Social Europe: The Attacks On Poles In Britain Is Part Of A Rise Of Nationalism And Racism In Europe. Including Poland

These attacks have occurred in the context of a rise in racism and hate attacks after the Brexit vote in Britain. In the week before and after the referendum, over 3,000 hate crimes were reported to the police, an annual increase of more than 42%. The Leave campaign had focussed on the issue of immigration and in particular on the eastern European migrants who have arrived since EU enlargement in 2004. Pro-Brexit politicians fuelled the fears and prejudices of the British citizenry, spreading the populist idea that the country’s economic and social problems could be solved by ‘taking back control’ of its borders. And now, in the post-referendum reality of uncertainty and disappointment, these prejudices are spilling over into increased outright racism and hatred.

The Polish community is an established part of British society. A large section of the hundreds of thousands of Poles who moved to Britain have now settled long-term in the country. Poles are the largest immigrant group in Britain and Polish is the second most commonly spoken language in the country. Despite talk of immigrants coming to claim social benefits, Poles living in the UK are significantly more likely to work and pay taxes than their British counterparts are. One may have thought that all of this, coupled with the fact that the vast majority are also white and Christian, would have shielded them from such racism. But the Poles and other eastern Europeans living in Britain are now coming to realise that such xenophobia is not confined to those with a different skin colour or religion. [...]

Poland has also experienced its own surge in racist attacks, which grew by around 40% in 2015. This has been accompanied by the growing activity of far right organisations, such as the National Racial Camp (ONR), that lays claim to the traditions of the pre-war far right organisation under the same name. In recent months, the ONR has organised demonstrations against refugees and immigrants, attacked pro-democracy demonstrators, and even spoken in schools and Churches. The government’s attack on the independence of the Constitutional Tribunal, the closure of open debate on historical issues and the formation of a National Guard which is open to members of the far-right are all worrying political trends in Poland.

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