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June 05, 2004

New Europeans drift home with broken dreams
By Richard Ford and Roger Boyes
Times
6.6.04

DISILLUSIONED migrants from Eastern and Central Europe are returning home as
their dreams of a better life in Britain turn sour.

Five weeks after their countries joined the European Union, the reality of
life here is proving tougher than many hopeful migrants expected when they
boarded aircraft and coaches for London.

They have found it much more difficult than expected to find work, housing
and even to open bank accounts.

Migrants from largely rural areas have been bewildered at finding themselves
in a city the size of London. The plight of those coming unable to speak
basic English has been even worse.

Some have been victims of “scams” in which they handed over cash to
fraudsters with promises of non-existent jobs or housing.

The Polish Foreign Ministry recently estimated that, since May 1, 15,000
people had left Poland for London and that 8,000 had returned. It is not
clear how this figure was reached because free movement within the EU means
that there is no counting of Poles departing from or arriving in their
country.

But the difficulties facing migrants travelling to Britain and the stories
of those who have returned have been sufficient to prompt action by the
governments of Poland and the Czech Republic.

At a press conference to inform Poles about the realities of life in this
country, the Polish Government warned migrants that they should have a job
lined up before departing, speak English and should not travel on the basis
that it would be easy to get a job.

Within ten days, the Czech Embassy in London had 40 people seeking help to
return home after finding out that life over here was not as comfortable as
they had expected. Before May 1, the embassy would have had about twelve
people a month seeking assistance.

In Poland newspapers and magazines have published reports under headlines
such as “Polish Hell in London” and there have been articles claiming that
some job advertisements in the Polish press are an elaborate criminal
racket.

Young Poles have been returning home penniless having failed to find work.

Yesterday, at Warsaw’s international bus station, Stefan Barcinski emerged
at the end of a 28-hour journey from London just delighted to be back home.
Mr Barcinski, a dishevelled construction worker, said: “I didn’t get any
work. London is so expensive. I had to live off bread — just bread. I will
never go back.”

Watching over all of this is a woman who has seen it many times before.
Kasia Szuwinska is a travel assistant who has been with the Atas Travel bus
company for three years.

“Many Poles who went on or just after May 1 will be disappointed,” Ms
Szuwinska said. “It will take a few weeks for their savings to run out.”

Jan Mokrzycki, President of the Federation of Poles in Great Britain, said
that many Poles who had come to Britain after Poland joined the EU on May 1
had returned already.

“I think what happened in Poland is that too many people thought that now
they could travel freely throughout the EU, they would just go to Britain
and find work,” Mr Mokrzycki said.

“People, mostly single men, have been arriving without knowledge of English,
without accommodation and without work.

“It has been difficult and tough for them. Many have returned to Poland.”

For some of those returning there is a sense of shame at being seen as
having failed, but Mr Mokrzycki said that there would be longer-term
benefits. “I am very happy that people have gone back,” he said. “People who
have had a bitter experience will spread the word that it is not easy in
Britain. It is better if those coming are better prepared, have a basic
knowledge of English and a contact for employment.”

Ten countries — Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Estonia,
Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus — joined the EU on May 1.

On that date citizens of those countries had complete freedom of movement
throughout the EU. But alarm at the prospect of large numbers of migrants
heading West led existing member-states to place restrictions on the
newcomers’ access to jobs and social welfare benefits.

Official estimates on how many have travelled to Britain since May 1 and how
many have registered for work will be published this summer. Whitehall
officials say that the general impression after five weeks is that the
amount of traffic is “slightly up”.

The Czech Embassy in London said yesterday: “Our people should be aware
that, if life is difficult in the Czech Republic, it is as difficult, or
even more difficult, in Britain.”

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