world – with the proviso that he must return each time.
Ryszard – pronounced like the English "Richard" – Kapuscinski was a foreign correspondent for PAP, the Polish news agency, from 1964 until 1981. At a time when Poles were mostly behind the border, he went out and brought the world to them. Kapuscinski witnessed 27 revolutions, wars and coups in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Travels with Herodotus is about those journeys. But it is also about the different ideologies of the 20th century. It´s both an account through the eyes of one sheltered behind Poland´s socialist borders, and through those of a wiser, more worldly man – the septuagenarian telling the tale.
On his early interest in going abroad: "I wondered what one experiences when one crosses the border. What does one feel? What does one think?" On his first flight abroad: "It was an old twin-engine DC-3, well-worn from wartime forays along the front lines, its wings blackened by exhaust fumes and patches on its fuselage. But it flew, and headed, with only a few passengers, almost empty, to Rome. I sat by the window, excitedly looking out to see the world from a bird´s eye view for the first time."
While recalling Herodotus, the ancient Greek father of history whose The Histories he is given by his editor, Kapuscinski takes us to India, Egypt and Hong Kong. This is his last book before he died in January, aged 74. It is a poignant work by the man dubbed the "Herodotus of our times".
Travels with Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuskcinski (Penguin Books), L20, is out now.
Tego lata, obok kolejnego polskiego wydania Podró?y z Herodotem, na rynku pojawia si? te? wydanie angielskie. „Herodot naszych czasów" zabiera nas w podró? do Indii, Egiptu i Hongkongu. Swoje obserwacje zestawia z faktami opisywanymi przez staro?ytnego historyka.
To ostatnia ksiš?ka reportera, który zamni?tym za ?elaznš kurtynš rodakom przywozi? kawa?ek swiata. W latach 1964-1981, jako zagraniczny korespondent PAP, by? naocznym swiadkiem 27 rewolucji, wojen i zamachów stanu w Afryce, Azji i Ameryce ?aci?skiej. „By?em ciekawy, czego doswiadcza cz?owiek przekraczajšcy granic?. Co czuje? O czym mysli? To musi by? moment wielkich emocji, poruszenia, napi?cia. Jak to jest by? po drugiej stronie? Na pewno musi by? – inaczej."
SPEAKEASY
Best way to communicate when you´re abroad? Try a Collins Phrasebook. The new Polish guide notes faux pas to avoid – for example, locals often take their shoes off before entering someone´s home, and it explains how to thank your new friends by email and ask them to send you a text message, or esemesa. Also in Croatian. Collins Gem Phrasebooks, L4.50
POLAND´S INDIAN IMMIGRANTS
As two million Polish people have left since the country joined the EU, there is now a labour shortage. It is so severe that the government is now planning to import labourers from India to make sure the football stadia are ready in time for Euro 2012. And if that doesn´t work, prisoners may even be used to work in gangs under armed guard.
BRIT POLL
Calling all Polish people – your help is needed for the largest academic study of the Polish community ever conducted in the UK. To take part, you need to have come to the UK in the last three months. www.polesinbritain.org.uk
Apel do Polaków, którzy przyjechali na Wyspy w cišgu ostatnich 3 miesi?cy – potrzebna jest wasza pomoc przy projekcie badawczym na temat polskiej spo?ecznosci w Wielkiej Brytanii. www.. polesinbritain.org.uk
