British/UK Affairs

» Barbara Pytel - Poles in England

I happen to be the first born American in my family of Polish immigrants to the U.S. I find your story interesting and would have predicted this result. Many Poles thrived under Communism by working hard and being creative. When they immigrate, they continue to work hard and be creative. While being white and Christian may initially be in their favor, they eventually prove themselves by what they are willing to do. I agree with you about the Polish economy improving in the future. The Communist system did so much damage to the country that it will take more than one generation to make up for lost time.

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» dantilles - Poles in England

Thanks for your comments. I have quite a lot of experience living in both Poland and Britain and what I find strange is the difference in attitudes between Poles in both countries. Whilst Poles in Britain (and presumably elsewhere in the world) are known for being hard-working and professional, in Poland there doesn't seem to be the same attitude towards work. Building work seems to take forever, getting served at a bar or restaurant can be very slow and a visit to the post office or any type of government is a long, drawn-out process. The idea of customer service is also pretty non-existent.

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few years as Poles who have worked abroad come back to their homeland and Western standards start to become the norm there.

It's been a rough ride for the Polish economy since the fall of Communism but things seem to be going well now (often despite the government rather than because of it). As long as Poland doesn't fall into the trap of isolationism (which is quite a worrying and realistic possibility at the moment) then I think things look good for them.

In response to Poles in England posted by pytel:

-- posted by dantilles

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