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Addressing the concerns

of Poland’s young ge

THIRD IN A SERIES

Before leaving for Europe last September, I purchased
a Bntish guide book for eastern Europe, in which I found
the following about Poland: ‘‘Due to the loss of some six
million people (half of them Jews) during the war, fol-
lowed by an extended baby boom, over half of the pres-
ent population of 35 million is under 30 — making Poland
one of the most youthful countries in Europe.”’

As this book was written in 1979 on the basis of statis-
tics available then, we can assume that the projection is
reasonably close to the situation in 1982.

A number of knowledgeable people I spoke to in Po-
land told me that the problem of working out a program
for young people is one of the most urgent problems
confronting the Polish United Workers Party. Hence the
decision to hold a plenary meeting of the Central Com-
mittee in the near future at which this will be the central
topic of discussion.

Basically, the difficulties can be boiled down to three
points:

Objective and difficult decisions which made the fu-
ture look uncertain to young people. This tended to
cause many of them to blame the previous generation.
Now, because of the economic problems which have to
be overcome, it is very difficult for many well educated
and well qualified young people to find what they con-
sider to be suitable work. While there is no danger of
unemployment, thousands of young people are dissatis-
fied with their jobs. This explains, I was told, why many
young people were active in Solidarity, because they

were looking for satisfactory employment and the oppor-
tunity of advancement.

Youth Patronized

For many years prior to 1980, schools, higher insti-
tutes and the party fell short in helping young people to
acquire a mature understanding of civic responsibility in
keeping with the goals of a socialist society. As one party
official put it, young people were patronized instead of
being treated as partners of the state. Consequently,
they were not sufficiently involved in shaping their own
future and the idea grew that the state had to provide
everything from above. Also, the young people could see
that the party and public bodies made many mistakes.
They were quick to point out that the slogan of Justice
and Equality was not always complied with.

The anti-socialist and counter-revolutionary oppo-
nents of the socialist regime were quick to utilize this
dissatisfaction in their campaigns against the state.

Today the PUWP is working hard to regain the con-
fidence and trust of the younger generation. In that
connection, special attention is being given to the estab-
lished, socialist youth organizations. These organiza-
tions still carry a big burden from the past, when there
was too much formalism in their relationships with the
party and there was insufficient attention given to

promoting the initiative of young people and letting them
find their own specific and unique forms of activity.

In essence, the upcoming plenary session of the Cent-
ral Committee of the PUWP will give attention to the
living conditions for young people, their place in the
political life of the country and their upbringing.

Youth and Housing

The Central Committee will deal with the painful prob-
lem of housing, not only as a general problem, but as it
affects young people. For example, too many young
couples have to wait as long as eight and 10 years to get
an apartment of their own. Therefore, the party and the
government will make it possible for more young people
to be directly involved in housing construction and will
institute priorities and credits to help them get suitable
housing.

As one official told me, the young people are not
anti-socialist but tend to blame the socialist regime for
the shortcomings which directly affect them.

The existing youth organizations are the following:

e The Polish Pathfinders Union (equivalent to Young

Pioneers in other socialist countries) with three mil-

lion members.

e The Socialist Union of Polish Students with 20 to 30

thousand members.

neration

Jack Phillips

e The Union of Young People from Villages with?”

to 400 thousand members. BY

e The Organization of Socialist Youth (equivalem!

Young Communist League in other socialist @

tries) with two million members. Its membershif_

made up of young workers, older pupils and §
farm youth.

There are no ideological or pragmatic differences)
tween the four organizations, I was told. All per!
ideological work among young people and all recog
the leading role of the party and the socialist constit
of Poland. oe

After August 1980, there was the Independent Ut
of Students which was totally influenced by anti-so¢! j
and anti-party elements and strongly attacked the Pa”
and government. When martial law was proclaimed :
December 13, 1981, this organization was disbat!
From an organizational point of view the overall Sl
tion is favorable, I was told, but much work remail®
be done.

New Youth Leaders

~ A Polish journalist, who also is an active membé
the Warsaw party organization, who often speaks ~
young people, gave me some of his impressions.
“‘T tell them,’ he said, ‘“‘what our generation fough! .
and suggest it is up to them to carry on from theré
build a better Poland. The young people are very
educated (which socialism made possible) and they
to live in a modern way. The programs we directé ‘
young people were not, in many ways, suitable for!
well educated generation. Consequently many of t
were sharply critical of the government, not only vé
ly, but in street riots.”’ "
He told me that the Organization of Socialist YO)
has consolidated itself, after dropping from three ml!
to two million members in one year. A new leader
has been elected which enjoys the trust of the me
ship. It is acting on a partnership basis in relation t0
party leadership and firmly supports and works fot
consolidation and improvement of socialist soc
While it is critical of the party leadership on some 9
tions, this criticism is of a positive nature. “4
‘The approaching plenary session of the Central
mittee of the PUWP has the aim of elaborating a pro!
for young people, after consultation with them, a P!
ram which they will regard as their own and work
with all of their energy, talent and innovation.

TORONTO — ‘*Many Jews and other friends of Israel
have been deeply disturbed by the terrible results of the
invasion of Lebanon by the Israeli army,’” says the
United Jewish People’s Order in a press release issued
last week by its National Resident Board.

The statement continues in part:

“It is hard to imagine how the Israeli government
embarked on this frightful and dangerous path of trying
to solve the painful Israeli-Palestinian conflict through
military force. The United Nations Security Council
unanimously called for an immediate withdrawal of Is-
raeli forces from Lebanon. The Canadian Parliament
also unanimously called for such a withdrawal. Millions
throughout the world, Jews as well as non-Jews, believe
that the Begin-Sharon strategy of trying to solve these

problems through a military assault has had the following
results:

e ‘‘a heavy toll of dead and wounded Israeli soldiers;

e ‘the killing and wounding of thousands of Arabs,
Palestinians and Lebanese — most of them innocent
men, women and children and the utter destruction of
many cities and towns in Lebanon;

e “unprecedented moral damage to Israel’s prestige
in the eyes of the overwhelming majority of the peoples;

e ‘the dragging of Israel into a military adventure that
threatens to widen dangerously.

‘A frightful and dangerous path’

“The bitter truth about the military adventure is that
the so-called victories in no way ensure security and
tranquility for the Jewish state. The Begin-Sharon poli-
cies are resulting in heightened Arab animosity and will
mean that Israel will be obliged to live by the sword for
generations and thus the very existence of Israel will be
put into question. .

“In these fateful days, we call upon Canadian Jews
and all friends of Israel to ally themselves with those
forces in the Jewish state who, for the first time in the
midst of hostilities, come forward boldly in open protest
against the invasion of Lebanon and the harmful policies
of the Begin-Sharon regime. Among the protesters are
found Zionists of various persuasions and prominent
personalities like reserve army generals Mair Pall,
Matathias Peled, Liava Eliav and many more, including
rabbis of all denominations and teachers under the
leadership of the ‘Peace Now’ movement. The call to
halt aggression has now been endorsed by Dr. Nochem
Goldman, Pierre Mendes France and Philip Klutznick.

“The peace forces of Israel strongly argue that:

1) The Begin-Sharon invasion of Lebanon was not a
spontaneous act, but rather one that had been prepared
many months ahead;

2) The cease-fire agreement between Israel, Syria and
the Palestinians had held for ten months, and in fact, it
was NOT the Palestinians who had broken it;

3) The invasion of Lebanon did not result from thé
assassination attempt against Sholom Argov, Israel*}b
ambassador to Britain — an act for which the PLO h®| t
denied responsibility; i \

4) “The invasion flows from the harmful policies %
trying to solve the Palestinian problem on the West B
and in the Gaza Strip through military force, instead of
seeking ways and means to work out a political settl@
ment of the entire Israeli-Arab conflict. This act is pat
and parcel of the brutal strategy of expansion and inv”
sion, the main aim of which is to prepare for the annex®
tion of the West Bank and Gaza and to prevent th?
establishment of an independent Palestinian state on thé
West Bank and Gaza, alongside the state of Israel.

“We call upon Canadian Jews and all friends of Isra®
to link up with the peace forces in Israel and throughotl
the world who demand: a) That Israel withdraw fro®
Lebanon under a guarantee by the United Nations afd)
superpowers to set up a demilitarized zone betwee!
Israel and Lebanon; b) Negotiations between Israel arid t
the Arab States, including official representation fro™)
the Palestinian people on meeting the Palestinian desit)
for self determination and the right to set up an inde I
pendent state on the West Bank and Gaza, alongside ?) t
Israel. The peace and security.of Israel and this ne¥|
Palestinian state should be guaranteed by the United! '
Nations and the superpowers ...”’

é
—

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—AUGUST 6, 1982—Page 6