Beyond And Toward 'Budowalam Barykade' -- The Beginnings Of The Twenty-First Century's Belated Non-Militaristic "Marshall Plan" For Eastern Europe?

... "Georgia's population is 4.6 million, and the first phase of the new [$1 billion total U.S. economic] package would total more than $100 per capita by the end of next fiscal year. In contrast, Ukraine, with a population of 47 million, was slated to receive $83 million in 2008 assistance, or the equivalent of $1.76 per capita. Azerbaijan, with 8 million people, received $26.8 million, or $3.35 per capita." ...

Tara Bahrampour, Karen DeYoung and Howard Schneider "Cheney, in Tbilisi, Slams Russian Actions Against Georgia" Washington Post September 4, 2008

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Of poetry reading and song-cycles:

Building the Barricades (Budowalam Barykade), Swirszczynska 'Swir', Anna

0:53 - Against the Machine Guns
0:28 - Brat
0:52 - Building Barricade
1:17 - Conversation with Mothers
0:16 - Last Drop Air
0:20 - Said Major
0:25 - Shooting at Me
0:26 - The Planes
0:30 - Waiting to be Shot

Open Source Audio > Building the Barricades (Budowalam Barykade), Anna Swir

Internet Archive

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BUILDING THE BARRICADE


We were afraid as we built the barricade
under fire.

The tavern-keeper, the jeweler's mistress, the barber,
all of us cowards.
The servant-girl fell to the ground
as she lugged a paving stone, we were terribly afraid
all of us cowards --
the janitor, the market-woman, the pensioner.

The pharmacist fell to the ground
as he dragged the door of a toilet,
we were even more afraid, the smuggler-woman,
the dressmaker, the streetcar driver,
all of us cowards.

A kid from reform school fell
as he dragged a sandbag,
you see we were really
afraid.

Though no one forced us,
we did build the barricade
under fire.

-- Anna Swir
translated by Magnus J. Krynski
and Robert A. Maguire



I CONVERSED WITH CORPSES


I slept under the same blanket with corpses,
apologizing to the corpses
for still being alive.

That was tactless. They forgave me.
That was poor judgment. They were surprised.
Life
after all was so very dangerous then.

-- Anna Swir
translated by Magnus J. Krynski
and Robert A. Maguire

(c) Copyrighted material via Azul Editions. All rights reserved. 2008

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