GB No. 4(15)/94
a forgotten document
Reverent Bishop, servant of the servants of God, in perpetual memory of the fact.
Divine Providence granted us the responsibility for caring for the Lord's flock and with deep concern we are so compelled by relevant pastoral duties to at all times deviate all the faithful of our congregations from imminent perils to the body and from condemnation of the soul.
An injunction forbidding bullfights and other similar sports with wild animals was issued by the Pope Pius V in 1567, that is over 400 years ago. And what? Nothing! Until now in Spain corrida has been as popular as the Christian faith. And it is hardly possible that the spectators and competitors of those cruel and base spectacles have been only either atheists or people professing other religion than Christianity. To my mind, it would be good to remind both the worshippers and dignitaries of Catholic Church in Spain some words from that anti-corrida injunction. Remind symbolically because I am not able to do it myself.
And all venerable patriarch brethren, primates, archbishops and bishops and other high Church officials (...) shall adequately divulge and seek to obey our letter in their own cities and dioceses.
Stanisław Zubek
Kraków, Sep. 27th, 1994
reprinted from Zielone Brygady no. 11/94
I recently received a notification that the International Program "Civic Community Development" is looking for candidates who would like to take part in this program. From this notification it results that 8-10 persons from Poland and just as many from Hungary will take part in two years intensive (full-time) schooling, then they will start to impart their knowledge ours national organizations. The schooling include the program creation, management and evaluation, funds gathering, legal aspects of organization activity and many other themes connecting with the non-governmental organizations activity. It is a very noble undertaking. These people will be schooled, as it is possible to presume from the demand of a very good knowledge of English by candidates, by foreign experts. It is possible to have no doubts that their knowledge about the Polish reality is sufficient to advice the natives about the ways of funds gathering for their organization activity. Surely, the most interesting will be lectures about the legal regulations of the non-governmental organizations activity in Poland.
It is not sure that foreign experts will be able to convince schooling participants about the necessity of writing and publishing annual reports concerning their organization activity, particularly if these organizations profit from the public funds. The custom of not publishing such reports is our Polish peculiarity, which is respected by the non-governmental organizations as well as by the government institutions. It is a rare area of a general agreement. This custom can be our original contribution to the all-European civilization achievements.
In the mean-time the new and new Polish non-governmental organizations bankrupts. There are many reasons of this fact. It seems that it would be possible to establish a special research program sponsored by the west countries and which aim would be the analyze of these bankruptcies reasons . It is obvious that funds for such enterprises should be transferred indirectly through the government organizations, because only they guarantee an effective and per purpose aid funds utilization. They do it quickly, efficiently and without needless noise.
The avoidance of public revealing the confidential matters such as a number, kind and magnitude of carried out programs and value of handled funds is the unwritten national custom. Unfortunately, from this custom some organizations with foreign origin as for example "The Batory Foundation" or "Partnership Program for Central Europe" break off. As it is seen, sometimes it is not easy for newcomers to adapt to unknown for them customs.
The roles and regulations are the unquestionable peculiarity of the Polish non-governmental organizations. How it is possible to suppose, the legislator in his original idea has assumed consciously that Polish people are nat adopted for tax paying and he created a small salvo. It allowed to avoid the legal restrictions mainly for avoiding to pay "popiwek" (Tax from higher than allowed by regulations earnings). As it is usually at our country, the citizens don't show moderation and the small salvo has been converted into a wide open gate. The problem became to noisy and it was necessary to end with it. The problem has been settled in the Leninist way. Everybody has been treated very strict but obviously with some exceptions for friends.
From this time a nice custom, of a jocular twinkling to looking for donation the foundation employee, exists. The point is that when the rules and regulations have been explained to the candidate for the sponsor he twinkled in jocular way and said: "yes, but you could tell me the truth what for have you been established this foundation, I hope that you will not tell me that only for the idea, how - how ( in a stentorian voice)".
The amendment of the foundation regulations has created a unique chance for the authority representatives to demonstrate, their citizen initiative. The ministers and voivodes have established many foundations which are provided with money from the budget. They are named GONGO - government organized non governmental organizations. The idea has its origin form China authorization who have been established organizations of this type and has sent their representatives to take part in numerous international congresses, during which they were obliged to speak against criticizers of that what had happened in the state of the centre. Then, the idea has been creatively developed in other countries of the former camp, including ours.
The undoubtful advantage of the organizations of this sort is a clear system of power division, while the disadvantage is the luck of stability resulting directly from the personal changes in the appropriate government units. Because many of Maecenases are not able to gather a sufficient amount of funds so as the organization has a chance to survive the lost of position by the patron. It is usually typical that each organization is created only by one authority representative.
This term has its origin in the former period. Usually we don't use the terms which has risen in these times, we simply don't like them. However, because of its unusual fitness we are forced to use it
The non-governmental organizations, aware of their difficult position, have established by themselves two structures which activity aim was to underline in the face of community and authority the vital problems of the non-governmental organizations. One of them took the name the Forum of Polish Foundations.
The unquestionable Forum achievement was the publishing during two years the three information bulletins. The subject of these bulletins expressed the immemorial existential problem of mankind: if existence of non-governmental organizations is necessary or useless. The Polish context of the non-governmental organizations activity has been expressed by undertaking the theme: what about our activity think foreigners.
There are a few such aid programs. Their unquestionable advantage is the assumption that an aid can be connected only with technical equipment. As it is generally known the Polish non-governmental organizations have in disposal the spacious offices and the numerous personnel. For their happiness they only need money for apparatus and other technical equipment. Usually it is consider that one computer is enough for such organization. It is a device which similarly as a fax increase the organization prestige. The more important of them should have unquestionably a laser printer and be familiar with one active representative of a foreign non-governmental organization. In case of medical organization a Frenchman is recommended, ecological a Swede, charitable an American, business a Londoner and so forth.
One of the more significant achievements of the Polish non-governmental organizations is data bank about the Polish non-governmental organizations. As it is known from hearing there are over 18 thousands such organizations. It is an important fact, without knowing it the activity of these organizations would be surely more difficult. At least for these still existing.
As it was recently announced in the press the representation of the non-governmental organizations have met with deputies from some committee of the Parliament. The term "the representatives of masses" has its origin in the past period. So, it was said "the representatives of the working class", "the representatives of the country-folk" or "the representatives of the working intelligence". Until now it was not properly explained how somebody became a representative. Some said that they were nominated by the secretary of the party, others that it is enough to want very much to become a representative. Whatever be said the procedure appears also useful in the new political reality.
The government institutions can transfer to the non-governmental organizations funds for some task realization included according to custom to the state duty. The list of this tasks is given by the decree of the Cabinet. There is not necessary to be a clairvoyant to foresee what is on this list; of course everything what departments would like to get rid of
Such invented system of subsidy creates one more valuable possibility. It creates "the boy for beating". In the press the information has been found that the foundations take money in order to equip their offices, for the same aim , from a few departments and they square up dishonesty with them. And that's that!
Some changes in the relations between the government institutions and the non-governmental organizations are unquestionably necessary. However, it is necessary to take care in order not to do the same mistake as many of the west democracies did and to explicate who, where and when and according which principles gives governmental subsidies, but most of all how many, whom and what for the subsidies have been given. Such empty gestures are the reason that the unrestrained active members of the non-governmental organizations will completely disorganize work at our departments by the new immoderate demands.
The readers who are not familiar with the term "mate" I would like remind that our country is unfairly named the country in the transitory period or country in the period of transformation. We live in the mate republic, as it was noticed by Włodzimierz Odojewski during his numerous visits to our country. It is the way of governing not known to our politologists and the point is that it is impossible to receive the positive decision if someone does not know personally somebody who is responsible for the decision from the Underground, the same party, the parish co-op, but it is possible to know him also from the army, the same school or the back-yard.
It seems that it is possible in the simple way to solve many difficulties which the non-governmental organizations encounter: it would be enough to organize the get-to-gether evenings.
reprinted from Ekologia i Zdrowie (Ecology and Health),
March/April '94
translated by Adam Ruszaj
I recently received a notification that the International Program "Civic Community Development" is looking for candidates who would like to take part in the program. From this notification it appears that 8-10 persons from Poland and just as many from Hungary will take part in two years intensive (full-time) schooling, after which they will start to impart their knowledge in our national organizations. The schooling includes project creation, management, and evaluation; fundraising; legal aspects of organization activity; and many other topics connected to the activity of non-governmental organizations. It is a very noble undertaking. These people will be taught, as one can assume from the prerequisite that candidates have a very good knowledge of English, by foreign experts. One can have no doubts that the knowledge of these experts about the Polish reality is sufficient to advise Poles about ways of raising funds for their organization's activities. Surely, the most interesting lectures will be those about the legal regulations for non-governmental organization activity in Poland.
It is not certain that foreign experts will be able to convince the participants of the necessity of writing and publishing annual reports concerning their organization's activity, particularly if these organizations profit from public funds. The custom of not publishing such reports is our Polish peculiarity, which is respected by the non-governmental organizations as well as by government institutions. It is a rare area of general agreement. This custom can be our original contribution to the achievements of European civilization.
In the meantime, more and more Polish non-governmental organizations are going bankrupt. There are many reasons for this fact. It seems that it should be possible to establish a special research program sponsored by Western countries whose aim would be to analyze why these organizations have gone bankrupt. It is obvious that funds for such enterprises should be transferred indirectly through governmental organizations, because only they can guarantee an effective and per purpose aid funds utilization. They do it quickly, efficiently, and without unnecessary noise.
The avoidance of revealing publicly such confidential matters as the number, kind, and magnitude of projects being carried out and the value of handled funds is an unwritten national custom. Unfortunately, some organizations of foreign origin (such as the Batory Foundation or the "Partnership Program for Central Europe") break with this custom. It turns out that it is not always easy for newcomers to adapt to customs unknown to them.
The rules and regulations are an unquestionable peculiarity of Polish non-governmental organizations. As we can suppose, the legislator in his original idea consciously assumed that Polish people were not adapted to paying taxes, so he created a small loophole. It allowed people to get around the legal restrictions so as to avoid paying the popiwek (taxes on earnings higher than allowed by regulations). As usual in our country, people didn't act with moderation, and this small loophole became a wide open gate. The problem attracted a lot of attention, and it was necessary to end it. The problem was settled in the Leninist way. Everybody was treated very strictly, though obviously there were some exceptions for friends.
Since that time, it has become customary that when a foundation's statutory goals are explained to a potential sponsor, he chuckles and says, "Yes, but you could tell me why you really established this foundation -- please don't tell me that you established it just for the idea, ha,ha, ha."
The amendment of the foundation regulations has created a unique chance for government representatives to demonstrate their citizen initiative. The ministers and voivodes have established many foundations which are provided with money from the budget. They are called GONGOs -- government-organized non-governmental organizations. The idea has its origin in China, which established organizations of this type and sent their representatives to take part in numerous international congresses, during which they were obliged to defend themselves against critics of this way of using NGOs to support the views and activities of the state. From there, the idea has been developed creatively in other countries of the former camp, including our own.
The unquestionable advantage of organizations of this sort is a clear system of division of power, while the disadvantage is the lack of stability resulting directly from the turnover of personnel in the relevant government units. Many patrons are not able to gather a sufficient amount of funds to ensure that the organization survives the patron's loss of position. It is common that each organization is created by only one government representative.
This term has its origin in the communist period. Usually we don't use terms which arose during those times -- we simply don't like them. However, because of its unusual aptness we are forced to use it.
The non-governmental organizations, aware of their difficult position, have established on their own two structures whose goal is to emphasize to the public and to the government the vital problems of non-governmental organizations. One of them took the name of the Forum of Polish Foundations.
The Forum's greatest achievement has been the publication of three information bulletins over two years. The theme of these bulletins expressed the existential problem which mankind has faced from time immemorial: whether the existence of non-governmental organizations is necessary or useless. The activity of non-governmental organizations in the Polish context was addressed in terms of what foreigners think about our activities.
There are several such aid programs. Their unquestionable advantage is the assumption that aid can be connected only with technical equipment. As it is generally known, Polish non-governmental organizations have at their disposal spacious offices and numerous personnel. To be happy, they only need money for equipment. Usually one computer is considered enough for such an organization. A computer is a device which -- like a fax -- increases the prestige of the organization. The most important organizations should unquestionably have a laser printer and be familiar with one active representative of a foreign non-governmental organization. In the case of a medical organization, a Frenchman is recommended; ecological, a Swede; charitable, an American; business, a Londoner, and so forth.
One of the more significant achievements of the Polish non-governmental organizations is a data base on Polish non-governmental organizations. I have heard that there are over 18 thousand such organizations: an important fact. Knowing this surely makes the activity of these organizations (at least those still in existence) easier.
As it was recently announced in the press, representatives of non-governmental organizations have met with deputies from a committee of the Parliament. The term "representatives of the masses" has its origin in the communist period. Thus, people referred to the "representatives of the working class," "representatives of the country-folk," or "representatives of the working intelligence." Until now it was not properly explained how somebody became a representative. Some said that they were nominated by the secretary of the party, others that it is enough to want very much to become a representative. Whatever the case may be, the procedure appears to be useful in the new political reality as well.
Government institutions can transfer funds to non-governmental organizations for work on a certain task that is customarily the duty of the state. The list of these tasks is given by decree of the Cabinet. It is not necessary to be a clairvoyant to foresee what is on this list: everything that departments would like to get rid of, of course.
This invented system of subsidizing organizations creates one more valuable possibility. The press has reported that foundations, in accepting money in order to equip their offices, dishonestly accept money for the same items from several different departments. And that's that!
Some changes in the relations between government institutions and non-governmental organizations are unquestionably necessary. However, it is important to take care not to make the same mistake that many of the Western democracies did and to explicate to whom, where, when, and according what principles to give government subsidies, but most of all, how many, to whom, and for what subsidies have been given. Such empty gestures are the reason that the unrestrained active members of non-governmental organizations will completely disorganize work at our departments by the new immoderate demands.
Extending the institution of the good old boy network
For readers who are not familiar with the term kole¶ (buddy or connection), I would like to point out that our country is unfairly called "a country in transition" or "a country in the period of transformation." We live in the kole¶ republic, as Włodzimierz Odojewski observed during his numerous visits to our country. It is a way of governing not known to political analysts, and the point is that it is impossible to receive a positive decision if one does not personally know somebody who is responsible for the decision from the Underground, the same party, or the parish co-op, though it is also possible to know him from the army, the same school, or the back-yard.
It seems that it should be possible to solve many of the difficulties which non-governmental organizations encounter in a simple way: by organizing evening get-togethers.
AWA
reprinted from Ekologia i Zdrowie (Ecology and Health),
March/April '94
translated by Adam Ruszaj