"Tutejsi" (The Locals)

"The locals" - such was the name the people of Western Polesie used in an answer to the question of nationality during the census in 1931. These people professed different religions, spoke a language called "chachlacki" and had been sharing the hardships of life living in perfect symbiosis for ages. After World War II, this area was portioned by borders and was incorporated into the territories of Poland, Belarus and Ukraine. Despite 60 years of isolation and division, the traces of that community are still visible on the entire area of the former Western Polesie.