Tag: Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska

Polish American Community Welcomes President-Elect Obama, Expects Attention to Issues of Interest

Polish stores in Greenpoint, Brooklyn -- Anna Majkowska

Polish stores in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (Anna Majkowska/Flickr)

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska, Polish Daily News and FI2W reporter

Alex Storozynski, a Polish American writer, describes the victory of President-elect Barack Obama as “a victory for intellectualism over ignorance.” He pointed out that it could be very beneficial for the Polish American community:

Obama’s choice of congressman Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff offers Polish-Americans great optimism, because Emanuel, whose Chicago district is heavily Polish, is familiar with our issues, like the missile defense shield, and he has been an outspoken advocate for including Poland in the Visa Waiver Program.

Barack Obama himself has also supported Poland’s inclusion into a Visa Waiver Program, which would allow Poles to enter the U.S. for tourism or business purposes for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa.

Many Polish Americans, regardless of their political views, embraced Obama’s win, hoping he will quickly start working on improving the economy and moving the country in a new direction.

Some community leaders, like Frank Milewski, president of the Polish American Congress Downstate New York Division, were hoping that Zbigniew Brzezinski, a former national security advisor to President Jimmy Carter, would get a position in the Obama administration. Brzezinski endorsed Obama as early as August 2007.

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Election Fever in Greenpoint: Polish Immigrants Form Long Lines to Vote

GREENPOINT, NY – Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska, Polish Daily News and FI2W reporter

A long line of voters crowded around P.S. 34 on Norman Avenue in Greenpoint, a predominantly Polish neighborhood in Brooklyn. The line was at times so long –in the morning at any given moment there were around 300 voters– that some people just gave up, saying they would have to come back later. Others were hoping that their employers would understand and would not punish them for coming late to work.

“I’ve never seen anything like that here,” said Krystyna Holowacz, a Greenpoint activist, while waiting for her turn to vote. “Usually it takes five to ten minutes to cast a vote in Greenpoint. Today it’s more than one hour.”

Some voters were very excited to take part in this historic election, others looked very serious and described their participation as a duty.

Older Polish immigrants stood in line among numerous young Americans who have recently moved to this increasingly trendy neighborhood. And while election fever has strongly held the country in its grip for a long time, among Polish residents of Greenpoint this was a new phenomenon.

In the past, Polish immigrants, while deeply involved in their home country’s politics, were barely interested in the American electoral process. This year, however, despite differences in their opinions on who should be the next president, Poles were showing up at polling sites in much larger numbers than in previous years, with a new feeling of empowerment.

FI2W reporter Aswini Anburajan interviewed Polish voter Darius Gieczeweski in Manhattan. He voted for the first time in a U.S. presidential election this morning.

[audio:http://www.jocelyngonzales.net/FI2W/fi2w_DariusG.mp3]

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AudioStories

Polish Immigrants Returning to Poland: FI2W’s Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska Reports on WNYC

Feet In Two Worlds reporter Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska recently produced a feature story for WNYC News. Her radio piece about New York Poles returning to Poland aired locally during NPR’s All Things Considered.

From WNYC News:

The troubling economic times here are making some immigrants think about going home. Nineteen years after the collapse of communism and four years after joining the European Union, Poland is booming and young Poles in the United States want to profit from these changes.

They’re following the example of Irish immigrants who have been lured home by the Irish economic miracle. For undocumented immigrants the decision to return is sped up by anti-immigrant sentiment that is forcing out foreign workers from many parts of the world. As part of our occasional series, Feet in Two Worlds, Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska, of the Polish Daily News has this report.

You can listen to Ewa’s story here.

Feet in Two Worlds Covers the Conventions

Feet in Two Worlds kicks off its coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions tomorrow, featuring reporting by immigrant journalists from around the country who are attending the conventions. We’ll be podcasting and blogging from Denver and St. Paul, and our reporters will be on public radio with reports and analysis. Listen to the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC, New York Public Radio each morning at 10:40 for segments with ethnic media journalists.

Journalists whose work we’ll be featuring include Pilar Marrero from La Opinion in Los Angeles, Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska from the Polish Daily News in New York, and freelance journalist Aswini Anburajan.

Monday we’ll present the first in a series of panel discussions on Deconstructing the Ethnic Vote, an in-depth look by ethnic media journalists at the conversations going on in immigrant and ethnic communities about the presidential candidates, the issues, and the parties. This event is co-sponsored by the New York Community Media Alliance. If you’re in Denver, please join us Monday at noon at the Big Tent. We’ll have more information soon about where you can hear and see this conversation on the Web, TV and radio.