Esperanto alive, well and still hopeful, 100 years after its creation

BIALYSTOK, POLAND – Instead of a hello, the head of the Esperanto association in the Polish city of Bialystok opts for "saluton," a sign that the universal language created by Ludwik Zamenhof is alive and well a century after the Jewish doctor's death. "Zamenhof created Esperanto as a counterweight to national languages, which he believed divided people and were a source of conflict," said association President Przemyslaw Wierzbowski. "Today, we know that it's economic, ethnic or religious differences that divide people, but Esperanto still has the goal of uniting us, helping us communicate," the 30-year-old added. Wierzbowski spoke from a table at Esperanto Cafe, which is located in a tower within the eastern city's market square, just steps away from where Zamenhof was born in 1859. During the 19th century, the tower was at the heart of a market packed with stalls that were manned by German, Jewish, Lithuanian and Polish merchants.