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San Francisco Chronicle
January 13, 1987

Art of 'Fixing' Helps Poles Cope With Shortages. (Excerpt)

"In "The Private Poland," Janine Wedel, an American anthropologist, wrote recently: "In order to get by under trying economic and political conditions . . . Poles have developed an uncanny ability not only to live with the contradictions of their society but also to manipulate them creatively."

"Zalatwic sprawy" and "zkombinowac" - to fix or arrange something - are everyday street phrases and date back at least to another time of crisis, when Poland was occupied by Germans during World War II.

Meat is mostly rationed but Poles, ardent party throwers, will always procure extra. Gasoline is restricted to about eight gallons a month but city streets are jammed with cars at rush hour.

Lawyers find it more profitable to drive taxis rather than practice law and some taxi drivers prefer to sell their ration of fuel on the black market rather than use their cars.

Wedel says "queue committees" are one method developed in an effort to maintain order and fair-play amid the chaos of shortages and long lines of consumers.

Supplies of washing machines, for example, are erratic, so people form informal committees to compile a list of prospective buyers and keep a rotating 24-hour vigil by the appropriate store to prevent others from line-jumping."

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