The press spokesperson for the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation, Krzysztof Dobies, assured that the Foundation considers the matter of the Bolesławiec finale important and is treating it as a priority, but asked everyone to wait patiently for the final explanation.
He also informed us that the Bolesławiec headquarters had submitted its financial report and paid PLN 52,910.73 into the WOŚP account. However, the Foundation did not accept the report.
– We wrote to the head of the headquarters asking for an explanation of the doubts listed, and we are still waiting for this information – Krzysztof Dobies said. – At the same time, the prosecutor’s office conducting the explanatory proceedings concerning the WOŚP headquarters in Bolesławiec was informed in detail about the status of the financial report.
This is the first official information about how much money the Bolesławiec headquarters collected. In a conversation with an Istotne.pl journalist, head of the headquarters Henryk Jasiński spoke of around PLN 50,000, but did not provide a specific amount. A discussion about the 20th WOŚP Finale in Bolesławiec was taking place online. There were accusations and many assumptions.
Sunday – the Finale
The WOŚP Finale took place in front of and inside the BOK-MCC building. Military equipment and a fire engine were set up on Piłsudski Square, while some band played on the stage. A lottery organized by Janina Majewska was set up in the building’s foyer. Upstairs, Zdobniki from Zakłady Ceramiczne Bolesławiec painted faces with flowers and stamps. BOK-MCC instructors conducted classes in the art studios. Children made hearts from clay. Several boys danced breakdance in the dance hall. The conference room was turned into a concert venue. Among others, Tomek Wachnowski and children from the Music School performed there.
Volunteers were everywhere—by evening, tired, gathered in groups and talking. The residents of Bolesławiec watched or used the attractions offered to them, left money and went home. At 8:00 p.m., the light was sent to the sky. The collection of money ended.
The Finale was always chaotic because it was organized by volunteers—whether it took place at Concordia or in the sports hall of I LO. Only the interior changed. The mess, difficulties managing the program, mishaps and delays, tensions and quarrels were part of the atmosphere of the Sunday Orchestra.
After the Finale—in the media
Robert Dudek, the head of last year’s headquarters, called local media outlets on Sunday. He said he had volunteers who would talk about how poorly this year’s Finale had been organized, how the head of the headquarters had been unable to control anything and what a scandal it was.
The volunteers spoke to the media willingly and openly, without concealing their names. All of them accused Henryk Jasiński. We wrote about this in the article “WOŚP’s Torn Heart.” They said that intimidation, threats, poor treatment and unpleasant remarks had affected almost everyone who prepared something during the Finale and had contact with the head. The volunteers complained. The head of the headquarters was either absent or interfered with attractions that had already been organized.
After the Finale, it was difficult to contact Henryk Jasiński. He did not answer his phone. He did not speak to journalists. He also did not say how much money he had collected. All local media outlets and several regional ones described the Finale in Bolesławiec identically: chaos, lack of organization and no contact with the head of the headquarters.
Internet users reacted delicately:
“For such a milestone Finale, the city should have put on a spectacular show. Nothing concrete happened at all. I think the weather played a trick here. A great band from Lublin.”
“Personally, I don’t care who performs, how they perform or what attractions there are. The Orchestra is here, I throw money into the cans because that is probably the most important thing. A great campaign once a year, and every time people have to be lured with something so they will be generous? When will we learn to go, give and expect nothing in return? Probably never.”
Immediately after the Finale, people mainly wrote about organizational difficulties and praised the help provided by Janina Majewska, a volunteer and organizer. That was how things began.
After the Finale—at the police station
Later, stronger accusations came from the volunteers and Janina Majewska. Robert Dudek suggested that the volunteers go to the police. At the Police Headquarters in Bolesławiec, they stated that Henryk Jasiński had not accounted for cans opened without authorization and had used money collected by volunteers to pay the bands performing during the Finale, which, they claimed, was contrary to WOŚP regulations. For this reason, the headquarters did not know how much money it had actually collected.
People began writing harshly online:
“Oh, my God! Where did the money of Bolesławiec residents who put it into the volunteers’ cans go? A day has passed, and there are only unanswered questions.” “Jasiński took the cans with the money, jars with money from Elektronika [Zespół Szkół Elektronicznych], and items intended for the lottery. THIEF, DAMN THIEF.”
After the Finale—with Kazimierz Marczewski
When other media outlets toned down their coverage, partly after the WOŚP Foundation announced that the head of the headquarters had until January 31 to settle the accounts, Kazimierz Marczewski’s bolec.info portal did not fall silent. Every new event was presented there. In his column, Marczewski demanded that the city’s mayor and the director of BOK-MCC apologize for WOŚP. He considered Piotr Roman a co-organizer of this year’s Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Finale. Marczewski wrote:
“Our mayor is unable to beat his breast and say, even through the beautiful lips of the BOK-MCC director: We are jointly responsible for this event; we apologize that it turned out so badly.”
The Internet reacted immediately. To Internet users, Jasiński became Roman’s man:
“Please do not associate Mr. Henryk Jasiński with PiS. After 2006, he resigned from membership in that party together with a group that had entered the city and county councils from the PiS list; in 2010, he ran with the KWW Piotra Romana committee.”
Another anonymous user wrote:
“I have proof that BOK-MCC organized WOŚP. They distribute calendars with their company logo, and on the last page there is a large WOŚP logo and the words ‘WOŚP Headquarters Bolesławiec.’”
After the Finale—Henryk Jasiński
The head of the headquarters’ sudden appearance in the media—an interview for local television—and online—an account on his own website—shifted attention away from the mayor’s role in the Finale.
Appearing on Azart Sat, Henryk Jasiński stated that he had been involved in a car accident on Sunday evening. He appeared wearing a cervical collar. Calmly, he explained—or rather repeatedly insisted—that the Finale had been organized in accordance with all procedures. Unfortunately, the journalist did not ask him the basic questions: had he settled the accounts with the Foundation, and how much money had he collected? No one still knew the official amount.
On his website, Jasiński promised to submit the financial report, but before doing so, he focused on how badly he had been treated by the media. A picture of a grinning hyena, which disappeared after a few days, was meant to illustrate what journalists were like.
The forum posts were unequivocal:
“I ask: how much longer will this whole farce and circus presented by the ‘alleged head of the headquarters’ continue? Where are the authorities responsible for stopping such a person? Where are the bodies investigating the whole situation? How can this man be allowed to independently create a website and write nonsense on it? Why has this man still not received any punishment for what he did and for how badly he compromised our city?”
The mayor returns
Marczewski responded to the demand for answers to these questions. On his portal, he called on the mayor to mediate between the head of the headquarters and the volunteers. When nothing came of it, he convened the volunteers himself and asked the mayor to contact Jasiński. The head of the headquarters did not answer Marczewski’s calls, considering him one of the more unpleasant hyenas.
The mayor gave in to the request, even though at a city council session he criticized the public campaign against Jasiński. When Jasiński heard that Marczewski had organized the meeting, he categorically refused. This did not stop Marczewski from writing that the mayor had organized the mediation and that Jasiński had said no to the mayor himself.
Online, the belief that Jasiński had powerful connections and could therefore do what he had done began to take firm hold.
“There is a statement by the mayor defending Jasiński. So what, is there ‘support’ from above for making fools of people, breaking the law and committing fraud?”
And what next… no one knows…
The forums contain a great deal of information about Jasiński’s health and past, and even more speculation about the purpose of his actions. Henryk Jasiński himself unfortunately says nothing directly. In a conversation with us, he admitted that he had not fully settled the accounts with the Foundation because he could not settle them with Janina Majewska.
Despite the many comments and information produced by Marczewski, nothing further is known. Venting frustration on the forums did not make it easier for the volunteers to meet with the head of the headquarters. The various insinuations contained in Marczewski’s articles neither eased tensions nor calmed anyone, although fatigue with the subject could be seen in the number of posts and the small number of commenters.
The story about “irregularities” during the Finale was highly catchy and made for good media coverage. Jasiński’s acquaintance with the mayor tempted some people into various speculations. But amid all the commotion, it remains difficult to answer the question troubling everyone: what exactly went wrong during the 20th WOŚP Finale in Bolesławiec?
(information: Grażyna Hanaf)