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Poland hopes to attract hard-working, trouble-free immigarnts - Ukrainian, Belarusians and Vietnamese [129]
Why would I feel sorry for them?
Hm... perhaps because they want to run away to a better, safer life, just like countless Poles did (including yourself, I believe).
Polish emigrants seem to have rather short memories, so perhaps a short refresher would be in order:
- in the 1980s over
one million Poles left Poland permanently, most of them illegally - they were not political refugees, they were economic migrants. They went through Austria (visas weren't required there), Italy ("tourist" trips to see Vatican, the Pope etc.), Germany (using fake documents to obtain residency) or even Greece (crossing the Bulgarian border, where they went "on holiday");
- there was this Traiskirchen camp in Austria - with conditions for Poles not much better than the camps for immigrants today; how easy it is to forget!
- in the city parks of Rome Poles were sleeping, cooking, doing their laundry - all before the eyes of amazed Italians; how short are the memories of some!
Over
one million people - that's a scale unheard of before in Europe - left Poland in 1980s. Nobody shot them, nobody used "tear gas or skunk spray". Europe was patient, Europe was generous and understanding. Poles got help not only from foreign governments but also from various organisations and ordinary common people. Today majority of Poles think that they don't owe anything to anybody...
Now, as for the people (yes,
people) stuck on the Belarussian border:
- Lukashenka is a dictator and a hardcore son of a b*tch - he put those people there in a vain attempt to destabilise the EU, and he doesn't care two hoots if they die because of hunger, cold or lack of medical care. The question is: are we the same as Lukashenka?
- the EU forced Iraq into suppression of flights to Belarus, so the scaremongers who say that there will be "millions" flooding us if we let in the couple of thousands stuck on the border are just that - scaremongers;
- are we, as a country, strong enough to help a couple of thousand of poor, frightened people or do we prefer to play the silly little games with Lukashenka (which, by the way, is exactly what he wants)?
This "crisis" can end very quickly: let those people in, put them somewhere in more or less humane conditions, provide health care, especially for women and children - process every single case individually and then decide the right course of action. Treat them fairly (at least in the same way our people flooding Europe in 1980s were treated) and show the world that we are better than Lukashenka. Show the world that apart from guns and dicks we also have brains and hearts.
Just an idea.
