The “Well Versed in International Humanitarian Law” military exercises, organized by the Bolesławiec branch of the Polish Red Cross and the Association of Former Soldiers of the 62nd Special Commando Company, are now behind us. Twelve teams from Głogów, Lubań, Zgorzelec, Lubomierz and Bolesławiec took part in the event, which consisted of two parts: a theoretical one (lectures) and a practical one.
The team from II Janusz Korczak General Secondary School in Bolesławiec (comprising: Maciej Mocny, Mateusz Kopeć, Bartek Burzyński, Denis Gonciarz and Jakub Feret) took first place. The team’s supervisor is Mieczysław Szwed, a teacher of national defense preparation and civics.
Lectures on international humanitarian law were held at the stalag near Żagań, while the practical part took place on the grounds of the military unit in Bolesławiec. During the exercises, the students had to, among other things, put on protective clothing, provide first aid and determine which humanitarian rights had been violated in a given situation. “We put on the protective clothing the fastest; it took us five minutes,” Jakub says. “We scored 14 points in the first-aid event, while the medical school from Zgorzelec scored half as many,” Bartek adds.
“Our students defeated medical and military schools, where many more hours are devoted to humanitarian law,” Mieczysław Szwed emphasizes. “None of us expected this,” Denis says. Especially since during the exercises, the team from the “second” school competed with a weakened lineup (Maciej had an urgent trip). “But we managed,” Denis laughs.
“It definitely wasn’t time wasted; the lectures themselves were also very interesting,” Maciej says. “We learned, among other things, that what we can see in the American film ‘The Great Escape’ is untrue, because there were no Americans at the stalag near Żagań at all.”
We asked the winners of the exercises whether they thought it was worthwhile to know the rules of humanitarian law. They replied that we live in times when such knowledge may indeed prove useful. Especially now, while the Syrian crisis is ongoing.
(information: ii)