Comments on: Who were the Polish women who built a church in Uganda?

By: the muzungu

the muzungu — Sat, 02 Jul 2022 10:27:29 +0000

It’s interesting to be reminded of how different the world was in the 1940s… and of course, people would have wanted to be reunited with their families.
Thanks for your message – (and hope you are feeling better!)

By: Zbigniew Kwiatkowski

Zbigniew Kwiatkowski — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 10:32:50 +0000

In reply to the muzungu. Dear Muzungu, Apologies for late reply (illness).I don't remember marriages or stayers for practically all were disrupted families desperate to regain contact. Remember Uganda was governed by very different people then and staying was extremely difficult.

By: the muzungu

the muzungu — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 07:34:09 +0000

In reply to Zbigniew Kwiatkowski.

Dear Zbigniew
How wonderful to read from you! You must have so many interesting stories to share. Have you revisited since the 1940s?
I shared this story on my Facebook page where there were lots of questions from Ugandans. They wanted to know whether any Poles had stayed in Nyabyeya. They also asked whether the Polish community had married Ugandans and whether they had children?
We would love to read more 🙂
Thanks for your message.

By: Zbigniew Kwiatkowski

Zbigniew Kwiatkowski — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 13:34:16 +0000

In reply to the muzungu. Hallo muzungu; I lived there (in the part of the Settlement to the left of the road northwards from the Church) between 1942-48 as a boy.Beautiful country of very friendly people.those years are great pleasure.to recall,many happy hours were spent playing in the stream that began in the forest beyond the arable field and grass at the Settlement's north edge.

By: the muzungu

the muzungu — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 15:19:16 +0000

In reply to Stephen Ahweera. Hi Stephen, thanks for dropping by. I really appreciate your comment and will definitely take time to research these other European refugee communities in Uganda. The intermarriage with locals is an interesting one. When I posted this story on my Facebook page, lots of people asked whether there were mixed race Polish Ugandan families in Masindi. I haven't heard of any but perhaps they are there? If you have any recommended reading, I would love to know more. The Facebook comments are very interesting.

By: Stephen Ahweera

Stephen Ahweera — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 03:25:06 +0000

Thanks for exploring this line of Uganda’s history. Pick interest in details of why these camps were secluded and far from population centres. You could as well interest yourself in learning about other European refugees around the same time like the italians at Jinja and Entebbe, and the refugees that included Germans, Austrians, Romanians, Yugoslavs, Bulgarians, Hungarians and Stateless Jews camped at Arapai near Soroti. We also hosted French refugees at Bombo. There is need to dig more about the fate of those who were too old or had criminal records and could not be resettled after the war. Also interest should be sought on whether there were any intermarriages with locals. Otherwise thanks a bunch for this blog.

By: the muzungu

the muzungu — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 18:59:13 +0000

In reply to Marc Muwanga. Absolutely - and I am amazed at how few people seem to have heard of it. I encourage you to visit. The story is extraordinary, from start to finish.

By: Marc Muwanga

Marc Muwanga — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 17:42:32 +0000

This is one moving story. Weird that it’s not in the history classes we covered in the country.

By: @CharlieBeau Diary of a Muzungu

@CharlieBeau Diary of a Muzungu — Tue, 25 May 2021 18:09:40 +0000

Thank you for all the comments on the Diary of a Muzungu Facebook page. One Facebook Fan shared this story from 2019. "When the Polish were refugees in Africa Thousands of Europeans sought sanctuary in Africa during World War II — among them were many Polish people. A Canadian filmmaker explores the journey of his Polish forefathers in a documentary." The resulting film, "Memory is our Homeland," won the Audience Award at the Montreal International Film Festival in 2019.

By: the muzungu

the muzungu — Fri, 14 May 2021 06:13:32 +0000

In reply to Peter Ssemwogerere Mugalu. This story has really picked Ugandans' interest. You would think it would be talked about in history classes at school? Thanks for dropping by Diary of a Muzungu. Enjoy your trip to Nyabyeya!