Polish Thoughts on Britain and the British

That was bright!! have a little bit of respect for your fellow countrymen, of course there are those that are not worth the air that I breath but you really dont need to put people down in such a way...


Why on earth should I give my money to someone who decides to have kids...not my problem...sorry!!

While we're on about benefits you will be happy to know that our govenment has finally decided that these people in England that cant even speak English will no longer get benefits....YEAH!!!


Mr W, I dont mind the Polish being over in the UK, yes they work hard but the labour pool has been filled and still more people are coming to the UK and now the new arrivals that will work for less than the Polish...I do honestly see something happening and something not very nice...

I dont really understand why british are so much against polish, we have not been first and for sure not the last there. What about people from Pakistan, india, and other Asian and african countries and other countries from Europe... it makes my laugh

What with british muslims from Birmingham who were born there and they dont feel any britishness, I have been there and city looked like skid row

E. on building sites at the moment men are being told that their contracts are up and on the Monday, Polish contractors are coming in - for less money, this is what is causing the problem.

My friends husband lost his job a couple of weeks ago in this kind of situation...

Maybe I can put in these terms

10 Polish men working on a building site, they are all married couple of kids and a mortgage and are living comfortable working for say 15 zl an hour

Then

10 Bulgarians come along and offer their services for 7 zl an hour, they are young they dont have families with them to support, they live together so the bills are minimal and they dont have the comfortable life style...they are saving all the money that they are earning...

I am sorry that he lost a job. I am not proud that sb was hurt because of other Poles.

But........he lost his job because of other british man who decided hire polish for less money, so who is worse that polish or that british??

That's the world!! World is hard!! And trust me we know it better that any british.

So true there ... but this could be said also of many people in other areas of the UK as a whole .. many of them out of work wouldnt do what the Polish do ie work shifts in factories etc etc ... but because the Polish are hard-working, highly attentive at work (ie i have never known any that i know take a day of work for nothing) and puntuatual etc they find that somewhat downgrading and say all the b*ll*cks that they say ... like f*c*ing polish taking all our jobs ... polish get rent free fully furnished houses etc etc -- i hear it all the time ... it amounts to nothing more than plain and simple jealously at end of the day in my mind.

I have a lot of respect for them as many have degree and have skilled that could have them having better jobs than in warehouses, factories and such like ... and though they try to get into fields where they are able to use this skills ... i think they are quite happy working where they work ... they have the odd moan like the rest of the worlds population but they get the work done :)

If that happens, you better take your things and leave.

it is not only English people losing jobs due to the availability of cheaper labour from Eastern Europe. My Polish bf has been in the UK for 5 years and had built up a successful business in painting and decorating.. however since Poland joined the EU and now with the recent influx of Romanians and Bulgarians he is having a hard time finding any work since is is unwilling to work for £50 a day (or less) and there is always someone ready to work for peanuts... however, it is ulitmately the employers who will suffer since if you pay a crap wage, then you must expect to get crap work for it.

When I was a child I loved Monty Python, Hotel Zacisze (Fawlty Towers), Allo, Allo, stories and movies about Robin Hood (not a bit like our Janosik?:)or Wilhelm Tell and many more. Howeve don't forget we have a knowledge about your history, literature and culture also from our schools and because of private hobby. And we enjoy it. We Polish are ambitious nation, love to feel helpfull and needed and we are also sons of powerfull kingdom which Poland was. My friends who were travelling to UK before our great migration to England, felt much better then now. A lot of Polish LOVED travelling to legendary Albion, because they wanted to discover history, found King Arthur's sword, taste the legend, now can feel made to do it, i.e. economical situation etc. and in the heart they are suffering, because we cannot feel like the partners sometimes and then it starts stupid discussion between us like: polish (beeeeeep) contra english (beeeeep). Maybe we sometimes angry, upset and drunk but never do acts of terrorism against you, cause we don't hate you, maybe sometimes we just feel not understood and no approciated like a nation, like a people, like a workers and like the potentional friends by you.

Foxy, but Isn't there a minimal wage, which is something like 5 pounds per h, so If someone, who is cleaning closets gets 5P/h then better jobs simply have to be better paid ? And If some greedy employers pay less than minimum or employ illegaly Bulgarians or Romanians then who's fault is that ? They would find one way or another to cheat people even without Poles, Romanians or Bulgarians. Besides how many Poles is there in UK ? 600 thousand ? Even If all of them work that's what ? 2% of work force ? And unemployment rate in UK is... 5% ? So in fact there's no unemplyment at all. There's no rational reasons for the whole "Poles steal our jobs" crap and I've got a feeling that we are way too nice for you.

What will you do, throw stones at us or what?

Ill tell you sth you should be grateful for having white non problem ppl who are willing to work and do all **** jobs you dont want and pay benefits for british lazy fat asses (a few pertent of society). You should be really grateful for tha because we saved your economy.

Thanks so much Magdushya, this is fascinating showing what access to British culture you had - "fawlty towers" and "Allo Allo" (which shows our portrayal of the French) and that legends about King Arthur that resonated with you. I always imagined that British history taught abroad would look at empire, the Battle of Hastings and 20th century world wars. I really like the idea that Arthurian legends were told to you.

I understand that many Poles are coming to the UK to make some money but i think it is sad that they feel they can't explore/look for the home of Arthur's sword or visit Sherwood forest.

My experience of Poles in Britain is entirely positive and there are plenty of other people that think it has been great to meet and interact with all the new arrivals too. I live in Streatham (london) and you can notice the influence everywhere. Polish delicatessen are opening, adverts in Polish at bus-stops and Polish beer in shops. I am worried when people assume that immigrants arrive to take advantage of welfare systems, rather than people who want to make a better life for themselves and learn new things and skills. I think many British people would be upset if they felt they were not allowed to move to other countries themselves.

I think Polish immigrants are helping to subtly changing the areas around them. I want to know if people who go back to Poland will be changed by their experience in Britain and if that will then change Poland in any way?

yes, the minimum wage is £4.50 per hour, but many people work for less than that (illegally of course). Official statistics state that there are 600,000 Poles in the UK but it is more likely to be double that (according to a report in the newspaper yesterday). However, I am not complaining, since I am in love with a Pole, just merely stating that it doesnt matter what nationality you are, but that too many migrants flooding the workplace can cause problems for those that are already here. ...and thanks for noticing that Im foxy :)

A little bit wrong sapphire hun

The minimum wage in the UK (check the hm revenue and custom website for up-to-date information) are the following:
£5.35 per hour for workers aged 22 years and older
A development rate of £4.45 per hour for workers aged 18-21 inclusive
£3.30 per hour for all workers under the age of 18, who are no longer of compulsory school age.

These usually go up in October of each year!!

ok thanks.. well I was more or less right... lucky for me I guess that I dont need to know this.

you are, but that too many migrants flooding the workplace can cause problems for those that are already here. ...

Rubbish, you are spouting nationalistic claptrap. The UK has been built on migrant labour. If we sent all the non-British home, our economy would collapse overnight.

The whole point of globalization is the free movement of labour.
Yes, Sapphire you are correct about something going to happen but it will be localized riots and mainly in the North and Midlands and it will be between white working untermensch and muslim untermensch. I doubt the Poles will have any problems.

This will be not because of national lack of work, but specific regional problems.

Aye, they have :)


...and Essex :)

How can a bunch of low paid Nannies, Waiters, and Labourers save the British economy???....I take it your just jellous that were much richer than you are?

and no were not grateful either!!

Wearing national emblems on ass, feet and everything is so weird :) :) :)

Unfortunately the world is not ideal, so it's utopia and impossible to talking about healthy economy. We, Polish feel that we are only guests here, but we learn English and I suppose Polish guy prefer working hardly then make 5 or 6 children and live from your benefits. Is it true that child benefit is lower for British then for Pakistani? I'm here 2 years but still don't understand a lot and don't know you. Where are those great! (nomen-omen)British we liked? What about famous British sense of humor? Where are all gentelmen younger then 70 yrs? If somebody is opening the door for me in the shop etc I say: dziekuje. Many guys were suprised how could I know they are Polish. Because I've NEVER met English here who is doing it. Believe me, a lot of Polish felt they are going to FRIENDS, interesting, funny, a bit cold on the first sight, but incredibly intelligent.

Sorry, but a lot of us is changed in depressed, pseudoposh, eager for money and frustrated. Polish who I know enjoying UK only in pubs and shops! Why on many sites many English put under: "hobby" mainly: shopping and clubbing????

What about your famous culture? I want to talk about many things, but, o dear! sometimes I know MUCH more then you about yourselfs! Of course I've met brilliant people here, but too less.

Dear Magdushya,
The British culture is alive and well! In music,literature etc we still (along with America) lead the world.The problem for many Polish people is that they work in lower paid jobs and so the British people they meet tend to be the more stupid ones.Also,many Polish people need to live in the cheaper areas and the British people who live in these cheaper,poorer areas are not usually the ones with good manners etc! Soon I will make a list of the great things about the UK.

It's fantastic idea!!! However I would love to see the list not of your famouse writers, singers which we just know, places, cathedrals, castels which we just know also etc etc . I would like to hear where I can meet openminded and openhearted people, how to understand you, how to be appreciated by you.


Hmmm, you know, it's a bit strange why I cannot find right job if I'm well educated, frequently awarded by Univerity of Education because of my achievements. Why England don't give many possibilities of deserving jobs for Polish? Do you need us only to low-paid and dirty works?

magda... its important to remember that we have many highly qualified and experienced brits who are also unable to find the sort of work they feel they should be doing... you are probably competing with these people... they have advantages over you...

To understand Britain and British people you must understand recent British history. British society has changed more than any other country in Europe.In 1979 Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister and made many changes (some good some bad) - she told people to forget about society and privatised many national government companies. Ever since that time the British economy has been strong but people have become less caring and more selfish (before that we were more similar to the Dutch).

Also in Britain we have always had a class system which other countries don't.It has nothing to do with money but is more about attitude/interests etc.This has caused problems because many laws here are made by middle class people who do not understand how their laws will affect working class people.It was the middle class people in government who felt it was good to allow in unlimited numbers of Polish workers-but working class people might feel differently.

Friendly British people? I have travelled to many countries and so can say that the southern English are not the most open and can often seem unfriendly and

cold.However,this is because they are reserved and once they know you they are sincere.Also,in Scotland,Wales and northern England (Liverpool,Manchester) people are much more friendly the 1st time.

Where to find open-minded/open hearted people? This is very tricky! It depends what your interests are.I like the good things about Britain but not the posh snobby side which is why I like those places which are traditional but not posh (so many once great places have been turned into rich yuppie areas.

If you descibe your interests I will make some suggestions.


Like BubbaWoo said many English people also have this problem.These days many interesting 'good' jobs pay £14500 per year while the 'bad' jobs pay £20000 (plus overtime)

I see the same Magd's attitude here in the US. Educated people from Poland expect to get the same high paying jobs as the american people. They think that because they have a degree from Poland all doors will be open for them. Well, you need to compete just like everybody also. The best one wins. Many end up in less paying jobs or menial jobs because of the feeling of entitlement. You are entitled to nothing, unless you can convince and prove to the employer that you are better than others.

People tend to be around people who behave and think the same. It's the comfort zone.
People who live in the suburbs tend to be different than people who live in the city. People who live in the "bad" parts of the city behave different than people who live in the expensive parts of the city etc.

When I grew up in Poland and was friends with a girl who was not up to my Mom's standards she would tell me: "kto z kim przystaje takim sie staje", which would translate to "you are as the people you hang around with". This particular girl was... well, somewhat slutty, but really fun to be around. My Mom believed that by hanging around with her, everybody will think the same about me. Wasn't she right? She was.

The point is, if you don't like the environment you are in - change it. Life is about choices, don't expect anything handed to you on the silver platter. Work at it. It really pays in a long run.

it's might also be worth a mention that education, whilst important, is not the be-all-and-end-all in the uk... experience counts for just as much, if not more... british degrees are worth less with each year of graduates hitting the employment market... bits of paper are easy to get in the uk.... employers want to see that you can back it up with substance...

I never was expecting this lol I've got a wide experience and I was studying in Padova University ALSO. Just have wanted to be useful here, change your opinion about Polish, I never expect that everybody will be licking my feet (but could be nice:))

Some of my Polish friends got a scholarship here. They were scary of education's level. Now they are grumbling that they've got the same things in high-school. They've wanted to learn something new, more difficult, not only to be the best students, because they just know all the stuff.

However Eurola I think the best environment for me could be the small house in the forest by the lake or by the sea :) and I'm fighting for it:)

Howewer here is a bit like in Poland. Employers don't want you without experience, but you cannot gain this experience without a work. Voluntary is good for someone who don't need to care about bills, food etc. because i.e. parents pay it. However sometimes employers want to PAID experience, so the circle start to close.

so whats going wrong then magda... are you seeing jobs you can apply for... is you CV up to scratch... are you getting interviews... whats the game play...?

Life is about choices, like Eurola truly said, so I'm looking for the right people who can appreciate my knowledge, enthusiasm, experience and do not care about appereance. Could be I've found them, but we will see. I want to feel happy and useful in my work, wake up every morning with the big smile on my face: "I go to work!" and I wish the same all of you :)

well magda.. i was just gonna say that if you would like some job hunting advice i am happy to point you in the right direction... :)

I will be so happy because I don't know sometimes what is the best for me and how can I serve in this country in the best way:)