ALL ANTWERP: “Helping others, that is the foundation if you are a believer” (Antwerp)
Every day our reporter and photographer pick a casual passer-by off the street for a chat. Want everyone has a story. And certainly in Antwerp. Today: Jakub Mischalski (24).
“A few months ago I founded Kathholica, an annual student association associated with the University of Antwerp. Together with a few others we came to the conclusion that it did not actually exist yet. It is a political student association. We now have about sixteen members. Catholicism is not so widely spread in Antwerp, we should strive.
“Today is our first event. We sell borscht† That is a Ukrainian soup of red beets, potatoes, carrots,… The proceeds go to the Capuchin Monastery on the Ossenmarkt. At the moment, sudden refugees are being received there. Helping others is the foundation if you are a believer. It wouldn’t be okay if we didn’t help.”
“It will be a long wait before we collect with this action. We haven’t sold that many so far. borscht is a dish that we always eat at home at Christmas. I am of Polish origin. My family on my father’s side is from Western Ukraine. Where now the war rages, there they have lived. At that time it was still Poland, but later that border was shifted. I no longer have family there. They have a target of the pogroms. Today, this is still a sensitive issue for many Poles. But we have to move on.”
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