FEAR DEBT: Florist Arthur (44) is afraid that the bill for the aid will go to the citizens of Poland. Photo: Mattis Sandblad / VG
WARSAW (VG) Poland has sacrificed more than any other country to help Ukrainians. Now the support is starting to crack.
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Polish people’s support for Ukrainian war refugees is falling, a poll shows. Over 15 million Ukrainian war refugees have crossed Poland’s borders since the conflict began. Poland’s government says Ukraine should be more “grateful” for the help they receive. Support among Poles has fallen from 80 percent to 52 percent over the past year, according to the Pew Research Center. The pressure on the welfare system and the cost of assistance are growing in Poland. view more
In Warsaw, autumn is marked by a cold draft in the air. The political tone is also somewhat cooler when talking about the war-torn neighbor Ukraine.
Until now have more than 15 million Ukrainian war refugees have been met with great hospitality on their way across the Polish border.
But a year and a half after Russia’s invasion, something is changing:
Poland’s government has given notice that Ukraine should be more “grateful” for the support of the neighbours. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki caused a stir with a warning that Poland would not send more weapons.
And when the President of Poland tried to modify the Prime Minister’s statement, he himself came to compare Ukraine to a drowning person who risks taking his rescuers down with him into the depths of the sea.
NO HELP: Butcher Robert Groszyk (59) says it has become more difficult to get a doctor’s appointment in Poland after all the refugees arrived. Photo: Mattis Sandblad / VG
At the outdoor market Hala Mirowska in Warsaw, butcher Robert Groszyk (59) has gained many new customers, and colleagues, from Ukraine.
– It is not easy to have to help so many people. It has become tougher for us Poles, says the butcher to VG, while cutting up a steak.
Groszyk himself has employed Ukrainians. Skilled people, he adds. He has nevertheless experienced a challenging change in the past year and a half.
– Getting to the doctor now is much more difficult than before the Ukrainians came. Our welfare system was already overcrowded, and with the refugees here, it’s impossible to get help. I had a problem with a bad foot, and had no chance of getting a doctor’s appointment. I finally gave up, he says, showing how he limps slightly on his right leg.
“UKRAINIFICATION”: Street signs in Warsaw are no longer only in Polish. Photo: Mattis Sandblad / VG
“Disaster!”
The thermometer is soon down to zero at the outdoor market, where florist Arthur (44) stands in a T-shirt. He says he worries about Poland’s future. That it has cost too much to accommodate so many people.
– This cannot continue without someone paying for it. A debt will probably accumulate here that someone will have to pay for, he believes.
A passing lady in an autumn coat pricks up her ears and breaks in “This will be a disaster for Poland!”before she rushes on.
Strong drop in support
Last year, a survey showed Pew Research Center that around 80 percent of Poland’s citizens supported the country accepting so many Ukrainian war refugees.
When the pollsters asked the same question in September 2023, support had fallen to 52 percent.
Poland is not the only country that experiences what is referred to in foreign newspapers as a “fatiguefatigueFatigue is a feeling of total exhaustion and lack of energy. Some describe it as a feeling of weakness, or constant tiredness. (Source: NHI) ».
I USA support for sending military equipment to Ukraine has decreased, shows a recent Ipsos survey published by Reuters. Slovakia will no longer provide weapons to Ukraine, the country’s newly elected Prime Minister Robert Fico said this week. The West’s support for Ukraine is likely to decrease this coming year, the renowned journal concludes The Economist.
Shared the benefits
Of all allies, Poland has shouldered the heaviest burden when it comes to helping war-torn Ukraine.
Almost four out of five citizens were personally involved in helping Ukrainians in the first months after the war broke out, figures from Economic Institute of Poland.
When Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, Poland stood behind the Ukrainians and believed in victory. They donated tanks and artillery.
KOM: Ekaterina (43) felt well received when she moved to Poland a year ago. Photo: Mattis Sandblad / VG
The National Assembly passed a special law which gives the Ukrainian refugees the right to welfare benefits on a par with Polish citizens. They receive health care, support to buy medicine, the right to a school place, work, child benefit and financial support for a nursery place.
Ekaterina (43) came in the wake of the invasion with children and husband from Belarus a year ago. As oppositionists, they did not feel safe in the country where Putin’s ally, President Aleksandr Lukashenko, rules. Ekaterina was impressed by the “welcoming culture” she encountered.
– Everyone has welcomed us very well. My children at school, my husband at work by his colleagues. Many of us have come here because of the war, and I think people here have been very hospitable, says the mother of two to VG.
– We came second
Behind the glass counter at Hala Mirowska’s cake shop, Edyta Ślepowron-Kulaszewicz stands well dressed in a furry fur vest and fleece jacket. As a shop owner, in the last year and a half she has employed several Ukrainians – real people who work well, she says. She believes it was right to help, but that the costs are now becoming clear.
SIDE BY SIDE: Edyta Ślepowron-Kulaszewicz has employed several Ukrainians in her cake shop. Photo: Mattis Sandblad / VG
– Right from the start, it was very clear that our society was changing. With everything that concerned school and health, for example, the priorities were clear: Ukrainians first, we came second, Edyta believes.
Slogans in the election campaign
Over a million Ukrainian refugees continue to receive help from Poland’s welfare system.
It probably cannot last, believes political scientist and Poland researcher at NIBR-OsloMet, Jørn Einar Holm-Hansen.
– Spokesmen for the ruling party have therefore advocated looking at this support again. Opposition leader Donald Tusk also says it is necessary to clarify what Poland can actually afford in terms of support schemes for Ukrainian refugees. This is in line with measurements that show that Polish voters have become more and more skeptical of the generous support schemes, says Holm-Hansen to VG.
“STOP THE UKRAINIZATION” One of the leading figures in the nationalist Confederation party, Krzysztof Bosak, addresses the electorate in Katowice before the elections this autumn. Photo: Czarek Sokolowski / AP
One group that has known how to play on this is the nationalist party Confederation. During the election campaign, they attracted attention with slogans such as “Zero welfare benefits for the Ukrainians” and “Stop the Ukrainisation of Poland”.
– Now that time has passed
At Hala Mirowska in Warsaw, Irena Latek (81) has bought vegetables to pickle at home. She says it was nice to see how everyone around her wanted to contribute when the refugees arrived.
– But nobody expected so many to come, says the older woman to VG.
– EVERYONE HELPED: Irena Latek (81) thinks it was nice to know that everyone wanted to help, while at the same time she thinks it is natural that other demands are now being made on the refugees. Photo: Mattis Sandblad / VG
That a certain weariness is now spreading in Poland, she believes, is natural.
– The government said they would give them support for 18 months. Now that time has passed, and the refugees must be useful citizens like everyone else. Now there are different demands than at the start of the war, when they had just arrived, says Latek.
Gives the country political power
Although the aid has come at a cost to Poland, it may soon pay off, believes Poland expert and senior adviser in the Rafto foundation Iver Ørstavik.
Poland’s relationship with Ukraine is also important for the EU’s relationship with Ukraine, says Ørstavik.
– Poland plays an extremely important role as the main host country for Ukrainian refugees, and as the main transit country for the transport of aid to Ukraine. The Ukraine crisis therefore gives Poland great political power in the EU, he says.
At the market in Warsaw, florist Arthur tells about a tough year and a half, with war and inflation, and that after the corona pandemic.
He himself is not convinced that the refugees have been good for his home country.
– If you don’t have enough yourself, it’s hard to feel that others are getting.
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Published: 06.11.23 at 08:58
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2023-11-06 07:58:24
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