W tych dniach, wraz z grupą ochotników, miałem przyjemność wziąć udział w akcji pomocy poszkodowanym przez powódź. Doświadczenie to na zawsze pozostanie głęboko zakorzenione w mojej pamięci jako moment, w którym miałem okazję rzeczywiście pomóc innym w trudnych chwilach. Praca przy sprzątaniu zalanego terenu, pomaganie w odbudowie zniszczonych domów i współpraca z lokalnymi organizacjami charytatywnymi dały mi nie tylko możliwość niesienia pomocy materialnej, ale także głębsze zrozumienie tego, jak ważna jest solidarność i gotowość do działania w obliczu kryzysu.
Cieszę się, że miałem okazję być częścią tej akcji i widzieć, jak wiele dobrego może zrobić wspólnota ludzi gotowych wspierać się nawzajem w najtrudniejszych chwilach. Wspomnienia z tamtych dni stanowią dla mnie nie tylko dowód na siłę ludzkiej solidarności, ale także przypomnienie o konieczności dbania o nasze środowisko naturalne, aby minimalizować ryzyko wystąpienia podobnych katastrof w przyszłości.
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"Floods Are Like Wars: My Story of Aid and Support During the 2002 Millennium Flood
I vividly remember the year 2002. The great millennium flood wreaked havoc on the Central and Eastern European regions. The most severe damages occurred in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Croatia, with losses amounting to billions of euros.
By our own initiative, along with a personally assembled group from across Poland, we headed to Prague, Czech Republic, immediately after the passage of the massive flood.
The 2002 flood was so extreme that it came in two waves, roughly a week apart. The first wave was extreme and saturated the area with water. The water from the second wave had nowhere else to go, and it was no smaller than the first. The center of the damage was in southern Czech Republic; today there are two centers - in the south and north of Czech Republic. This was a very negative factor, not so much for Prague itself, but for the areas along the lower Elbe River.
The massive flooding in the Czech Republic, also known as the fifty-year flood, occurred in August 2002. In just 10 days, over one-third of the Czech Republic's territory was submerged. The southern and central regions of the country, including Prague, were the hardest hit. 17 people lost their lives.
The Millennium Flood: A Tale of Aid, Solidarity, and Hope
Sunday, September 8, 2002
We set off for the Czech Republic from two locations in Poland: Częstochowa and Krakow. We traveled in two buses provided by the State Fire Service. Both buses met at the border crossing in Kudowa Zdrój, and from there we continued together. After crossing the border without any passport control (note, note - the borders were not yet open, and Poland was not in the EU), all thanks to the Czech Embassy in Warsaw, which had informed the appropriate authorities of our arrival. We arrived late, probably around 10 PM, in the village of Czerveny Hradek, near the castle of the Horvath family, where we had our first overnight stay.
Monday, September 9, 2002
In the morning, we received news that we were expected at the crisis headquarters in Prague, where we would be assigned tasks. We reached Prague around noon and, after receiving supplies - gloves, mineral water, and dust masks - we split into two groups. One bus with 40 people went to Trojska Street, where we helped clean up properties. The water reached the third floor, and most houses were practically submerged. Our help to the ordinary residents of Prague involved carrying out and burning furniture, chipping off plaster, removing mud, and washing household items - all to begin the process of drying out the buildings.
The other bus went to the other side of the Vltava River to Stromovka Park, where we assisted in the reclamation and cleanup efforts. In the evening, after a full day's work, we all went to assess the damage to Prague's Old Town.
Tuesday, September 10, 2002
The next day, along with a group of 20 people, we began work in Stromovka Park in Prague. The rest went to Zbraslav, a town/district in Prague. Here, our work mainly consisted of helping people clean up and renovate and dry out public buildings. Some houses were already slated for demolition, but where we saw opportunities for rebuilding, we removed plaster inside and out. This was crucial because the walls of the houses need to dry out before the frost sets in. Within a minimum of six months, no one will move back in.
The work was very hard; we were dressed in special coveralls and wore dust masks, goggles, and caps all the time. In the afternoon, it turned out that we would be staying in Zbraslav until the end of our stay in the Czech Republic. After work, we returned to Czerveny Hradek, had dinner, and, soaked (we were caught in a downpour on the way back), we returned to Zbraslav.
The Millennium Flood
Wednesday, September 11, 2002
We continued our work in Zbraslav and Stromovka Park from morning onwards. On this day, the Czech Army served us breakfast and lunch from military rations. At a nearby field, we had access to military showers, a mess hall, a bakery, and a kitchen on a truck, marked ... Prague.
In the afternoon, we received the first official thanks from the Czechs for our work. We are still needed here, as the Czech army is slowly finishing its work, and crisis headquarters in districts are being disbanded, but there are still many places where no one has yet helped.
On this day, we begin cooperation with the organization "Clovek w Tisni - spolecnost pri CTV," which is now the only organization organized to help flood victims on a large scale. Upon returning to school, it turned out that we had to change our location because the school year starts there on Monday. They move us to the other side of the street, to the gymnasium above the local theater. It has its good sides because some of us get a chance to see a very interesting modernist performance, probably about the history of Prague. Probably because the entire performance was, for obvious reasons, in Czech.
Thursday, September 12, 2002
Finally, good weather. Breakfast is served to us again by the Czech army. We return to work. In Zbraslav, we finish helping to dry out the last houses; a line of residents has formed on Troiska Street, and, with a social list scheduled by the hours, we will be helping. Residents are competing in bonuses. In the evening, each of us receives a small gift from the organization "Clovek w Tisni - spolecnost pri CTV," and we collect very warm thanks from Czech officials (local and government). The day ends with dinner at a restaurant in the market square in Zbraslav.
In the face of disaster: My experiences from the Millennium Flood
Friday, September 13, 2002
The last day of our stay in the Czech Republic. We wake up a bit later and depart from the Polish Embassy in Prague.
Thanks to the kindness of the staff, we leave the buses in the embassy parking lot and go sightseeing in Prague. We return for an official meeting with the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Prague, where we receive thanks for our help from our diplomats. At the same time, we are guided through one of the most beautiful of our diplomatic buildings of the Republic of Poland and the garden located on the slope of the Hradczany. On this day, we leave the Czech Republic.
In those days, along with a group of volunteers, I had the pleasure of participating in flood relief efforts. This experience will forever remain deeply rooted in my memory as a moment when I had the opportunity to truly help others in difficult times. Working to clean up flooded areas, assisting in rebuilding destroyed homes, and collaborating with local charities not only gave me the chance to provide material assistance but also a deeper understanding of the importance of solidarity and readiness to act in times of crisis.
I am glad to have had the opportunity to be part of this effort and to see how much good a community of people ready to support each other in the most difficult times can do. The memories from those days are not only a testament to the strength of human solidarity but also a reminder of the need to take care of our natural environment to minimize the risk of similar disasters in the future."
.jpg "Katastrofa kolejowa pod Otłoczynem. Największa katastrofa w powojennej historii polskiej kolei.")
.jpg "Archiwalne zdjęcie, przedstawiające porozbijane wagony i zniszczone tory, przypomina nam o tragicznym wydarzeniu, które wstrząsnęło Polską latem 1980 roku")
.jpg "Katastrofa kolejowa pod Otłoczynem. Największa katastrofa w powojennej historii polskiej kolei.")
