In this video we can already see the whole parade of the march of the nationalists in Hajnówka. I talked to a few people watching like me on the sidewalk. The first turned out to be an Orthodox from one of the villages around Hajnówka, but ironically he was sympathetic to the “march”. He said that there was a lot of red, left-wing, Soviet stuff left here. He sees Russia as a threat (which is the general view in Poland, and the current political representation strongly supports it). He says Lithuania has already called up reservists (I heard about this after the Maidan in response to Crimea, but it’s possible it’s still there). He went on to say: Here is Poland.

Another “interviewee”, also a local Orthodox, young cyclist, said that people here live in peace, Poles and Orthodox alike. There is a show like this once a year. He stressed that “there is Poland here, of course.”

As was evident in the parade and banners, and as my “interlocutors” claimed, the marchers are “arrivals.” The police, almost outnumbering the demonstrators, and hordes of journalists were also present.

In the video we see a much smaller counter-demonstration on the bridge in front of the roundabout – about 30 visually elderly people, with a big banner “Bury – nie nasz bohater” (Bury is not our hero), and perhaps family members? with A3 with a laconic “name” (e.g. Wasyl), date of shooting, etc.

An elderly man +- 65 years old, whom I approached already after the roundabout, was from Narwi (echt “Russian” and Orthodox town 25? km away, according to his own words “observing”, and looking to see if there was anyone from Narwi in the parade. In a conversation with me, he claimed the Ukrainianness of his autochthonous people (another red rag on Polish patriots), and spoke of the “Polish occupation”: “When the Germans occupy, it’s a tragedy, but when the Poles occupy, you can’t criticize it.”

 

 

 

 

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