Walesa Page #4

---

- Say it's all of them!

The ship repair yard is on hold!

Let's go!

It's a strike!

Comrades! Have mercy on your country!

No one had mercy on us.

People!

Comrades!

So it has started!

They started without me.

I was supposed to be there.

I'm not visiting you in prison,

or at the cemetery.

They won't shoot this time.

I know this, so I'm telling you,

I wouldn't say it if I wasn't sure.

You want to take on the military,

the militia and Gierek?

They're making me take them on.

I know the best case scenario

is that they hurt me real bad.

I don't want to do this.

But I've got to.

I managed to get some meat.

Pork shoulder and sausage.

And remember this:

Whatever you do, come back alive.

Sell it if I don't come back.

Lech!

The wheel's come off.

He's on the way to the shipyard?

I'd say 'yes', but remember what happened

in 1970 after we got their leaders?

No! But if he reaches the shipyard,

I'll hold you personally responsible.

I forbid it!

You decide for yourselves.

Why ask me, anyway?

Suddenly no one wants to decide.

Neither Warsaw nor District

want anything to do with this.

I heard they even called Gierek

on holiday but they didn't reach him.

Stop!

Enough lawlessness and thuggery!

People, calm down!

Please calm down!

We're on strike.

Do you recognize me?

I worked at the shipyard

for 10 years. I was fired.

But deep down I am a shipyard worker

because people still trust me.

We will defend Anna Walentynowicz.

We're starting a sit-down strike.

Poland can't afford work stoppages.

All right. Bring in your representatives.

The rest of you, please go back to work.

Here are our demands.

A 2000 zloty raise for everyone.

A monument for those killed

in December 1970.

Anna Walentynowicz

must get her job back.

Have a seat.

Under the circumstances

I approve the request to reinstate

Anna Walentynowicz.

Send a car for Walentynowicz.

This salary raise...

...2000 zloty?

There's 16 thousand people working here.

You must know things are very serious.

All shipyards are on strike.

I'm not authorized to... all right.

This is how I see it.

I can't offer any more.

And I see there's nothing to look at.

Yes. 2000.

Yes, I realize it's a lot.

I guarantee it will solve the problem.

What's going on?

This tram stops here.

We're joining the strike.

A plaque instead of the monument.

Inform the headquarters.

Call Walesa.

All our demands have been met.

Let me through!

The strike is over!

You abandoned us!

We supported you.

All buses and trams in the city

are at a standstill.

And now you say it's over?! They're

going to crush us all like vermin!

You've betrayed us!

The whole city is on strike!

- What do we do?

- We keep going.

- We're still on strike.

- What do you mean?

- But you've agreed to everything.

- I was satisfied then - now I'm hungry.

You can shoot us,

but you can't break our resolve.

Let Warsaw know what we said.

No pay rise for those of you

who are still here after 6 pm.

We got what we came here for, but...

I announce a strike of solidarity.

We're staying put!

Don't go away. . .stay here!

It's not over yet! We're still on strike!

People, stop! Come back! it's not over!

Close the gate!

ZOMO is here. Militarized Militia.

It's Sunday.

There's no one in the shipyard.

People went home,

to their families, to church.

And ZOMO is at the gate.

They can get in.

Bring people back.

How? By force?

We were told the tanks are coming.

They're bringing in the military.

They've set up an extra post for ZOMO

at the local army barracks.

They'll kill us all.

- Let them. There's no going back now!

- I knew we should have taken the money.

I don't give a sh*t about the 2000 zloty.

You want to be a Soviet slave?

You're asking for trouble, man.

My kids need food on the table...

and they need their father.

- I don't want to get killed.

- And I just want to be free.

You get sh*t if you ask for too much.

Get yourselves ready!

We're moving in!

ZOMO is all set.

Let's organize a Holy Mass

to bring back the people.

...give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who

trespass against us...

STRIKE DEMANDS:

Have you gone mad?

You want them to shoot us all?

- What do you mean?

- A demand for free elections?

They'll go along with no censorship

even if it's a false promise.

They've accepted the pay rises.

- And free trade unions?

- They wouldn't call them 'free'.

Maybe slave trade unions then?

We need to come up with a name

they don't find some fault with.

Make me some coffee.

I've brought some bread.

Lech, militia cars outside the shipyard.

They will get in.

I told you from the start

- They only want to scare us.

- Or they're getting ready.

- Still no government delegation.

- Who are you afraid of?

- The forces of law and order.

- They're scared, too.

- I wonder who they're scared of.

- Of their minister.

- And the minister?

- Of Gierek.

- And Gierek?

- Of Brezhnev and Moscow.

- And Brezhnev? Of Americans?

- Americans make him laugh.

Isn't he afraid of God?

He's an atheist. Russians

are not even afraid of the devil.

Relax.

They want to see how long we last.

What does it mean to be a leader?

It means being determined.

Inside and out.

I've always been like this.

Even when I was a poor farm boy

who dreamed of being a pilot.

I was always the pack leader.

Like a bull leading a herd.

Watching out for it.

Without a bull, cows scatter

looking for a bit of grass.

Herd without a leader

is a thing with no future.

Although I'm not sure if I'm a leader.

All I know is that I have a gut feeling.

And when the crowd falls silent,

I know what I want to say

and I can choose the right words.

As always, I'd like to say hello

and give you the latest news.

Nothing has changed since

yesterday evening.

So, we're still waiting.

You've got to help us out,

the people on this side are very tired.

Please give us your support,

because if we give up now,

we won't be able to solve

this issue for a long time.

Two professors from Warsaw

are at the gate.

They've brought a letter.

Signed by intellectuals.

- So what?

- Should we let them in?

- Who are they?

- Geremek and Mazowiecki.

They're all right.

They wrote letters of support...

...for the persecuted workers

and risked being abused themselves.

What do we need them for?

For advice. On different things.

Experts?

OK, go get them. Might be useful.

Look, there's nothing about us here.

Work stoppages.

It's the censorship.

We need to get the

foreign press involved.

Where would we get them from?

Here, Sopot.

- Where in Sopot?

- The international music festival.

- Go get them then.

- Me? Let him do it.

He doesn't speak English.

Go!

I welcome the Prime Minister

and the government delegation

on behalf of the Inter-Enterprise

Strike Committee,

which represents 370 industrial plants

and factories.

Our country is currently facing

a difficult economic situation.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes