|
BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS
REAL WOMEN'S BOOTH AT THE
WOLD CONGRESS OF FAMILIES IV WARSAW, POLAND
MAY, 2007
By Doris Davarsi
President
British Columbia Chapter
REAL Women of Canada
REAL Women was one of the sponsors of the
World Congress of Families IV held in Warsaw on May 11-13,
2007. As a result, we were alloted space to set up a booth
during the Congress. My husband and I had planned to attend
the Congress, so we agreed to look after REAL Women's table.
On our arrival in Warsaw, we immediately went to the Palace
of Culture and Science to set up the REAL Women's booth. I
was full of energy and also had the able help of my husband,
a REAL man, in organizing the booth. We were so early, that
there was a crew hammering away, still setting up other booths.
Our booth, however, was ready for us and we proudly set out
our material and hung up our REAL Women of Canada banner.
We were ready for action!
Friday morning I was at my booth early, ready
to go. People began to stroll through the exhibitors' area.
A mix of languages could be heard, young and not so young
mingling, laughing, chatting, and admiring the material displayed.
The atmosphere was uplifting and encouraging. What a wonder
to behold, thousands of people gathering from all over the
world and all of us with the same concerns. It is exhilarating
to know that there are so many who share the values which
are so often disparaged in Canada. However, here we were in
the midst of a gathering from all around the globe and it
was an incredible feeling to be able to participate and be
part of this great event.
When people walked by I would call out a hearty
"dzien dobry" (good morning in Polish which took
me a while to figure out how to pronounce). If no answer was
forthcoming, I would then move to Good Morning, Guten Morgen,
Bonjour, and at that, my good mornings ran out. Usually, by
that time, the person would chuckle and come over. The first
thing everyone would usually ask was what REAL stood for.
Then I had to explain who we were and what our mandate was.
Often men took one look at our banner and then moved to other
booths. I didn't let them get away that easily, though, and
would call out to them to come back. I always had to explain
that we were a women's organization but we like men and we
work with them and are in no way against them. Some people
stopped at our booth, however, because they thought the name
was intriguing. There was occasionally someone who would walk
up to me with the finger wagging, tsk, tsking and saying,
"You Canadians, are you all nuts up there?" They
were all good-hearted scoldings and I assured them that REAL
Women was not part of the nutty decisions but that we were
fighting them fiercely. People from Eastern Europe had little
knowledge of what was happening in Canada and when I explained
to them some of the issues that we had been involved in, the
last one the three-parent case, they were absolutely horrified.
Many people spoke English but I also had the
opportunity to chat both in German and French, which I speak.
With some people the conversation was conducted in a mix of
languages and the use of hands, which was challenging but
also lots of fun. Of course, the first question was always
"Who or what is REAL Women?"
Many Polish people did not speak English and
this made things very difficult. However, I was rescued by
a young Polish woman who came to the REAL Women booth on the
Friday morning, introducing herself as Joanna Pyzel. She is
an architect and she was so interested in REAL Women that
she stayed with me for a long time. She grabbed every Polish
speaking person and explained to him or her about REAL Women
and had them sign the Petition of the Citizens of the World
to the Canadian government opposing legalization of same-sex
marriage. Joanna managed to have everyone sign the Petition
and several people took extra copies to have their friends
and families sign. Joanna came back again in the afternoon,
continuing to explain to people about REAL Women and asking
them to sign the Petition. Joanna spent so much time at our
booth that I finally declared her an honorary member of REAL
Women! She eventually took several copies of the Petition
and she is still collecting signatures to this day.
One young woman came by our booth on Saturday
afternoon. She was with the Polish YWCA and wanted to know
all about REAL Women. Considering that we are a women's organization
she felt we would have much in common. I had to inquire cautiously
into the Polish YWCA philosophy and then explained to her
that the Canadian version was anything but Christian. She
assured me that in Poland the YWCA still functioned according
to its Christian roots. I was delighted to hear that.
Throughout the days at the Congress, I switched
between attending sessions and manning (oops, womaning) the
booth, meeting a wide variety of individuals, from priests
to lawyers, from homemakers to politicians to executive directors
of pro-family organizations. I also met journalists, who were
extremely interested in the work REAL Women is doing and asked
to be kept informed. The material in my suitcase was gone
very quickly, as were the pens with the REAL Women logo.
REAL Women's reaching out beyond the borders
of Canada and participating at the World Congress was not
only a great experience but also highly beneficial as we have
made and sustained contacts all over the world. We can achieve
so much more when we work with others all around the world
and an event such as this Congress is one venue that helps
us connect with others.
I hope I will see many of you at the next
World Congress of Families. The location and date is to be
determined later. So far, proposals have been received from
Latvia, Ireland, France and Mexico to hold the Congress in
their countries. We hope you will be on the look-out for REAL
Women's booth as we will be sure to be there!
BACK
TO TABLE OF CONTENTS
|
