Mirosława Guzik left Poland in 1987 along with her husband and two daughters: 7-year-old Marta and 1-year-old Karolina. Her husband was the founder of Solidarność at the local Metalworks for which he was interned. It was the reason for the family’s decision to leave Poland.
In summer of 1987, they got to Yugoslavia, and from there to a refugee camp in Italy, where they spent almost 3 years waiting to be allowed to go to Canada.
In 1989, they found themselves in Toronto, where they are still living today. Mirosława learned English and got education – she’s a preschool teacher and simultaneously works at the St. Stanislaus Polish School, where she teaches the children of Polish emigrants. She tries to visit her home in Poland every two years.
Interview conducted by Joanna Gierak-Onoszko in July 2017 in Toronto.
The main reason for us to leave Poland was the situation we found ourselves in. I mean, the economic situation in the country, the political one too, because of my husband who was a metalworker and founded a chapter of Solidarność there. After many years, when Solidarność was operating, and later they tried to capture all the participants and founders, my husband was abroad in Austria. I was alone. The government officials simply came to my house. I told them that my husband wasn’t there, that he left and wasn’t there. Then, they left us alone. But after my husband came back after a year in Austria, unfortunately he didn’t make it, he was interned, he spent 3 months at this military base. Afterwards, he decided that he doesn’t want to live in a country that punished him in one way or another for activities which from his point of view were just. We decided… actually, like I said, it was his decision. We left one year after our younger daughter was born, in 1987, we left Poland for Italy. It was just a vacation trip, really. We had to use subterfuge, let’s call it. And we left for this trip, of course with the intention to stay for longer, and with the decision to emigrate.
The trip was very hard, because the child was very little, four people in the car, incredible heat. We stopped several times, you know, to prepare food for the little one. And through this heat we made it to Italy, going through all the socialist countries. We had a stopover in Yugoslavia, because we were prevented from crossing the border three times. We had to go back and try in three different crossing points, because... when they saw an entire family, they thought that we just want to leave Poland for good, which was indicated by our luggage and everything we took with us, because like I said, we had two kids and it was hard not to take those things. We realised that settling-in somewhere will be costly, and there were other things to consider. That’s why we had all this luggage. And the border guards decided and thought that we... there was a possibility that we had all this stuff with us because we wanted to sell it. So, they ordered us to pay a customs fee... and we weren’t prepared for that. The trip was very costly. We weren’t prepared to pay additional fees. But on our third attempt, we decided not to exert ourselves and the children, we just won’t. We had to pay all the money we were expected to. And when we were given the go-ahead to cross, we were happy and glad that... this effort was not in vain, that we made it. So, we made it to Rome, to our friends who were waiting for us. We spent the night there. Later, my husband went to the so called kwestura, i.e. a police department where we had to report that we came into the country. After that, they gave us shelter, we got temporary quarters on some camping grounds. Although, we had to wait two weeks for these quarters. So, we slept outdoor or in the car, with a little child for whom we needed to prepare food, some decent conditions, washing, which unfortunately we failed at, and there were conditions for that. The kid was little, sometimes I had to wash her in a fountain.
We were relocated to Ostia. And there, they had this camping ground which also had some bungalows. We were given a room with a stove in one of these bungalows. And we moved in with the kids. And, as a side note, we had my husband’s brother with us... because he was family, they had him join us. Each single, i.e. unmarried person, had to move in with family. So my husband’s brother lived with us which was an additional hindrance. Without comfort, without... at least for me as a woman. And well, we simply had to accept the difficulties. We didn’t think that it would be this long. We hoped for a shorter stay. But unfortunately, it was almost 3 years.
When we moved to the camping ground in Ostia, I have to say, the Italians gave us a rather warm welcome. In this sense, I think... when my husband needed to look for work. He went around, asked, visited local employers, houses. So, they were rather quick to help out. Basically, if someone got a job, they sometimes had to, really often, remind the company to pay them, because that would not always be taken care of. You know, the rate wasn’t good either. But that was less important. The most important thing was that... like with my husband, he did something, he earned something. And this was a huge help for us, because... I had two daughters, one was still in diapers, so we had to buy those, and food of course, she couldn’t eat the food we were offered. So, it was important for us that my husband found some work. And he did. Initially he had this plaque that read cerco lavoro that he put on his back, and he rode around on this little bicycle we took with us, because our elder daughter loved riding it, so we couldn’t leave it behind. So... he rode around and searched. He got some job, I remember the first one. Something with sorting mushrooms at a place where they bought them in bulk. An these initial earnings helped. Later too, when the season ended and the work with it, he started searching again. And he found another job. He worked for this Italian who was glad to hire him and helped us too, we even received little gifts. So, I have to say that they were rather friendly towards us. However, as with every group, every nation, it varies. But I can’t say that it was a bad experience.
After arriving in Italy, we had some time to cool off, and seriously, these emotions that this trip, and... our situation was a bit more stable. However, each day we had to live with the possibility of deportation... we were simply afraid of it. Although it didn’t happen, there were no grounds for it. If someone, say, had... people behaved differently, were there some incidents, did someone, say, deserved to be deported. Because you had to behave, right, be disciplined, and know what you want. However, it was hard to wait a year, two, three. We knew it would take time. Even more so, because we waited for the government to sponsor us. And later, after the wait, we learned that this sponsorship could take a long time. If someone had a family or a private sponsor, it all went faster. We met this wonderful family who helped us immensely. Later, they came here to Canada, before us, and quickly made it so that they could sponsor us. It was a Polish family, we were quartered together. We were neighbours. We grew close. We were, right, next door to each other. So, we saw every day, they’ve seen our struggles with various issues, the little kid, and the other one going to school. I think that this was the reason that they made sure after they came to Canada, that they would sponsor us. In their case it went like this, because they weren’t able to sponsor us financially, because it was connected, this organisation with the church at Mississauga proved very helpful. I mean, the church with this sponsorship they applied for, simply, decided to help this family, meaning us. So it was like this. Back then they had no obligations that they had to finance or help us. It was only... would be their own intention. And so... we talked about this and said that we won’t just wait for their help, because we are able to, when we get there... we were ready to go to work immediately and for that to be... not to be a burden for them. Because for a government sponsorship as it was, we didn’t have any chances because of our expectations. And here, the time was much shorter.
The decision to emigrate was my husband’s. I, because you heard things, that... the husband leaves early, and it would be a long time before the wife could join him. So I thought that the family should stick together. So, like I said, the kids were little. It would’ve been hard for me. This situation... we spoke about it, discussed it. We decided that if we’re to go, we’re going together. My husband decided that... for now it was Italy, and later, the decision was... when we arrived and submitted papers to emigrate, my husband wanted to go to Australia, because his cousins lived there. But to Australia, he wanted to apply for government sponsorship. I was a little against it, because I thought it was too far. Of course, you know, even... both the distance and the fact that the seasons are inverted, it was all a bit frightening for me. It was a hard decision to leave Poland. It was hard for me, I suspect, much harder emotionally than it was for my husband. I left my family, left my mother. In a sense, the family I was very attached to. And it was very hard for me. If this... I think, to Canada. This is what we decided... we applied both to Australia and Canada, so it would be fair. So, my husband says, we’ll see which will be faster. And Canada responded first. But it was mainly facilitated by the private sponsorship. So, we left for Canada. And so, like I said, the decision to emigrate was made by my husband. And I’m keeping up with him for the sake of the family. It was very hard for me. For my mom, even more so. I didn’t learn about it until I came back after a couple of years and my neighbour told me how hard she took it. I dealt with it my own way, and my mom – in her own. So, it was very, very hard to leave the family, the home we created as a young married couple. It was very, very hard.
We talked about how it will all turn out a lot. Of course, we were glad that life would be better. While in Italy, we saw a huge difference. How the situation was in Poland, and how it was there. It was a simple affair to go to the store. And... and the goods and everything else was there. So, it was incomparable to how things were in Poland back then, where I was standing in line with a kid on my arm and a ration card in hand, right, to buy food or anything else. So, the situation was such that a person here was very emotional about the trip and separation, and on the other hand, wanted a better life for themselves and their family. So this trip was a lot for us, for me, emotionally. However, the perspective of a better life gave us hope.
The arrival at the airport was, well, I don’t know... disappointing? The airport in Italy was beautiful, very..., and here, in Canada... I suspect that it was the situation that we, as emigrants, were directed to a place where we would complete all the formalities. And it didn’t look like... because I never… it was my first trip abroad and I never was in these circumstances, but it was very overwhelming just to have come here... and all these officials, customs officers and these, right, issues connected with our arrival and future stay, it was all connected. Maybe a little chaotic, because, I won’t tell you about the kwestura and how it went with the Italian police. There, we were treated like some sort of prisoners. They took our fingerprints, photographs from all sides. So that part of accepting us as refugees in Italy was very unpleasant and we remember it well... with this distaste, that we weren’t treated completely fair. But I think it’s just a matter of procedures.
Home is, where the family is. Family, work. But I think that Poland is my home. We’ve been in Canada for 28 years, so it’s a long time. I don’t think that we would be able and have the money to achieve this, which for me... it’s a big achievement. We raised our daughters and provided for their education. For me, we simply have a house which we could not have afforded in Poland. I think that through perseverance, determination, and hard work, we managed to get to where we are now. However, it cost us a lot of effort and sacrifices. I said that when a Pole came to our house to make some repairs and replace the windows. And these are his words. If it wasn’t for my going home without money, if I go now, no one will believe me. Because in Poland, everybody says that it’s the land of plenty. And this guy says that he has to work from dawn till dusk to send money for the kids, to his wife to make a living, and yeah, he said that their building a house. And I can’t leave, because I started it, so I have to finish it. No one will believe me that I had to work so hard for it. They’ll think it’s not true. But it’s... you need to roll up your sleeves and work hard to achieve something. Sure, in hindsight, when you have a steady job and reasonable money, you can have a decent living. But it’s very, very hard, with many sacrifices and often, humiliations. I often heard people saying that you need to shove your ambitions up a certain part of the body, roll up your sleeves, and get to work.
I have to say, I was lucky. The moment I finished school, I had an apprenticeship at a preschool where this Polish woman, a friend, worked, and simply, she helped me a lot. She’s been working there for longer. I apprenticed with her. And she just told this supervisor, the preschool’s superintendent, that from what she observed and in her opinion, I meet 100% of the requirements for a teacher, what she can see from my attitude, the way I work, dutifulness, having all the features that a teacher and caregiver for young kids should have. So, she gave me a good opinion. I got the job. And since the placement, i.e. the apprenticeship, ended right before summer holidays when many teachers took leaves of absence, and well, the superintendent agreed, she simply gave me a chance to work. And thanks to my performance, she hired me. So, it was my great luck. I say it was with the help from God and an answer to my prayers. So, I was very happy to be able to work in a profession that I chose and that I like.
I started working at a Polish school when my younger daughter reached school age and started first grade... sorry, second grade. Because she had her first communion in second grade. First grade she was... we were homeschooling her. And she attended second grade at a Polish school, because she also had religious studies there. I started as a volunteer. I assisted a first grade teacher. Next year, the school’s superintendent hired me and I worked with the youngest children. It was the so called “zero class” (zerówka). It made me happy, very happy. I could sing, dance, talk with the kids in Polish. Seriously, it gave me huge satisfaction, contentment. I think it was good for the kids too, because they said that they couldn’t wait until Saturday, Polish classes were held only on Saturdays. That is, two hours of religious studies and three and half hours of Polish school. But at the moment I started work with the Polish school, it was on Saturdays... Saturday was a very happy day, because we would meet with all the Poles, well this group of Polish teachers, kids, and parents, where, well various... talks, experience sharing, would go on and on. Oftentimes, school ended by 1 pm. and we didn’t get home until 4 pm., because the kids were very close to each other. There were extra classes after the Polish ones. We have a dance group. It took up a lot of time on Saturdays. And of course made the stay more pleasant.
I think that a parent who comes, let’s say, from Poland or from another country, they are extremely lucky if they can send their child to a Polish or other school, if there is one, because we have a Polish one. I think that a child who has a Polish mother should... I think that it is very important for the child to know where they come from, to know the customs and culture. I think that it enriches a child immensely. These are values which can’t be shaped by... no, only by sending them to school, which is a huge sacrifice. Because Saturday is not a school day, and the child has to get up early. And the parent, they have to bring them to this Polish school, which I think is very, very important that the kid knows about their roots, where they come from. We teach them history, culture, customs, songs, the national anthem of course. Children learn this verse, they know it since an early age: Kto ty jesteś? Polak mały. It’s our first history lesson with these kids. The Polish flag and emblem. Kids know about it, and while talking with them, we are glad that we have passed the knowledge on to these kids, thanks to the parents, cooperation with them, and imprint our heritage, which is extremely important.
Canada is a multicultural country, there is such a possibility here. We didn’t encounter any obstacles. I think it’s easy. Each nationality can... from what I can tell, there are schools that teach Ukrainian, Russian, or Spanish. I know for a fact that schools like that exist. So, in our case, the Poles here, I never encountered any problems. On the contrary, in our community, we simply strive for it to be meaningful, strong, this contact with the language. It’s very rare for us to speak English amongst each other. However, the language, and culture, and all our customs, are very strong. The groups are, I’d say, strongly connected with our fatherland. So for sure, it’s more visible, this closeness of the Polish diaspora than even, let’s say, Poles, if you go and hear things. Maybe because everybody is back at this fatherland, which is very far away for us. In those moments, we try to get closer and strengthen the bond.
I think that everyone who plans on emigrating should consider whether it’s worth it to leave behind, let’s say, everything they achieved. In my case, we left a country where life was really hard. Communism, everyone knows. Nowadays surely, people who make these decisions have a different perspective. And simply, if you’re ready to go to another country and you’ll receive everything, they’ll give the same job for the same money, then you may get really disappointed. It’s not worth it to leave behind everything you’ve built for yourself. If someone feels that they’ll go because life’s easier and better there, you can really make a mistake. Because no one knows what situation, where you’ll end up, in what situation. We don’t even know ourselves well enough to say whether we’re be able to handle all of it due to normal, human weakness. Because sometimes that’s how it goes. It may be a truism, but the grass is always greener on the other side.
It’s rare for me to dream. If I do... I’ve never had a dream in English. Not ever. My dreams... I think about family, so my subconscious is reflected in my dreams. But I never spoke English to anyone in my dreams. No. Sometimes people, characters are somewhere in there, yes, but the conversation was never... when I speak at home... English is a language I use for work. Only for work. The grandkids arrive, so when the doors close, the only language at our home is Polish.
