Smog the canary in the mine for Poland's political climate
READ MORE
This sense of collective pride and identity surrounding coal has its origins in what many see as Poland’s national existential roots, buried literally deep in its mines.
Emilia Wesolowska, 36, the daughter of retired miner, who is pregnant with her first child understands the industry’s cultural significance.
“It wasn’t just the [mining] company giving work to the people, but it kind of also sponsored the local ‘environment’ like some orchestras, sports events. Sports venues were owned by coal mines. So if a coal mine was shut down, it wasn’t just the sacking of the people,” Wesolowska says.
“[Before the pregnancy] I used to try to spend as little time as possible outside. But I wasn’t that obsessed with that. But now … I do stay at home, honestly, because I’m really scared that if I spent too much time outside, it wouldn’t be good for my baby.”
In a country often occupied by neighbours throughout its troubled history, coal has represented what its citizens perceive as precious energy self-sufficiency and political sovereignty. As a consequence, the issue of air pollution and its internationally sanctioned solution – shifting to cleaner sources of energy – is deemed “un-nationalist” by many, and a “non-issue” brought up by “Leftists” and “unpatriotic” elements of society. That makes Poland’s complex relationship with the fossil fuel a “canary in the mine” for the country’s wider political climate.
Comments
Post a Comment