Letter from Poland.

 

Coming back home.

20.02.2008

Last week British newspaper The Times ran the headline “Tide turns as Poles end great migration”.
Anna Piwowarska isn’t surprised by the news.

For four years now, Poles have been heading for the British Isles for better wages and a more promising future. Now it seems that the mass Polish emigration is coming to an end. Last week The Times ran the headline “Tide turns as Poles end great migration” stating that now more Poles were leaving the UK than were coming in.
Now this doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. When Poland first joined the EU, it was natural that young people would flock to the isles. For many young ambitious Poles desperate for a break, eager to learn English and to live a different, more Western life, the UK was the obvious choice. Particularly when those who went before them showed them that they could earn five times as much as in Poland and were guaranteed to find a job, at least as a cleaner, builder or waitress. The majority of these people were aged between 18 and 25 so even with a university degree they didn’t mind working as a waitress or builder for a few years. It was a far better option than slogging it out in grey, depressing Warsaw where jobs were thin on the ground, the competition was high and no one could survive on the wage of a waitress. The Brits, on the whole, welcomed the hard working young Eastern Europeans – they were ready to do the jobs that the Brits didn’t want to do and often worked harder at them. Of course, once they started bringing their whole families, and having children, there were certain grumblings about the ‘Pole invasion’ but on the whole they seemed to be welcomed more warmly than other immigrants. Perhaps history helped for World War II had shown what the Poles were made of.
However, it was obvious that this love affair was eventually going to fizzle out. The first and most important reason, of course was economic. The zloty has been steadily getting stronger. When I first came here over five years it was 7 zloty to the pound, now it is barely 4.8. Poland’s economy is booming and with more and more foreign investments, there is a growing number of jobs available here. With the value of their British earnings being lower and the cost of living in London remaining high, it doesn’t seem worthwhile to stay. Before, immigrants in London could save enough to send back home or to save to buy property in Poland in the future. Now they can do that in their own country.
The other main reason is more of an emotional one. Most Poles have a strong natural bond with their families. It is normal for three or four generations of a family to live in close proximity to each other – often even in the same house – and to see each other on a regular basis. Being away in a different country is a big deal for many Poles. It was obvious that they couldn’t be away from their mums, grandmothers, brothers etc., for a long time. Particularly, as the 18-25 generation has grown up over the last four years. Many are ready to settle down and start a family – and they want the support of their parents and grandparents to do it. Anyway, London is more a place for fun-seeking, professional singletons rather than immigrant parents of young children, earning the minimum wage.
So what do they hope to find back home? Well, certainly more jobs in all areas. Builders will be welcomed with open arms, particularly with Euro 2012 creeping up on us and all we have at the moment are some fancy looking cardboard models and dire-looking pitches. Those that have brushed up their language skills can count on better-paid jobs, many in international companies based in Poland. Although the roads are still in a sorry state, the cities are getting a makeover with the help of EU funding. Many will be impressed by the top-to-toe renovation and pedestrianisation of the Royal Route in the Old Town of Warsaw. Soon we’ll be able to compete with Paris for that “ooh la, la” factor (well, maybe not quite yet). Polish food here is still organic without having to pay extra for it. Cultural life is bustling, with more and more international rock music stars queuing up to gig here. Warsaw is also fast taking over from Berlin as the European capital of cool with unusual, underground bars popping up all over the place.
On the down side, property prices have rocketed – they went up 70 percent in 2007 alone, although are set to drop ten percent in 2008. Still, to many it may be nearly as much of a struggle to get on the property ladder, as it would be in London. On another level, attitudes are still slow in changing. Poland is still a traditional country with over 90 percent of the population being Catholic. This means that Poles remain less tolerant towards non-married couples and sexual minorities than the UK. However, perhaps this will change when this generation of immigrants returns having had their horizons widened. They left here as down-on-their-luck, jobless kids but they are coming back older, wiser and probably able to teach many Poles here a thing or two about the world.
The most amusing element of last week’s Times article were the comments left on the website by readers. It seems that most are sad to see the Poles leave. “Please stay and have babies, we need you” pleads Terry from Watford. “Please come to Denmark, we want you here!!!!” proclaims Matt from Denmark with as many as four exclamation marks. “Will miss the smile of the Polish girls in restaurants and bars across London which lightened up the place,” mournfully writes Chris from London. “A wave of fresh air that came into the depressed urban cities of the UK...” writes Dennis from London. Don’t worry, Dennis. There will still be hundreds of thousands who’ll stay even if the majority goes home. Of course, not all the reactions to the leaving of Poles were positive. I wonder what the Daily Mail will find to write about once they’re gone. The Polish current affairs website the beatroot exposed an email that had been circulating from one of the Daily Mail hacks which stated: “I am urgently looking for anonymous horror stories of people who have employed Eastern European staff, only for them to steal from them, disappear, or have lied about their resident status. We can pay you £100 for taking part, and I promise it will be anonymous, just a quick phone call.” I feel sorry for my other countrymen, the Bulgarians, as well as the Romanians who will become the new tabloid fodder.
So, on the whole, the Poles abroad seem to have done us proud. I can’t wait till they come back home and tell us all about what they’ve learnt from the experience.