By now you’ve heard the news about what happened on Saturday. A bona fide tragedy, if eerily ironic. I first heard the news on Saturday afternoon in Antwerp, thanks to my friend Dennis’ iPhone. That afternoon, we saw scenes of Warsaw on the news as we heard more details about what happened.

Of course I was shocked by the news. But I couldn’t help but wonder what I would think of the whole thing if I weren’t living in Poland right now. Would I really care? Would any of you have thought twice about it if you didn’t have me over here?

I got back to gray Warsaw on Tuesday night. Right away, I noticed the Polish flags hanging from every building—flags that weren’t there when I left Warsaw two weeks prior. In little clusters throughout the city, prayer candles flickered, illuminating the flowers laid in offering around them.

Those little altars were nothing compared to what I’d see around the university (very close to the president’s palace), where sheets of candles strewn about the sidewalks eliminated the need for streetlights. Throughout the area, people were selling flowers and candles. Buy a candle and a flower and set them down ten feet away. Entrepreneurs taking advantage of a national tragedy. In this respect, the aftermath is a lot like 9/11 was in the States. Remember all those magnetic ribbons and God Bless the U.S.A. stuff that was for sale?

Actually, the whole thing kind of reminds me of 9/11. You see flags everywhere, for instance, and the people seem somber but really united. It’s interesting.

Now let’s rewind. Do you know what the president and his entourage were even doing on Saturday? They were headed to Russia to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the massacre at Katyń. Had you heard about that tragedy before this one? I certainly wouldn’t have if I hadn’t been living in Poland. (My mentor Kasia has taught me so much about Poland—she told me about Katyń a while back.) Never learned about it in history class or anything. So I suppose if something good can be gleaned from the current tragedy, its that the rest of the world may begin to wake up to Poland’s tragic history. Really, Poland’s been through so much throughout the years—it’s amazing. I think this country has one of the most turbulent histories I’ve heard of. Or maybe I’ve just been sheltered.

I did an interview today for Radio Warszawa, and one of the things that occurred to me during the interview was this: Poland has such a rich history, but you’d only know it if you were Polish, or if you studied Polish history. I wonder if that goes for every country.