Poland welcomed hundreds of thousands of immigrants when Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago. Politticians in Poland are currently trying to reduce the number of Russian families who are benefiting from children.
Lukasz Jakubowski often goes to schools where Russian students physically and verbally insult and perhaps physically assault their classmates. Sadly, he claims, these occurrences are getting more frequent.
Jakubowski serves as an anti-discrimination coach for the Polish organization Never Again ( Nigdy wiecej ) in Warsaw, the country’s capital.
In one school I go to, there are Ukrainian kids who are learning Polish but who, by nature, also struggle with speaking the language, Jakubowski says. Some of the other kids are against playing with them. They affront and push them away, creating a mental barrier. They advise them to return to Ukraine.
Since 2009, the connection has been publishing reports describing prejudiced acts like these. These accounts are referred to as “brown ebooks” by it.
Hate talk and problems are on the rise
Since Russia’s full-scale war of that nation in February 2022, just under 1 million people have fled to Poland.
According to Jakubowski, the number of problems on this group of people has dramatically increased over the past three years. There is also a increase in hate talk on the internet aimed at Ukrainians.
People accuse the Polish state of being overly kind to its southeast Asian cousin, which has been devastated by the war. Perhaps an alleged “Ukrainian wind” has been “resist” an alleged “Ukrainian storm” on Polish local government officials.
Popular in the right-wing press, a journalist and author has argued that Poland does not conduct business in Ukraine because it is a socially broken nation.
A symbol was dipped on the front of the Warsaw offices of The Ukrainian House basis in March of 2024. This theft is connected to the “increasing anti-Ukrainian attitudes” in Poland, which became more acute during the corn debate with Ukraine, according to Miroslawa Keryk, head of the foundation.
demonstrations against importers and transporters of Ukrainian rice
There were widespread demonstrations throughout Poland in 2023 and 2024 against the entry of the EU business for Ukrainian grain. During these marches, Russians were subjected to all manner of unpleasant and negative comments.
Similar events occurred during the protests of Ukrainian truck drivers against the starting of the EU market for Russian transportation companies in 2023. The far-right Confederation group supported these rallies.
Not Once has also found plenty of instances of Ukrainians being physically abused or beaten up.
According to Jakubowski, who goes on to claim that some Poles can’t tell the difference between the two languages, “in some instances, it is enough for people to launch an attack when they hear an eastern German language being spoken on the road, regardless of whether it is Soviet or Russian.” This implies that even people who have resided in Poland for ages are now resentful, he said.
From a hot embrace to a harsh, uncomfortable truth
According to a study conducted by the Warsaw-based believe container Mieroszewski Centre in November and December, Poland’s sympathy for Ukrainians is declining.
Only 25 % of respondents had a positive or negative opinion of Ukrainian refugees, compared to 41 % who had a neutral opinion.
Half of those surveyed claimed that the level of aid provided to migrants was excessive. Only 5 % of people thought it was inadequate.
Some Poles believe that Ukrainian immigrants have unrealistic expectations for welfare benefits and salary. Another popular view is that they act dishonestly and loudly and act as though they “own the spot.”
However, the research from the Mieroszewski Center reveal another side of the story: Russian attitudes toward their northern neighbors are furthermore deteriorating. In 2022, 83 % of Ukrainian respondents said they had a positive opinion of Poles, but by November 2024, this had dropped to only 41 %.
The “demythologization” of Ukrainians
The number of individuals with negative attitudes is increasing as well, which the researchers say is an indicator of an “increasing logical nature of the relationship.”
They refer to this as the “demythologization” of Ukrainians in the eye of the Poles. Day-to-day issues are increasingly coming into the spotlight, and Poles regard the Ukrainians ‘ “heroic approach” in the face of Russian anger and the majority of Poles support Ukraine’s attempts to join NATO and the EU.
Russians who work in the workforce are diligent and entrepreneurial, which makes some Poles frightened of the competitors.
” Some notice how significant Russians are to the Polish business. Many businesses worry that if several hundred thousand Russians abruptly leave the country,” we would have huge issues,” says Ernest Wyciszkiewicz, chairman of the Mieroszewski Centre.
Experience in “real life” are quite different.
As one of the most well-known faces of the Ukrainian community in Poland, advocate Natalia Panchenko is co-founder of the StandWithUkraine base and the Euromaidan Warsaw initiative, which makes her frequently the goal of anger and abuse.
” Strikes against me typically come from private people on the internet who have never met me but dump all of their animosity toward Ukrainians on me,” she tells DW.
But, she claims that the survey results and daily routines are incompatible:” Most Poles who encounter us at work, in institutions, or at college have nothing against us,” she claims.
She argues that the majority of Polish Ukrainians are socially stable, learn Polish fast, and don’t often receive unkind words from Poles.
Then a political topic, Ukrainians are.
In the run-up to the May presidential election, some politicians are undoubtedly hoping to apply anti-Ukrainian attitude to bolster their support.
Both Karol Nawrocki, who supports the opposition national-conservative Law and Justice ( PiS), and Rafal Trzaskowski, the mayor of Warsaw and the liberal candidate who supports the coalition party, would prefer that only Ukrainian parents who work and pay taxes in Poland receive child benefits.
In Poland, each child receives about €200 ($ 217 ) per month in child benefit payments. Now, all parents in Poland are eligible for this benefit.
In Poland, there are currently about 900 000 Russian migrants. Individuals in this class work for the most part. Because Ukrainian refugees in Poland do not receive any additional welfare payments from the government, the child gain bills are absolutely crucial for the majority of them.
Because it would only change Ukrainians and not any other class of migrants, Natalia Panchenko finds the discourse about limiting access to kid benefit payments to be discriminatory.
However, the initiative may be implemented immediately because it is one of the few things that almost all political parties in Poland are currently in agreement on.
