A cyclist has made Malta the starting point for a monumental bicycle journey along the former Iron Curtain in a symbolic act to commemorate his family’s escape from communist Poland.
Adam Koniuszewski, 53, landed in Malta last month and started his bicycle trail from Birżebbuġa’s Cold War memorial – a 10,500-kilometre, months-long journey that will end in November in Berlin, which will host special celebrations commemorating 35 years since the fall of the Berlin wall.
Koniuszewski said he wanted to start in Malta as he deems the island significant due to its historical ties to the end of the Cold War.
“I’m here because this is a symbolic place, and the importance Malta played in ending the Cold War is probably underestimated,” he said.
Malta hosted the 1989 ‘Malta Summit’, a landmark meeting between US President George H.W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that marked a significant step towards the end of the Cold War.
The leaders of the West and East met in Malta just days after the fall of the Berlin wall, on a ship that was anchored in Marsaxlokk. During the summit, Bush and Gorbachev declared an end to the Cold War and agreed to work together on issues such as nuclear disarmament, arms control and regional conflicts.
US President George Bush (left) with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on December 03, 1989 on board the Maxim Gorki, shipdocked at Marsaxlokk harbour. Their summit meeting is viewed as the official end of the Cold War. Photo: Jonathan Utz/ AFPA tribute to his father
But there is another angle to Koniuszewski’s adventure – his personal story, which provides a poignant backdrop to his journey.
In the early 1970s his father, a civil engineer, was arrested and imprisoned by the communist regime after an accident on one of his projects.
“Overnight in prison, representatives from the Communist Party visited him, telling him this was a big misunderstanding and that if he formed part of the party he would not be in prison,” Koniuszewski recalled.
On his release and aced with the prospect of raising his child in a totalitarian state, his father made the difficult decision to flee Poland with his family, and they settled in Canada, where the young Koniuszewski grew up.
His journey today serves as a tribute to his father’s courage and sacrifice. But it also serves as a reminder of the importance of freedom and the need to cherish it, he added.
As he pedals along the Iron Curtain trail, he hopes to inspire younger generations to appreciate the hard-won freedoms they enjoy today.
Adam cycling through villages during his journey.
Adam began the 10,000km journey in Birżebbuġa, at the site of the Malta Summit memorial.
The Malta Summit was held on December 2 and 3, 1989.
'We take freedom for granted'
“I want the younger generation to understand what it’s like to have to fight for freedom, because we take freedom for granted,” he said.
“We must cherish freedom, celebrate it and fight for it.”
Koniuszewski’s journey, spanning over 10,550 kilometres, will take him from the tip of Norway to the borders of Turkey, retracing the path of the once-impenetrable barrier that divided Europe for decades.
He will also fly to Geneva, where US President Ronald Reagan and Gorbachev met for the first time in 1985.
Koniuszewski thanked the Ambassador of Malta in Warsaw, Marisa Farrugia, who through the embassy and other organisations helped him plan the start of his journey in Malta.