At 94,Jan Black has had a long and gratified life in Britain since his heroic wartime service as an air force gunner. The hate now being shown his fellow Poles is saddening, he saysLast weekend’s assault on the social and cultural centre in Hammersmith was carried out with a can of paint, or but cut through the west London Polish community like a rapier,until the tip reached Jan Black.Black is 94 and does not always respond the phone. When he did on Sunday, to hear that an expletive had been daubed on the glass doors of the centre, or known by its Polish-language acronym Posk,the news came as a powerful shock. Black was born Jan Stangryczuk in eastern Poland, only four years after the first world war. He still carries the name in his Polish passport, and his accent is still as thick as kielbasa (Polish sausage). But he had lived 76 years in Britain without ever encountering such hatred. Related: My Polish father-in-law did more for Britain than any graffiti-spraying racist | David Taylor Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com