European Affairs
c/o The European Institute
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Washington, DC
20036-5531
Tel: (202) 895-1670
Fax (202) 362-1088
info@europeanaffairs.org
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The flow of workers from Poland and
other new democracies – symbolized by
the Polish plumber in the collective European
imagination – has triggered concern
verging on alarm in Britain and
other EU member states that have
opened their job markets to EU newcomers.
But it is not just the British tabloids
that fret about Polish immigrants. The
trend has also stirred a debate in Poland,
where many people are concerned that
the latest emigration wave constitutes a
dangerous drain of motivated people and
talent from the country.
This is nothing new for us. After
“Poland” disappeared from the map in
the late 18th century (partitioned among
its neighbors), Poles have been one of the
world’s leading emigrant and “diaspora”
nations – along with the Irish, Jews or
Chinese. Poles left their homeland driven
by poverty, foreign rule and political oppression.
Often, this has worked to the
benefit of the motherland. In the 1980s,
Poles established in the West contributed
greatly to the success of the Solidarity
movement by providing financial and political
support. For example, Jan Nowak-
Jezioranski, a hero of the World War II
government in exile of Poland, was instrumental
– as a security adviser to President
Ronald Reagan – in shaping U.S.
policy towards the Communist regime in
Warsaw and the whole Soviet bloc.
The current wave is different. For the
first time in over 200 years, Poland is free,
safe and prospering. People emigrate now
because of high expectations. Young Poles
want Western standards of living – now.
In Poland, life is still catching up with the
West after the disastrous half-century
under Communist rule. It simply cannot
provide enough opportunities for everyone.
Emigration is a positive alternative,
especially if it proves temporary.
Contemporary conditions have changed
the meaning of emigration in many respects.
Nowadays Poles living and working
in other EU countries are not as disconnected
from the reality back home as
their predecessors. E-mail keeps them in
touch with their families and friends; the
Internet delivers details about every
imaginable aspect of life in Poland.
Cheap airfares within the EU have
blurred the meaning of “emigration.”
Someone told me the other day about a
man from northwest Poland who works
in London during the week and spends
his weekends at home. Is he an emigrant
or a commuter?
Contrary to what is often assumed, it
is generally not the very brightest who
leave. But many skilled people do. After a
decade of vibrant growth, the private education
sector produces more graduates
than the job market can absorb. If many
of these people did not look for a job
abroad, they would be unemployed, burdening
the over-loaded welfare system.
Now, instead of being a burden, they
are a positive force. Each year Poles
abroad repatriate billions of euro. According
to the National Bank of Poland
the amount of private transfers to Poland
amounted to €5.5 billion last year – up
more than 40 percent above the annual
average in the five years preceding
Poland’s entry into the European Union.
And, of course, this figure for transfers
does not include sums (certainly in the
hundreds of millions of euro) coming
back to Poland in people’s pockets without
going through the banking system.
This euro inflow helps Poland maintain
its current-account balance.
More importantly, it is a sign of
hope. People are not inclined to send
money home unless they are planning to
return at some point. And when they do,
they bring back experience. Some have
only washed dishes 12 hours a day in a
London pub. But the experience of functioning
in a different society broadens
their horizons, giving them strength to
try something new on their own after
they return.
I know a 30-year-old Harvard graduate
who abandoned a promising career
at Georgetown University to start a law
firm in Poland. I know a Polish couple
who after ten years in the United States
decided this year to return to Warsaw.
The question of Polish emigration is
a question about the future of Poland. If
ten years from now the country looks
promising, emigrants will come home
with all their positive baggage of capital
and skills – just like they did afer the fall
of Communism.
For the moment, the flow is far from
reversing. There can be no certainty it
ever will. But it is too early to tell.
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