http://www2.polskieradio.pl/eo/dokument.aspx?iid=114519
Walesa unveils freedom gate
23.08.2009
Former president Lech Walesa has unveiled the Gates of Freedom in Kobylany, a small locality in the eastern Terespol county.
The monument contains a fragment of the Berlin Wall, a symbol of European division, with bricks taken from the Gdansk Shipyard, the birthplace of Solidarity – the first free trade union in the former communist block.
The gate bears the dates 1989 - 2009 and an inscription with the words of Pope John Paul II, who said: “Solidarity means one with another, so it can never be one against another.”
Also quoted is the famous statement by Lech Walesa: “There would be no freedom without Solidarity. There would be no ruins of the Berlin Wall without Solidarity. And we wouldn’t be here without Solidarity. But, thank God, we are and we remember!”
The Gates of Freedom are located along a major route leading to the border with Belarus. As representatives of the local authorities explain, the monument is to symbolize the centre of Europe and changes that have led to its unification and the ultimate fall of communism.
The gate also aims to demonstrate that Europe does not end on the River Bug, marking the eastern border of the European Union, but extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ural mountains. (ss/pg)