| 28 October 2004 | Mark Rafalat is born and raised in England. But when the subject comes to soccer his heart beats warmly for the Polish National team. This is not always with unqualified enthusiasm, he admits, but his decision to root for the Polish lads was made in his heart. Mark Rafalat’s parents are Polish and he feels a close allegiance to that country. Survived on potatoes For Mark Rafalat’s family potatoes have always been important. It was very much his grandfather’s knowledge of potatoes that ensured the family's survival when in 1940 they were deported to a labour camp in Siberia by the Russians. Mark's mother was only 13 years old at the time. - Many succumbed to the cold climate and the harsh conditions in the labour camps where there was never enough food, Mark explains. His family were allowed to cultivate a small piece of cleared land in the woods. - My grandfather used his experience of potato farming. Luckily the yield was good and it probably saved their lives, Mark relates. To avert the potatoes being stolen the members of the family took turns guarding the few plants and his grandmother often spent all night watching over the small piece of land. |
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For Mark Rafalat’s family potatoes have always been important. It was very much his grandfather’s knowledge of potatoes that ensured the family’s survival when in 1940 they were deported to a labour camp in Siberia by the Russians. Potatoes were also to have a big, though not so dramatic, influence on Mark Rafalat’s life: in January 2003 he joined KMC UK. |
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Potato prices in the year 1940 Especially the first winter in Siberia was hard and the severe food shortages were, of course, reflected in the prices of food. - My mother and her brother were sent to the nearest village with 2 metres of rather expensive fabric that my grandmother had brought with her from Poland. They were to exchange it for food. Even though fabric was valuable at that time they only got 3 potatoes for it. But they did not have a choice, you cannot eat fabric, noted Mark. The farm in Poland The knowledge of potato farming Mark’s grandfather had from his farm in Poland. After having participated in the battle for Poland’s independence he was in 1921 rewarded with a piece of land in Eastern Poland. - He started with nothing and little by little he built up an enterprising farm with cattle, pigs and good deal of potatoes, as the soil was especially suited for potato farming. He started a family and raised 6 children, Mark relates. The secure everyday life came to an abrupt end a night in February 1940, when Russian soldiers came knocking and gave the family two hours to pack their bags. - My mother’s family spent three weeks on the train, in cattle trucks, before arriving at the labour camp near Archangels in Siberia. They were never to see their farm in Poland again. From Siberia to England In 1941 Stalin granted the Poles amnesty; he needed a Polish army. The family then started out on a new odyssey that took them to Moscow, Kazakhstan, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, and Italy before arriving in England in 1947. The family had finally found a place where they could settle after many years’ harrowing events. Mark Rafalat still has close family ties to Poland. His brother has lived there for 12 years due to his job. Mark’s wife, Kasia, is also of Polish descent and the couple try to visit their parents’ native country regularly. Mark feels that having been raised with two cultures and two languages has given him the best of both worlds. KMC’s man in England Potatoes were also to have a big, though not so dramatic, influence on Mark Rafalat’s life: in January 2003 he joined KMC UK. Mark Rafalat came from a position with MD Foods and was therefore already familiar with Danish company culture. Mark brought with him his honours degree in food technology, he has worked with ingredients and sales and has several years experience in the dairy sector. In addition to that Mark has experience as an independent businessman from years of operating his own bakery business. Exciting times for KMC Mark considers the present time very exciting for both KMC and KMC UK: - We are in the process of marketing new products and this gives us the opportunity to expand our contacts and to become a broader and more attractive supplier. Instead of delivering just starch we are under way with other food ingredients and that is a good initiative, he feels. Exotic destination When the holidays are not spent in Poland Mark Rafalat likes to seek out exotic destinations. He has for instance spent a month as VSO-worker in the jungles of Sierra Leone just before the civil war broke out. - I just wanted to try something completely different before I got too old for that kind of activity, he says. - I arrived in Sierra Leone with the idea that I could teach the locals a lot. In the end it proved that I learned the most from them, Mark admits. He still has friends in Sierra Leone and hopes to be able to visit the African country again some day. Mark has also succeeded in luring his wife on slightly untraditional travels. While others might prefer a holiday on the sunny beaches in Southern Europe, Kasia and Mark have visited their nieces in Beirut and Kyrgystan. And a cousin - flying helicopters for the UN - has taken the Mark on a flight over Bosnia. - I have actually felt safer in many of these places than I do on a Friday night in South London Mark concludes with a smile. |
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