The play “My Bosnia” is an important cultural and social event because it deepens our identity. The fourth generation of people who re-emigrated from Bosnia is now living in Bolesławiec. This is therefore the last opportunity to discover, explore and recreate the memories of the last witnesses to Bosnian history. The story of Polish emigrants to the countries of the former Yugoslavia, who after years of wandering settled in the area around Bolesławiec, is undoubtedly a play that brings that world back to life: its history, tradition, and individual human dramas and emotions… Only art can preserve it from oblivion so evocatively, apart, of course, from the living accounts of Bosnians—Poles.
Katarzyna Knychalska’s playwriting debut, “My Bosnia”, directed by Jacek Głomb, was created in cooperation with Teatr Modrzejewskiej in Legnica and the Teatr Nie-Taki Foundation in Wrocław. It is a moving story about a local community—Polish re-emigrants from Bosnia who settled in the area around Bolesławiec after the Second World War. The story is based on fact, while the whole work takes the form of a folk ballad. The main characters are a Polish family: the father, Joze, and his two daughters, Roksana and Boguśka. The play’s interesting composition should be emphasised: individual scenes are interspersed with Roksana’s monologues (performed by Alina Czyżewska), in which she recalls her life and introduces the audience to real historical events beginning just before the Second World War and ending during the civil war in the early 1990s.
I remember the final confession of this character very clearly: “This is no longer my Bosnia.” These are words full of suffering, bitterness and helplessness in the face of dramatic events in a country she still loves. The director combines tragedy and comedy in a highly coherent way—the inhabitants of the area around Bolesławiec have fun, drink rakija and celebrate, while Yugoslav customs are presented. Yet post-war nationalisms from the international arena penetrate the villages inhabited by the re-emigrants.
In Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Muslims lived together with mutual respect. Yet hostility was growing among them. It turns out that someone close to them was murdering people, sparing none of their former friends. The final scene deeply moves the audience. Mira, the stage daughter of Remuś and Roksana, learns that her beloved Danilo has been killed by a former “classmate”. We thus see that people are beginning to be divided by war and nationalism, against which they are in fact helpless. The women’s powerlessness in the face of these dramatic events is shown through quiet weeping. And although the entire play is filled with dynamism and powerful emotions, the final scene brings stillness. The only thing that now unites the female characters is suffering—the loss of someone very close.
Using an individual’s story, the director shows the painful moments of twentieth-century history. It is worth mentioning the authentic objects present on stage, brought from southern Europe after the Second World War, which complete the realities of those times, while Bosnian music adds energy to some scenes. Music and tradition are an escape for the characters from hardship and a complicated reality; in a sense, they save them because they provide a sense of community.
Expertly directed and brilliantly acted, the play draws on Yugoslav history and culture, which remain very much alive in the Bolesławiec region. Many people cultivate these traditions and maintain ties with their neighbours in Bosnia. Re-emigrants who meet at festivals prepare traditional dishes together: pita and pečenica, and drink rakija. Many people return to their former homeland. The Association of Polish Re-emigrants from Bosnia exists and officially began its activities on 19 January 2011.
Bolesławiec is a place where different traditions coexist, alongside Yugoslav ones—including those of the Eastern Borderlands. Multiculturalism is a value for the people of Bolesławiec. “My Bosnia” is community theatre that reaches out to people and fulfils an extremely important cultural role because it builds a sense of identity. Personally, I feel strongly connected with Bolesławiec, my hometown. When I was three, I went to Germany, where I grew up and attended preschool. I often wondered why I had not allowed my parents to stay abroad—I had the people closest to me and my friends with me; in short, I was happy. And yet I very much wanted to return…
I think it is important to discover the identity of a region that is multicultural. This teaches openness to another culture and tolerance, and thus a wise love of one’s Small Homeland. The traditions, memories and human dramas presented in an engaging theatrical form allowed me once again to try to understand the past and, through it, myself… This is precisely “My Bosnia”—My Bolesławiec.
Martyna Stasiak