The number of foreigners in Poland is growing
The starting point for the discussion was the results of a monitoring study of how the media write about migrants. The monitoring has been conducted for two years by the Public Diversity Foundation.
– The main conclusion, which for me is the most surprising and tangible, is the absence of the voices of migrants themselves in the media in articles concerning migration and refugee issues, says Anna Gorska, a representative of the foundation. – In materials on this topic, only 13% of migrants commented on the situation, while 87% were Poles. Therefore, we propose changing the approach to presenting the opinions of migrants themselves. We also pay attention to language practice, the terminology used, and semantics – how we name this group of people – migrants, foreigners, or representatives of other countries.
In Polish, the word 'foreigner', i.e. 'obcokrajowiec', as in Russian, emphasizes that this person is alien, different. Therefore, linguists advise using the term 'immigrant'. This is a kind of political correctness. However, publicist Marek Magierowski from the weekly 'Do Rzeczy' emphasizes that the problem is not in language, but in migration policy as a whole.
– The problem is that Poland does not conduct any migration policy, says Marek Magierowski. – And the issue of addressing immigrants or foreigners should become an element of a broad migration policy, which should not consist of the prime minister going to Brussels and signing some document on the basis of which Poland is required to accept a certain number of immigrants. Then we wash our hands, thinking we will somehow manage with these immigrants. No, it should be a planned policy for 10, 20, 30 years ahead, and the question of how we will talk about immigrants, how the next generation will be raised, should become an element of state migration policy.
Mamadou Diouf, founder of the Multicultural Center, an artist and musician from Senegal who has lived in Poland for 32 years, shares a similar opinion:
– It seems to me that respect for another person has nothing to do with political correctness, he says. – Many newspapers prefer to write 'Negro' instead of 'African' or 'Senegalese', thinking it is an expression of freedom of speech. But I believe that decency and goodwill have nothing to do with accepted norms. Secondly, I think we need to look at the problem from our own perspective. Polish blood flows all over the world. Recently, I performed a concert in Lithuania and talked with local Poles about their problems – there are no signs with place names in Polish, Polish surnames are written in Lithuanian versions, etc. Therefore, we should not pretend that we are a closed island and that it does not concern us. This is worth remembering when talking about the mobility of people, and Poles are a very mobile people. As for terminology, in the case of a Pole, I have the opportunity to say 'Pole', 'European', 'white'. If the media use the word 'Negro', then this term says nothing – there is no Negroland, it is unclear where the person comes from or what their nationality is, because dark-skinned people live in Africa, America, even India, and Australia has aborigines.
For many years, Poles were isolated from the flow of foreigners, so they do not know how to behave with them. Moreover, this applies not only to black people or Arabs, but also to Ukrainians, towards whom the attitude is not always favorable. According to Katarzyna Górska from the Public Diversity Foundation, the issue of education is important.
– For example, anti-discrimination education could appear in the school curriculum, where we teach about various minorities. However, it often happens that in Poland educated people do not always treat Ukrainians properly, especially Ukrainian women who clean houses. You can be educated but at the same time treat Ukrainians as inferior people, notes Katarzyna Górska.
Therefore, in this case, conducting a conscious migration policy is important, emphasizes publicist Marek Magierowski:
– We must realize as a state, because as a society we are not yet ready for this, that we must be prepared to receive migrants. And we must also be prepared to know what to do for better integration of immigrants into Polish society. So that Poland does not have a situation like in Berlin, where tens of thousands of Turks live in a ghetto, and where a 26-year-old Turk may not know German. A well-thought-out migration policy should be a priority for Polish authorities and organizations that deal with migrants.