Africa – the new home. From the snows of Siberia to the sun of Africa. Poles in Africa 1942–1952
From 17 to 24 November 2017, representatives of the Centre for Documentation of Deportations, Expulsions and Resettlements of the Pedagogical University of Krakow took part in another expedition to Uganda. This time, its purpose was to celebrate the opening of the Health Centre in Koji and to name it after the “Polish Siberians”. It was in Koji that a Polish settlement existed between 1942 and 1951, where Polish refugees from the Soviet Union found refuge. On the occasion of this important ceremony, His Magnificence Prof. Dr. Kazimierz Karolczak, Rector of the University of Pedagogy, addressed a letter to those gathered. Today, the Poles’ stay in Koji is recalled by a cemetery which was rebuilt in 2012 thanks to the joint efforts of the Siberians, the UP Centre for Documentation of Deportations, Expulsions and Resettlements, state institutions and the Salesian priest Ryszard Józwiak together with alumni from Namugongo. In addition, representatives of the Centre participated in an international conference entitled. “Refugees in Uganda, then and now – The history of the Polish Refugees in Eastern Africa and the situation of refugees in Uganda nowadays”, organised at the National Museum of Uganda. The conference was accompanied by an exhibition entitled. ‘Africa – the new home. From the snows of Siberia to the sun of Africa. Poles in Africa 1942 – 1952’, prepared by the Polish Embassy in Nairobi in cooperation with the CDZWiP. The above events were attended by Siberians – Africans from Poland, Canada and Australia, as well as Senator of the Republic of Poland Maciej Łuczak, Sergiusz Wolski – Chargé d’affaires of the Polish Embassy in Nairobi, Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu – Minister of Tourism of Uganda and the Honorary Consul of Poland in Uganda and others.
