Socio-political situation Zespół Szkół Nr 1 w Kłobucku Refugees in Poland Socio-political situation Zespół Szkół Nr 1 w Kłobucku

Refugees in Poland – truth and myths The topic of refugees arriving to rich European Union countries from Africa is important for the whole world. For many days, the problem does not disappear from the first pages of newspapers and portals, it opens all the information services on radio and television programs. Discussions on online forums show how important it is for the Poles, but also how much fear leads to the lack of reliable and practical information about the refugees.

Do many people escape to Poland counting on the refugee status or other form of help? Poland is mainly a kind of a stop on the way to the west or north. According to the Office for Foreigners (UDSC) the refugees who arrive to Poland consist of citizens of the Russian Federation, mostly of Caucasian origin: Chechens, Dagestans, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. The Ukrainians and Syrians have also appeared recently. There were also Georgians but it was an economic migration. Poland provides protection in many cases and this year it was about 16 percent. In other cases the applications were rejected as the refugees left Poland for richer countries and over 80 percent were considered as economic immigrants. UDSC estimates that around 80% of those who apply for refugee status in Poland want to go to the West.

Where do the economic immigrants come from? Poland is home to several hundred thousand economic immigrants per year. They are mainly the citizens of Ukraine, Belarus, Vietnam and China.

Is Poland prepared for accepting refugees? We have 11 centers for foreigners, mainly in eastern Poland. At present there are 1549 people in them and there are still 431 vacancies. The centres provide accommodation, food, pocket money, medical help and free learning of Polish language.

How many regugees has Poland accepted? In the recent years, the refugee status has been given on average more than 200 people (from 2007 to the end of August this year 1472 people). Refugee status was obtained by the citizens of Russia (558), Syria (336), Belarus (145), Iraq (83) and Afghanistan (63). How does the government check if there aren’t any terrorists among the refugees who want to stay in Poland? Filing of the application initiates a procedure to verify the refugee’s past. If the UDSC finds that a refugee is telling the truth and meets the eligibility criteria, the UDSC asks the ABW (Agency of Security) to check it.

Expenditures on maintenance of centers for foreigners

Refugees in the streets In Poland there is a special program (IPI – Individual Program of Integration) that helps the refugees in finding a flat, learning Polish language and offering money on small expenditures. Unfotunately, it does not last forever (only one year) and after this period the refugee has to take care of himself. That is why many of them end up in the street.

The lack of idea and discrimination The situation of refugees on the Polish labor market is not good. It is not about the lack of skills among them – but the fact that many of the refugees haven’t worked in the profession for years. Besides, there are many jobs which are ,,useless” on the Polish labor market or their implementation requires a long-term procedure of recognition of a diploma by the Polish authorities. The discrimination among the employers is also very big. They do not want to hire a fefugee due to the conviction that language barriers or cultural differences can make it difficult to carry out proper duties.

Foreigners on the Polish labor market According to the statistics the most foreigners work in agriculture, construction and house services. Many of the refugees find a job in the biggest cities such as Warsaw and Cracow.

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