Immigrants In Poland Research Articles

Teachers' opinion on the situation of a kindergarten with children of multilingual immigrants

The article presents the actual situation of kindergartens with children from immigrant families. The studies were inspired by previous research implemented by Krystyna Bleszyński, who, in 2010, examined the opinions of school staff and administration on the functioning of educational institutions with foreign students. Nowadays, as a result of the war in Ukraine, the number of immigrants in Poland has increased significantly. Furthermore, many adult immigrants have arrived with their children; this social phenomenon is also noticeable in kindergartens. The undertaken research concerns the perception by teachers and kindergarten management of the situation in which kindergartens suddenly and unexpectedly have become multicultural kindergartens. Based on the study, it was determined what phenomena and problems occurred in the kindergarten, to what extent teachers assess their competencies in solving them, what needs have arisen as a result, and the extent to which the staff of the institutions expect support.

Do relationships with parents determine citizens’ reactions to war trauma?

BackgroundThe article concerns the psychology of trauma: the intensity of the experienced threats and reactions to the trauma in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), defenses and post-traumatic growth (PTG) in Ukrainian immigrants in Poland. The issues of trauma psychology were studied in connection with the relationships with parents.Participants and procedureThe methods used mainly concerned the specifics of experiencing strong threats (trauma) and responding to them (PCL-5 questionnaire, Psycho-Social and Psychic Defenses Questionnaire, Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory), determination of closeness to parents (Scale of Closeness to Biological Parents) and secure and non-secure attachment style (Attachment Style Questionnaire). The subjects were 178 people (including 147 women and 31 men), citizens of Ukraine, who arrived in Poland after the outbreak of war on February 24, 2022, and at the time of the study were living in and around Krakow, Wroclaw, Lublin, or Warsaw. The mean age of the subjects was 38 years (SD = 12.57).ResultsThe results of the study indicate that non-secure attachment styles (anxious-avoidant and anxious-ambivalent), along with frustration of the need for competence and intensity of threats, are predictors of PTSD and non-constructive defenses. In contrast, a secure attachment style, along with frustration of the need for competence and intensity of threats, is a predictor of constructive defenses, while a secure attachment style is a predictor of PTG. Statistical analyses show that closeness to the mother is not significantly associated with any of the explained variables.ConclusionsThe accumulation of risks associated with war trauma and the necessity to cope with them are strongly associated with the ongoing war. Attachment styles support or hinder the process of adaptation. The absence of closeness to the mother among the predictors in the models tested represents the most intriguing result, to be confirmed in further research.

Transforming into formal entrepreneurs: the path of Ukrainian immigrants in Poland

Purpose Immigrant integration through entrepreneurship is hindered by the prevalent informality of their ventures. This study aims to examine the factors influencing the formalisation of immigrant entrepreneurship, with special focus on those who are under the impact of the host country. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a series of focus groups conducted among a total of 59 Ukrainian immigrants in Poland. Based on coding into first-order categories, second-order themes and aggregate dimensions, the authors created a model of immigrant entrepreneurship formalisation. Findings The results of the research included in the model show the groups of factors influencing the formalisation of immigrant entrepreneurship. Immigrants bring both their personal attitudes and embeddedness in their country of origin during immigration. Then, factors of the host country’s institutions, interactions between local authorities and local communities and the need for a new place of belonging interact in the formalisation process. Formal entrepreneurs, as a new identity for immigrants, are the result of the formalisation process. Originality/value The results not only focus on social capital or the institutional failures of formal and informal institutions in transforming immigrants into formal entrepreneurs, but we also recognise the individual aspect of the new identity as formal entrepreneurs and a new place of belonging. In addition, the authors distinguish the importance and interactions between local communities and local authorities in this process. The paper contributes to the theory of entrepreneurship, migrant study and institutional theory.

Psychological toll of hate speech: The role of acculturation stress in the effects of exposure to ethnic slurs on mental health among Ukrainian immigrants in Poland.

An online survey was conducted among Ukrainian immigrants living in Poland (N = 726) in order to investigate the relation between exposure to hate speech, acculturation stress, and mental health. Mediation analyses were used to test whether exposure to hateful language predicts posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms and whether these effects are mediated by acculturation stress while controlling for experiences of other forms of discrimination. Exposure to hate speech predicted PTSD and depression symptoms. Both effects were mediated by acculturation stress and were significant after controlling for experienced discrimination. The study provides evidence for the existence of a relation between exposure to hate speech among migrants and mental health problems. The study also provides support for a potential mechanism of this effect: acculturation stress and evidence for the fact that the effect holds over and above the effect of discrimination. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The securitization of immigration in Poland. Social and political contexts

Currently, immigration issues occupy an important place in the debate on the future of Europe. One of the central themes of this debate is the issue of security. In spite of the functioning of supranational integration structures, individual states still remain a fundamental factor in shaping migration. In many cases, the issue of immigration is subjected to the process of securitization, framing immigration as a threat. It is the speech act that is important in this respect, being a kind of securitizing tool. Since 2015, one can notice elements indicating that the process of securitization of immigration has been present in Poland, too, which, among other things, is a consequence of the change of the ruling party, the immigration crisis that has taken place in Europe, and the migration situation on Poland’s eastern border. The article presents the factors that influence the process of immigration securitization. Additionally, it includes numerous statements from Polish politicians securitizing the problem of immigrants as well as the results of social surveys on attitudes towards immigration. The analysis of the collected material leads to the conclusion that the securitisation of immigration in Poland is not a completed process and that this process concerns a geographically defined group of immigrants.

The rule of law in the grip of populist authoritarianism: Hungary and Poland

AbstractThis article examines the impact of populism on the rule of law in Hungary and Poland. It argues that political discourse is important in setting the political agenda and is often followed by the criminalization of minorities, Euroskepticism, intervening in the operation of supreme courts, affecting the decisions of the judges, and disregarding international law and/or supranational legal orders. It also highlights how politicization and securitization increasingly operate under populist authoritarian regimes through the legal system and legislative initiatives to increase the power of the government and the ruling party. Discourse analysis is a valuable tool to reveal whether a legislator's intention serves the people or exploits power to change the structure and functioning of the political system. Thus, this article follows the course of politics in Hungary and Poland from discourse to hijacking democracy through instrumentalizing the rule of law.Related ArticlesDeegan‐Krause, Kevin, and Tim Haughton. 2009. “Toward a More Useful Conceptualization of Populism: Types and Degrees of Populist Appeals in the Case of Slovakia.” Politics & Policy 37(4): 821–41. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2009.00200.x.Skowronska, Kaja. 2021. “The Recent Politicization of Immigration in Poland in Light of Preexisting State Practices: Continuity or Change in the Understanding of Citizenship and Nationhood?” Politics & Policy 49(4): 940–67. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12424.Zafirovski, Milan. 2022. “Toward a New Political Democracy Index: Construction, Validation, and Calculation for Individual Societies and Types of Society.” Politics and Policy 50(4): 663–99. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12488.

International Migration and Integration: Turkish Immigrants in Poland

This paper focuses on Turkish immigrants' social and system integration processes in Poland along the parameters such as identity, host society policies, communication with the host society, and ethnicity. The research was planned according to the qualitative methodology based on interviews and participant observation in Warsaw, Gdansk, Bydgoszcz, Torun, Poznan and Wroclaw between October 2020 and August 2021. According to the obtained data during the research process, Turkish immigrants in Poland enjoy social and system integration. On the one hand, the identity perceptions of Turkish immigrants in Poland have affected communication, which has an important role as well as in the social and system integration process. But on the other hand, while Turkish immigrants are loyal to their ethnic identity, they have moved away from the perception of ethnicity. Turkish immigrants spend more of their free time with the host society members, use the host society's language in daily life, and find a place for themselves in social spaces.

Społeczne i demograficzne cechy procesu migracji z Białorusi do Polski w latach 2016–2020

Social and Demographic Features of the Migration Process from Belarus to Poland in 2016–2020 This article analyses the process of migration from Belarus to Poland in the second decade of the 21st century. The aim of the article is to reveal the social and demographic features of the migration movement from Belarus to Poland and to show the specific motivation and adaptation of Belarusian immigrants in Poland as a new place of settlement. In order to achieve the intended purpose, the article will answer the following questions: what is the socio-demographic features of the migration movement from Belarus to Poland? What are the motives of migration of Belarusian citizens to Poland? What are the specific features of adaptation of Belarusian immigrants in the new place of settlement? In order to obtain answers to the questions posed, a comprehensive methodology was used: analysis of found statistical data and qualitative research conducted with the technique of individual in-depth interview. The analysis of the found statistical data created a perspective for presenting the specifics of migration, first of all as a physical spatial movement from Belarus to Poland, and also made it possible to detail the social profile of Belarusian immigrants. At the same time, the data collected as part of the qualitative study provided a basis for defining the specifics of the adaptation process and learning about migration motivation among Belarusian immigrants.

Imigracja a bezpieczeństwo wewnętrzne państwa

This article deals with the impact of immigration on the multifaceted internal security of Poland. The considerations are based on the assumption that immigration is an inevitable phenomenon, and the future will bring its increase, also in relation to our country. This will result in the growth of various types of conflicts – from economic, through cultural and religious to political. Some of these conflicts are exaggerated, others can be resolved by appropriate political decisions. Importantly, the increase in immigrants in Poland does not translate into the state of public security. Foreigners do not pose a significant threat to this security, but this situation may change. It is necessary to prepare services responsible for security for such an eventuality, to ensure their interoperability and effectiveness of operation.

Tłumaczenie dzieci i dla dzieci w obecnej sytuacji migracyjnej w Polsce

Interpreting of Children and for Children in the Actual Migration Situation in Poland The paper describes the actual scene of public service interpreting and translation in Poland since the beginning of the war in Ukraine and the influx of a vast number of Ukrainian refugees into Poland. In particular it is focused on the role played by volunteer interpreters and translators who offer linguistic and cultural assistance to Ukrainian children in medical and psychotherapeutic contexts. It also deals with the activities of non-governmental organizations offering linguistic and translational support for immigrants in Poland.

Public policy towards immigrants in poland’s shrinking cities – The case study of the city of Lomza

AbstractSome regions and cities in Poland face challenges due to an accelerating depopulation. Simultaneously, Poland is host to more than 2 million immigrants who mitigate the negative consequences of the population outflow and ageing. While bigger Polish cities adopted particular local strategies and measures addressed to migrants, the situation of smaller cities and towns, especially the shrinking ones, has not yet been explored. Therefore, we took a closer look at Lomza, a downscaled middle‐sized city in the east of Poland where two phenomena occur: the accelerating depopulation caused mainly by the outflow of its residents and an inflow of foreign migrants, both asylum seekers predominantly coming from Russia (Chechnya) and economic migrants mainly from Ukraine. We explored the state of the public policy towards immigrants in Lomza in order to see what a shrinking city can offer its newcomers when it cannot count on national strategy in this regard.

Investigating neighbourhood concentration of immigrants in Poland: explorative evidence from Kraków

Aim. This study contributes to research on new immigrant destinations in CEE by investigating the neighbourhood concentration of immigrants in Poland. We focus on Kraków – the second largest city – for which we have built a unique register-based dataset containing geocoded individual level data. To our knowledge, it is the first high-quality dataset of this type, prepared and used for research purposes in Poland. We use it to describe immigrants’ spatial allocation at a relatively early stage of immigration using the kNN approach. Results and conclusions. We find that whereas foreigners compose around 4.2% of city population, 50% of the city inhabitants live in the 200 kNNs with a share of foreigners below 2.2%. The DI for the immigrants is 0.45. Yet, a relatively high concentration could be seen among foreigners from Asia and America. However, immigrants from Ukraine and other Eastern European, non-EU countries are much more evenly spread around the city.

Ukrainian Migrants in Poland and the Role of an Employer as the Channel of Information during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper examines communication processes between state institutions and migrants under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. It aims to determine where migrants obtain their information on specific legal regulations and restrictions on rules of conduct in the public space and professional environment. This issue is examined through the example of Ukrainian labour immigration in Poland. Referring to the results of our survey research, it is established that in a crisis, when the importance of information in the public sphere increases and, at the same time, direct social contacts are restricted, the special role of the employer is revealed. The employer is perceived not only as an entity offering work, but also as an important channel of information about state policy, regulations and rules of conduct applicable in a crisis. These findings are an indication, on the one hand, for state institutions to take this role of employers into account in migration policy and, on the other hand, for employers themselves to be aware of their social role towards migrants and play it responsibly. We believe that the study, conducted in the first two months of the pandemic, has become very timely with the outbreak of the Ukrainian–Russian war.

Decision-Making Factors in the Housing Market for Vietnamese Immigrants in Poland

The Vietnamese community currently living and working in Eastern European countries is a large community. For the host countries, this is a closed community with many mysteries about how to behave in life and work. Although 100% of these communities have to rent or buy houses to live in Europe, there is no research on issues related to this behavior. Factors influencing this behavior from a real estate market perspective are of interest to local businesses and indigenous people. The article uses the method of practical experience, expert interviews, and a review of scientific documents with three impacts: behavioral psychology, the migration policy of the Republic of Poland, and security factors. These are the most obvious impacts on this community’s decision to rent and buy a house. From the research results, the author has proposed solutions for stakeholders who are real estate investment and business enterprises, legislators, and social managers to better solve the relationship of housing for Vietnamese households’ community in Poland in particular, and in the world in general. In which, the most important issues are traditionally security, social and psychological harmony. The limitation of the article is that three factors are selected according to the author’s subjective will with many years of experience as a housing broker in Warsaw.

Supplemental Material for Psychological Toll of Hate Speech: The Role of Acculturation Stress in the Effects of Exposure to Ethnic Slurs on Mental Health Among Ukrainian Immigrants in Poland

Supplemental Material for Psychological Toll of Hate Speech: The Role of Acculturation Stress in the Effects of Exposure to Ethnic Slurs on Mental Health Among Ukrainian Immigrants in Poland

Social Media and the Online Political Engagement of Immigrants: The Case of the Vietnamese Diaspora in Poland

This study investigates the political engagement of Vietnamese immigrants in Poland on social media. It employs the typology of online political participation as a theoretical framework to determine the pattern of online involvement in the political sphere staged by the migrant group. Through analysing materials relating to political discussions created daily on an online community of the Polish Vietnamese, collected by doing netnography, this study shows that the political activism on social media of Vietnamese immigrants in Poland exists and varies. Vietnamese-migrant users discuss homeland politics and express views about political issues in the host country as well as other countries by creating non-mobilising posts (Information and Diffusion), while being inclined to produce posts with calls for action (Instruction and Promotion) to criticise social injustice and mobilise equality. This study also found a growing critical attitude towards homeland politics among Vietnamese-origin individuals in the country. The findings have practical implications for associations and state actors in both the host and home countries to account for the evolvement of the migrant community.

Belarus in the Eurasian Migration System: The Challenges of the Last Decade and Their Consequences

This article presents the main recent developments in migration trends to and from Belarus. It studies these trends via the migration systems theory lenses, according to which Belarus belongs to the Eurasian migration system. The most significant migration flows are directed towards Russia, due to the existence of the Union State. However, over the last decade, Belarusian statistics have shown a gradual transformation in the direction of these migration flows. After the recession in Russia in 2015, the number of emigrants from Belarus to EU countries increased. The most significant changes have occurred in the migration dynamics between Belarus and Poland and Lithuania. The existence of the Pole’s Card makes it more difficult to measure the number of Belarusian immigrants in Poland, therefore, I provide a comparative analysis of Belarusian and Polish statistics in order to show a more realistic picture of the number and structure of Belarusian emigrants and the problem of underestimation in the sending country. Particular attention is paid to the consequences of the political situation in Belarus after 2020; this has become an additional push factor for emigrants and may also lead to a further reduction of Belarusian migratory links within the Eurasian migration system. Thus, the statistics for 2021 show a significant increase in the number of Belarusian emigrants to the EU, while emigration to Russia has remained at the same level.

Kształtowanie polityki integracyjnej wobec imigrantów z Białorusi oraz potencjał ich zaangażowania społeczno-politycznego na przykładzie Wrocławia

Recent political events in Belarus have caused a large wave of migration from this country. Immigrants come to Poland seeking help and escaping from the cruel repression of the autocratic regime of Alyaxandr Lukashenka. This article aims to answer what role non-governmental organisations play in the policy of integrating immigrants from Belarus in Poland. Do immigrants from Belarus contribute to the activities of non-governmental organisations in Poland? This article highlights the problem of an active response of Polish society to the Belarusian socio-political crisis. It also analyses the activity of non-governmental organisations aimed at supporting immigrants from Belarus. It is based on source research, in-depth interviews with non-governmental organisations’ activists and surveys of immigrants from Belarus. The author uses the integration policy approach to examine the activities of non-governmental organisations aimed at promoting the interests of the immigration community from Belarus and analyses its expectations. The main goals of this article are to demonstrate the phenomenon of social movement among foreigners from Belarus and to show a number of integration problems of Belarusian immigrants in Poland.

O przestępczości cudzoziemców i przestępczości wobec cudzoziemców w Polsce na podstawie statystyki policyjnej: Immigrants' crime and victimization in Poland based on police statistics

This article presents the issue of crimes committed by immigrants in Poland and the issue of their victimization based on police statistics. Authors describe the etiology of victimization of immigrants and show the problems and the achievements related to the study of this phenomenon. The article presents the possible causes for committing crimes by immigrants. In the main part, based on police statistics, authors present the size and structure of crimes committed by immigrants and analyze who are the offenders. They also show the size of crime victimization on the immigrants in Poland and data about victims.

The Evolution of the Approach to the Integration of Immigrants in Poland

The aim of the paper is to present issues related to the approach to the integration of immigrants in Poland in the last three decades. The article is seeking an answer to the question of how the approach to immigrant integration has evolved? Does the evolving approach reflect the rising tide of change taking place in Europe? First, the article discusses the issues of migration to Poland. It is essential to consider cultural conditions related to the national identity and migration history of a given country in an attempt to explain the evolution of the integration policy. The subsequent parts analyze the Polish integration policy until 2015 and the integration policy after 2015. The results of the research show that in Poland, the approach to the integration of immigrants has evolved in a short time: from the “strategy of abandonment” to “integration” understood as a two-way process of adaptation to the concept of assimilation.