To Have and Have Not - Poles in U.K.

When Poland joined the EU, Britain was one of only three countries in Europe to give migrants full work rights. It is estimated that close to a half million Poles have migrated to the U.K. in the past 3 years. In Poland, the perception is that Britain is a country of high wages and plentiful work.

Many Poles intend to work a few years in England, then return home with enough money to purchase a home or start a business.

Two weeks ago Jozef Bubak, a trained chef and family man, found himself sleeping on the streets. Just seven months earlier he had left his home in Poland determined to earn enough money to return to his wife and children and set up a family restaurant.



Instead of finding the opportunities that they heard of back home, thousands of Poles have ended up on the streets. One London council is so concerned by the increase that it has paid for more than 250 Poles to return home.

Alarmed by the increasingly common sight of homeless Poles in Britain and fearful that they will turn to drugs, prostitution and crime, the Polish Embassy last week invited a delegation to London to persuade their compatriots to return home.



A London homeless charity says an increasing number of men end up in modern slavery. More than 35% of the soup kitchen lines are comprised of Poles. They go to Britain without any money or contacts; they don't speak the language, yet they think Britain is going to be paradise.

With no support network, they fall into the hands of unscrupulous people who force them into slave labor: pay them a pittance and force them to live in poor-quality, overcrowded accommodation. Increasing numbers of Poles end up on the street after fleeing intolerable situations.

It’s impressive, the kindness of the British people towards the increasing number of Polish people holding “legal work documents” on their streets but they are prevented by law from helping them in the way they need to be helped, with places to sleep and money to set themselves up in situations where they have a chance of finding work. It is quite a different situation from the illegal aliens in America who burden social handout programs.

Barka Foundation, a U.K. based Polish charity, which helps homeless, and jobless people in London and the Polish consulate have urged people not to come to London unless they can support themselves. Charities have also offered Poles their fare home to stop them sleeping rough on the streets of London. But, there is not enough money to accommodate everyone.

Another problem is that once they are on the streets, many are too ashamed to go home to Poland. A way needs to be found to convince them to come back home with their dignity intact.

Despite his harsh experiences, for example, Bubak still hopes that his luck will improve. 'London is a city of so many opportunities that something good will have to happen eventually,' he insisted.

'Anyway, how can I go home? All my neighbors saw me leave and my family is relying on me. How can I go back and admit I have been homeless?' he said. 'I would rather stay here, sleep in the gutter and continue to hope and fight for work.'


For the more successful Poles in Britain, Britain's biggest supermarket chain started stocking imported Polish foods like pickled cabbage and vodka yesterday to cash in on a wave of workers from Poland since the country joined the EU.

Tesco PLC, the world's fourth-largest retailer, believes that satisfying Polish workers' cravings for sauerkraut soup and kielbasa is a moneymaker. A company spokeman said: "The type of items that Polish people miss the most and that are in greatest demand are comfort foods such as soup, pickled cabbage, and marshmallows covered with chocolate. We've had so much demand in the last six months for Polish foods that we spoke to the Polish community to find out the kinds of things that they missed the most from home. But there is also a big demand from the huge number of people born in Britain of Polish parents who want foods that will remind them of their Polish roots." Tesco sources the food from its stores in Poland and supplies come over every week.