Welcome to the Polish news

10:45am Wednesday 24th January 2007

THE Northern Echo is launching a new weekly column tomorrow. Like all columns, it will contain a mixture of local news, views and advice - but with one unique difference. It will be in Polish.

It will be called Echo Pólnocy, which is Polish for "The Northern Echo".

There are now up to 7,000 Polish people living and working in Darlington and south Durham.

"People talk about the Poles in the third person - the Poles are working here, the Poles are doing this," said Adam Gosiewski who is writing the column.

"And the Poles talk about the English in the same way. There's no ill-feeling, they just don't talk to each other, and the column will hopefully be the first, important bridge between them.

"It will help the Poles understand what's going on and it will help them settle down as good citizens of this region. They may even come to understand what cricket is!"

The column will also generate stories so that the English community can learn what is going on around it.

Adam, a father-of-four who lives in Darlington, is a business consultant who was born in the UK to an English mother and Polish naval father. He went to school in London, but then studied in Poland where he became involved in the Solidarity union and married his wife, Ania. He stayed until September 2004 when Ania, a consultant radiologist, was offered a job at North Tees and Hartlepool hospitals.

Peter Barron, the editor of The Northern Echo, said: "The Poles are here, doing useful jobs, and we need to talk to them.

"It is rather like the situation 150 years ago when people - our ancestors - were sucked into the North-East from all over the country to find jobs in the new industries and to build new lives.

"The Northern Echo would not be doing its job if it did not attempt to communicate with all the people living in its area."