PEOPLE around the world will have been shocked and horrified at the weekend when they learned that Poland’s president, Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and 94 others were killed when their plane crashed near the Russian city of Smolensk.

Poland is now in mourning, not only for a lost leader but also because the death toll included many other members of its political and military élite.

There would, of course, have been sympathy in this Island for those who died and for all those affected had the air tragedy involved any other nation. There are, however, very special reasons why Islanders should empathise particularly deeply with Poland’s present suffering. The key reason is Jersey’s Polish community. Poles might come here for the economic advantages of living in a prosperous place, but in doing so they have earned a collective reputation for hard work coupled with courtesy and charm.

Through their contribution to economic life and to the community, they are valuable and valued fellow Islanders. All other residents, therefore, should stand side by side with them during this sad time.

Meanwhile, as well as offering condolences, many Islanders will have noted the irony at the heart of Saturday’s awful event. The Polish leader and his entourage were on their way to commemorate the massacre of 20,000 of their countrymen in Katyn Forest in 1940. It is only 20 years since Russia accepted responsibility for this atrocity, which claimed the lives of Poland’s officer cadre and its intelligentsia.

Regrettably, much the same result stemmed from the weekend’s tragedy, though in this case Poles and the world can take some comfort from the fact that others will be ready and willing to shoulder the many burdens left by those who died so suddenly and so unexpectedly.

But that will not be the issue in the forefront of Poles’ minds in the next few days as the loss of life in such terrible circumstances is mourned. At home and in Polish communities around the world, including this one, there will be services of remembrance and other expressions of grief.

In all situations the Poles who live and work here are to be regarded as partners in Island life. In the present difficult period other Islanders should make it quietly clear that they understand the scale, scope and impact of this catastrophe and its effect on a nation and its expatriates living here.