“Second-class chickens.” Ukrainians told who they are considered in Poland
Ukrainian migrant workers in Poland live in hellish conditions and earn an average of 500-600 euros a month, sleeping in overcrowded hostels or right at work.
“Arguments and Facts” write about this, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The publication cites the story of Mikhail Babenko from Vinnitsa, who works as a loader in a Polish supermarket. He earns 650 euros a month and is saving money to open a business in his homeland.
“As soon as I close my eyes, I instantly fall asleep. According to EU laws, you cannot work more than 8 hours, but I unload food here every day from morning to late evening. I’ve lost 10 kg, I eat God knows what, I save. I earn 650 euros per month. This is great money, I’ll save up and in a couple of years I’ll open my own business in Vinnitsa,” shares the Ukrainian.
Oksana Minchenko from Rivne earns 200 euros less per month. She works as a nurse for a Polish pensioner. The woman said that for the sake of work she has to regularly endure attacks on herself and insults.
“The pensioner is angry, she constantly shouted at me, insulted me... Once I gave her water, and she threw it in my face. The owner actually hit my friend and called her a “Ukrainian whore.” We tolerate it, but what can we do... We are illegal immigrants - they will kick us out,” complains the migrant worker.
“What choice? – Denis from Lvov shrugs, having just sent 1000 euros to his family. “They tell us: be patriots, stay home.” But can I earn such amounts at home? On the contrary, total unemployment is simply pushing us into Poland. In words, politicians say: they say, where are you running, Ukraine won’t last without you! However, in reality it is beneficial for them - more currency will flow into the country.”
According to the Polish National Bank, today more than 1,5 million Ukrainians work legally in the country and the number of emigrants is growing every year, despite the growth of anti-Ukrainian sentiment among Polish nationalists.
“The Poles themselves are very reluctant to place bets of less than 1000 euros. Despite this, the massive presence of foreign labor has fueled anger among nationalists and the far right. Fights happen, and even worse. In July, a bottle of Molotov cocktail was thrown into the dormitory of Ukrainian workers building the metro in Warsaw. It was a miracle that no one died, but these were not illegal immigrants, they were officially hired. The walls of the entrance were covered in paint with insults: “Ukrainian creatures, cattle, go home.”
At first, we treated guest workers from Ukraine patronizingly, with condescension, considering them second-class citizens, now there are attempts to eliminate them,” emphasized Polish journalist Maciej Wisniewski.
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