Polish People in UK Essay Example for Free

Polish People in UK Essay How do English people in United Kingdom perceive Poles? What are the stereotypes of Polish Workers? How the image is changing over the years? The subject is very controversial as Poland gives many reasons to not be forgotten at the European stage. Poland is famed for John Paul the 2nd, many beautiful women, Vodka and sausage. A general description is hard to obtain, as there are many points of views and issues. The historical background had a massive impact on cultural and economic development. Not so long ago Poland was a communist country, where human rights were highly oppressed. At this time Poland was a satellite state being hold back by the Communist Soviet Union while Western European development was progressing. Eventually Poland achieved full democracy in 1989, and continues without communist influence to this day. The new fundamentalism was doing very well. For years, the Catholic radio, ‘Radio Maria’ for example, gave voice to the hate priests and politicians that condemned everything that was foreign and is not inline with the narrow, xenophobic vision of parochial Polishness. Regularly young men throw stones at those who seem to them non-native. Taking out the rage on sexual minorities as there is no luck to find any immigrants. Galloping hate speech on the Internet is already pathological standard. In May 2004 Poland joined the European Union. United Kingdom, Ireland and Sweden open labour market for Polish citizens and other new members of EU. The huge wave of Polish migrants entered the foreign markets. Base on GUS (Central Statistical Office) research in May 2002, 24,000 Polish Emigrants were living in United Kingdom. In 2008 the number was drastically multiply, by 27 times, the amount of Polish Immigrants in the UK reached the point of 650 thousands. It was the largest number of Polish migrants abroad in Europe. The social approach towards Eastern European Migrants was distinguished by those, who negatively responded to economic threats related with job losses, and those who were aware of their matter in the future development. Depending on where you stand, this phenomenal wave of immigration was either a death knell for British values and the tradition of the blue-collar British worker, or a powerful boost to the British economy while others in Europe stagnate. While industries in other EU countries have been limited in their attempts to expand by an unavailability of high quality, reasonably-priced labour, many UK industries have been able to fuel their expansion and advances with hard working Poles, Slovaks, Lithuanians and Czechs. Demographic studies of those that have entered the UK reveal that over three quarters of immigrants fall into the 18-34 age bracket. The popular estimate is that the average age of the Polish immigrant is 28. Following natural migration trends, the large majority of these are single, with fewer responsibilities, resulting in an increased disposable income and a greater tendency to participate in the consumer culture that has been behind Britain’s economic growth over the past few years, at a time when most of Europe has been desperately trying to rein in escalating unemployment and avoid economic stagnation. While on other fronts increased immigration is a controversial topic, economically the British government can have little cause for complaint. Eastern Europeans have plugged holes in sectors short of labour, helping to keep inflation down, and in the relatively liberal open-market economy of the UK, the extra labour has been an easily absorbed asset. The minimal effect being had on unemployment as a result of immigration in the UK has disproved the theory that there are a finite number of jobs in the labour market and that the immigrant’s gain is the Brits’ loss. Though registered unemployment has crept up recently the government argues that this is not due to the economy failing to create jobs. Indeed, the number of job vacancies remain high and the overall job market continues to expand. From an economic point of view, the fact remains that while almost all immigrant workers in the UK have found full-time employment, the non-migrant unemployment rate has remained steady – proving that immigrants are helping to fuel economic growth rather than undercut British workers in the labour market and steal their jobs. Whether it be reduced costs and waiting times for housing repairs in London as a result of Polish plumbers and builders, or new additions to the high street as a result of Polish demand for imported goods, many towns and cities are coming to appreciate the addition of yet another flavour to the bubbling concoction that is multi-ethnic Britain. Government and big business certainly appreciate the benefits brought by this dynamic new demographic group. According to the Ernst Young Item Club, Polish and other Eastern European immigrants are having a positive economic impact by making the UK workforce ‘younger, more flexible and economical, easing the pensions burden and keeping interest rates lower’. In the past few years Poland lost her best human capital ever – people, who travelled the world, higher educated, fluent with foreign languages, and familiar with new technologies. In the previous waves of emigration the dominant were people with primary or vocational education. Polish is the most commonly spoken non-native language in England and Wales. More than half a million people in Britain now speak Polish as their first language, placing it ahead of Punjabi and Urdu and behind only English and Welsh. The data, extracted from the 2011 census, confirmed the staggering numbers of Polish migrants who are now living, working and putting down roots in the UK. Some 521,000 Polish-born people have made their homes here, a figure that has increased seven-fold since 2003, when just 75,000 were listed in the census. In many parts of Britain, such statistics will come as no surprise. The influx of Poles to this country has long been evident in the swathes of Polish supermarkets, grocers, churches and cultural centres that have appeared across the country – particularly since 2004, when Poland joined the European Union, opening up borders for free movement of workers. In addition to long-established Polish communities – in west London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Nottingham and Slough – smaller hubs have established themselves in rural areas, such as Carlisle in Cumbria (twinned with the Polish city of Slupsk) and the Scottish Highlands. During the past decade, Polish culture has ingrained itself in British society. Most major supermarkets, including Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose, now stock Polish food and drink. There are 10 Polish churches in London alone, in locations such as Balham and Ealing, and road signs are translated into Polish in villages around Cheshire. There are hundreds of Polish-owned clubs, pubs and bars, a hugely popular newspaper (founded in 1940) and cultural centres that regularly host sell-out Polish plays and exhibitions. According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, Poland is the most common country of birth for non-UK born mothers in Britain, with 20,495 babies born to Polish mothers in 2011. Marriages between Poles and Brits, too, have multiplied. Poles have become British homeowners, business owners and taxpayers. So how have they, unlike any other nationality before them, achieved such full-scale integration into our society – and in such a short time? The ability of Poles to integrate seems to be linked to the reason many of them come to Britain in the first place. Work,† explains Robert Szaniawski of the Polish Embassy in London, â€Å"is the main factor that draws Poles to the UK. Most of them are young – they’re from small towns; they see it as a chance to get out and have an adventure, so they come to Britain. â€Å"They’re flexible and they move with the demands of the labour market. It’s this willingness to go where the work is tha t helps them to ingratiate themselves. † Poland’s GDP is significantly lower than Britain’s ($514. 5 billion, compared to the UK’s $2. 43 trillion); there is high unemployment (averaging 12 per cent since 2008) and the minimum hourly wage is less than half that paid in Britain. As Poland’s economic growth slows down – it halved to 2 per cent in 2012 – still more skilled workers are lured to the UK. In 2011, 45,000 Poles settled here, marking the biggest rise in migrants since the financial crash. Poles have a reputation for being hard workers, especially in the manual labour sector. Adam Zamoyski, a British historian descended from a Polish noble family, says Poles are â€Å"brilliant workers. When they’re abroad, they put their best foot forward and act as ambassadors for their country. They have a better experience in England than they do in Germany or France. They’re treated as menial in other countries; in England, they’re treated with kindness. † But with such mass immigration comes inevitable tension. Many British workers blame the steady flow of cheap, cash-in-hand Polish labourers for keeping them out of jobs. And not all Poles who settle in Britain come here for gainful employment. Of the 371,000 non-UK nationals claiming unemployment benefit, 13,940 are Polish – making it the only previous EU accession state to appear in the top 20. In 2010, 6,777 Poles were convicted of crimes in Britain, and there are currently more than 700 Polish migrants in UK prisons (ranking in the top five nationalities of the 10,592 foreign nationals behind bars). â€Å"As with every large group of migrants, you do get an underbelly,† Zamoyski says. â€Å"There are huge scams going on with benefits, whereby Poles come over to work, bring their families, sign them all up for child benefits and then go back home again with the money. And I have heard of older Poles accosting younger ones on their way to the bus stop and fleecing them for all their money. It was the Second World War that really formed the roots of Britain’s Polish community. The Poles made an important contribution to the Allied war effort, providing troops, intelligence and vital equipment. After the fall of France in 1940, the exiled Polish Prime Minister and his government set up office in London, bringing with them 20,000 soldiers and airmen. Poles made up the largest non-British group in the RAF during the Battle of Britain and, by July 1945, more than 150,000 Polish troops were serving under the command of the British Army. When the war ended, Churchill vowed that the British would â€Å"never forget the debt they owe to the Polish† and pledged â€Å"citizenship and freedom of the British empire† for all. Fleeing the Communist government in Poland, many refused to return home, leading to the passing of the Polish Resettlement Act 1947, the UK’s first mass immigration law. This first generation of Polish migrants laid the foundations for recent immigration. Nicola Werenowska, a playwright from Colchester, is married to Leszek, a second-generation Polish migrant whose parents moved to Reading after the war. While researching for her play Tu i Teraz (â€Å"Here and Now†), staged recently at the Hampstead Theatre in London, she interviewed 50 young Poles in Britain about their experiences of moving here. â€Å"They come over for the jobs, but the history of migration helps them feel connected,† she says. â€Å"There are generally positive attitudes towards the UK in Poland. † Szaniawski agrees: â€Å"It’s a friendly, welcoming country and there’s a huge tradition of our parents and grandparents coming here. The willingness – and ability – of Poles to learn English is another factor that has been crucial to their integration. According to the Polish Central Statistical Office, 40 per cent of Poles aged 25-64 speak at least one foreign language, most commonly English or German. Joanna Pietrzykowska, 27, a trainee accountant from a small town in eastern Poland, came to the UK seven years ago to learn English. â€Å"I initially came for a yea r, but I liked it so much that I am still here,† she says. â€Å"You can get anything you want over here now – Polish food, movies, books from the library. Wherever I go, I meet at least one Polish person. I have an English boyfriend, and I’ve always found it very welcoming. There are more career opportunities than in Poland – so why would I go back? † But not all Poles have such positive experiences of Britain. Some, says Adam Zamoyski, simply don’t want to integrate. â€Å"They don’t ever have to learn the language; they stay in their own communities, where you can go all the way from the obstetrician to the grave without ever having to speak English. Others, like Sofia Pekala, 54, a cleaner who moved to the UK from Poland in 2002, have had bad experiences at the hands of British employers. â€Å"When I first came I worked on a farm in Penzance,† says Pekala, who used to own her own clothes shop. â€Å"I was treated very poorly and paid just ? 2. 75 an hour for very hard work in poor conditions. † Rafal Zbikowski, 34, who moved to Boston, Lincolnshire – where 3,006 out of 62,243 residents are Polish – eight years ago from Krakow, says he has experienced some tension, but adds: â€Å"It has been a great place to work. I came here to work in a food production factory and have had a job ever since. † So what does the future hold for Britain’s Polish migrants? Werenowska believes that the roots many Poles have put down will last. â€Å"Of the Polish migrants I interviewed, there were broadly two types,† she says. â€Å"The first are those who want to earn as much money as they can, as fast as they can, and then go home to their families. The second are those who have come to Britain because they love it, who genuinely want to be a part of British society. Like it or not, they’re definitely here to stay. †