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Polish integration in UK communities
Not an easy journey but there is light at the end of the tunnel
For many Poles relocating to the UK the process is smooth and problem free, indeed, for most the UK becomes a place to call home and often a place to set up in business. However, with hundreds of thousands of Poles coming to the UK year on year it is not surprising that a significant number face obstacles especially when integrating with the UK communities in which they choose to begin their new life.
With such vast differences between their old and new lives the variations in culture, employment processes, the law and legal processes, business life and of course the language can prove to be problematic. As such and in many cases these differences in daily life can become significant barriers to integration. Indeed, they can prove hard to break and can provide immigrants with a distinct disadvantage in leading a normal day to day life in the UK. At worst, obstacles to integration can have serious negative effects on groups of immigrants which have the potential to escalate into wider problems and ultimately reduce the quality of life for those involved. This then becomes somewhat ironic as often the reason for immigrants relocating to the UK is to seek a better life and a more prosperous future than the ones they would have if they stayed in their homeland.
Significant survey results on this topic are only just starting to come to light. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation in the UK for example recently found that one in four migrants spend no time with British people. Also, researchers from Oxford and Sussex universities recently spoke to migrants from Poland and their findings provided an interesting insight into the experiences and attitudes of migrant workers as a whole. For example, they showed that the UK government should value migrants as more than simply an economic resource and that ministers must continue to place importance on ensuring their integration into wider British society, even when their stay is expected to be temporary. Importantly, it is now becoming more widely recognised that both new migrants and more settled communities can face challenges when migration patterns change.
When questioned about their experiences in Britain, two-thirds of a recent survey did not know how to register with a doctor and almost half had received no information about conditions attached to their immigration status. What's more, 40% said Britons treated them as equals however a notable 30% said they did not. Only one-third of the sample had taken English classes and many felt they had only limited contact with British people. Indeed, it is almost an accepted part of life in the UK that Polish migrants tend to live and work together and so often they create a sort of bubble, and venture outside of that bubble only when really necessary. It can be argued that consequently this then makes successful integration even more difficult for Poles (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6699363.stm). As such, it is necessary to look into the various ways in which everyone involved can deal with the main obstacles to integration so that migrants can go about their daily personal and business lives in a more harmonious and integrated way. For example, a report by the Commission on Integration and Cohesion will soon put forward proposals on ways to improve integration, such as employers providing English lessons for staff and more information in foreign languages, such as Polish. However, there are examples of successful schemes already in place and they are setting high standards for others to follow.
For example, plans to run Polish language lessons for police officers and staff in Berkshire have proven to be so popular that a second course is already fully booked. Such results are a great illustration of many UK staff being more than willing to take advantage of opportunities to go the extra mile and to give a better service to local people. In turn, such schemes should give Polish residents greater confidence in the UK's public services (http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/bcu/berkshire_east/hp-news7.htm). Various community safety partnerships around the UK have evolved to specifically support their Polish communities also, for example, the Open Door Project in Wrexham which is now specifically directed towards local Poles. It was set up after it became quite clear that it is those from Poland who make up the largest group of European Union member states who can choose to move to the UK and find work. Its priority is to improve access by the Polish community to information concerning personal safety, road traffic legislation, environmental health and other important matters affecting day to day living. Essentially, the scheme provides a "virtual" help centre where individuals can contact both English and Polish speaking staff via mobile phone, email or SMS texts to seek assistance or advice on any of the services available. Such is the success of the scheme that it has expanded to include a "drop in" cafe once a week and whilst this scheme is specifically directed at those from Poland, staff have found it reassuring to have been contacted by members of other EU nations such as Hungary and Lithuania, and even migrants living locally from countries as far away as China (http://theopendoor.project.googlepages.com/home). Recently, in an attempt to achieve greater community cohesion the Reading Chronicle newspaper printed 5,000 copies in Polish, an experiment in catering for the large number of Poles living there. This project was an attempt to embrace the sizeable Polish community in Reading and to build bridges between the indigenous population and the ever growing numbers of immigrants. Importantly, to support integration and not to discourage it the paper was described as a Reading paper for Polish people, not a Polish paper for Polish people. Community cohesion is a huge topic up and down the country and many people may argue that immigrants should be able to speak English at least when living here if not before they arrive. Whilst most immigrants would wholly agree with this argument the UK needs to accept that this isn't going to happen overnight and as such both the UK and its immigrants need organisations like this to begin building bridges between communities. The BBC reported how both Polish residents and UK nationals described the project as a fantastic idea and one which should have been done long ago. Regarding the barrier of language to integration, many people in Reading pointed out that a lot of Poles in the UK can speak English but if they can read news in their own language then it will be comforting to them and may give them an extra boost in confidence when communicating in English therefore assisting with their integration. The idea certainly caught the media's attention with many people saying they wouldn't be surprised if other regional papers and even some of the national papers follow suit (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6045568.stm).
05.04.2008. 16:33
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