The New Minorities of Europe by Johns Michael;

Author:Johns, Michael;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1642893
Publisher: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic

In the earliest days post-2004 it is likely that many of the Polish migrants fit the stork or hamster categories. While Eade’s study focussed on the Poles who moved to London, it could be argued that in less urban areas the number of these types of migrants was much higher. In Llanelli and other smaller towns and rural areas the first migrants to arrive were almost all male who were either single or had left their families behind. With lower levels of education and poor English skills, this group presented numerous challenges to the communities where they settled. With more money then what they could earn in Poland and no one to spend it on, there were numerous incidents of public intoxication and bar fights involving Polish migrants. Unfortunately as this was often the first experience many people in less urban areas had with Poles, this led to negative stereotypes for the group as a whole. While incidents such as these remain (as they do with any group of young men who have access to money and alcohol) they have decreased significantly over the years. The stereotypes have remained however.

For many reasons the number of stayers has increased in both Britain and Ireland. The assumption that the Polish population would revert to storks and hamsters has not materialized. In fact many of the searchers have become stayers despite the economic downturn in Britain and especially Ireland. As Recchi and Triandafyllidou note “studies on the current economic recession suggest that the bulk of intra-EU migrants from the new member states adopt a strategy of wait-and-see rather than returning home.”33 In fact, while the total number of migrants moving to Britain has decreased there continues to be thousands of Poles who have moved into Britain during the recession. It appears that for many Poles who are now moving to Britain (and Ireland) there are reasons beyond economics that help determine their decision to move and once in Britain, their decision to stay. As Cook et al. note as “plans change, short-term transitory migration often become more permanent.”34 For many younger Poles the lifestyle and culture of Britain or Ireland continues to be more comfortable than more conservative Poland.35 Even with the economic downturn, there are still opportunities to work and due to the fact that they have already experienced deskilling they are better prepared for the economic realities and needed sacrifices in the new economic reality.

A key factor that helps determine if a searcher (or hamster/stork for that matter) chooses to stay in Britain for the long term is if they have a family and particularly if they have children. In both urban and rural areas more and more Poles are either moving with their spouses and children or are marrying in Britain and Ireland (to other Poles, locals or other migrants) and having children. It is obvious that the chance of a Polish migrant returning to Poland after marrying a local is slim. While the migrant probably has a working knowledge of English, the chance that their spouse would be fluent in Polish is very low.

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