To: Grzegorz 246
Is this possible for anyone to become US citizen If he/she doesn't know English ? Many of these Russians were born their and meny lived for generations. In Poland before the WWIII war, many Jews, Ukrainians and Germans did not speak Polish. Yet Poles after gaining independence were so petty as to deprive these ethnic groups of rights or deport them.
But I am sure if the situations were reversed you would be the first to condemn Russians.
94 posted on
03/29/2005 5:15:34 AM PST by
A. Pole
(Graham Greene: "Innocence is like a dumb leper who has lost his bell, wandering the world ...")
To: A. Pole
Yeah, Poles learned their lesson of pre-war Poland. Living in a country doesn't mean you are ready to fight for its independence. Unassimilated minorities can be a threat no less than your country's enemies. I'll set some examples - who knows them better than us Poles. My father's family was denounced to Soviets by a Jew, Polish citizen. We had some "truthful" Polish-German Volksdeutsche in Slask as well. The same concerns Ukrainians with Polish citizenship in Wolyn. Some members of these ethnic groups took advantage of their privileged postition (partly Polish - partly "other") in the time of a moral probe. Fortunately of course there were brave, truthful Polish Jews, too. I'd rather call them Poles of Jewish origin. Anyway I am really glad our minorities are real minorities nowadays and this is not our problem anymore.
You don't speak country's official language, know nothing about it history etc. - you don't become a citizen. As simple as that. Over. If you want to become a conscious citizen with a right to decide upon your motherland's fate, represent your group in dealings with other groups... Then prove you deserve it by passing a language/history test at least. Is this unfair for you? I think best test for Latvian citizenship of Russians would be their behaviour after Latvia was reinvaded (hopefully this will never happen). It makes me wonder if they'd pass blood test for their country's independence, too.
96 posted on
03/29/2005 6:01:03 AM PST by
twinself
To: A. Pole
"In Poland before the WWIII war, many Jews, Ukrainians and Germans did not speak Polish."
So what ? Is this any excuse for Russians in Latvia ?
I understand that it is difficult to learn Latvian language, but it's not impossible - 2,3 hours a week for 3-4 years should be enough, besides these people live there, hear this language every day, so it should be easier for them. If they don't want to learn Latvian, they won't get citizenship - this fair for me. Most of these people don't want to learn Latvian probably because they still treat Latvia like a part of "empire".
"But I am sure if the situations were reversed you would be the first to condemn Russians."
Oh Oh...
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