UK, Ireland /
Is it good for Poland as Sinn Fein will win today in Northen Ireland [282]
shocked when I first lived in Warsaw
To some extent you're right. Forty-five years of the PRL destroyed most people's concern for anyone but themselves (inevitable result of enforced socialism/communism).
That's damage that takes decades to fix, not years, decades. It's started but it's slow. And the destruction was less in Poland than in some countries...
Also, Warsaw is the capital and very few capital cities are known for the caring nature of their inhabitants. Where I live there's been a big change over the years in how people relate to each other for the better. Not perfect, maybe not great but perceptibly better than it was which is what can realistically be hoped for.
Ironically, this is another reason for Poland to be very careful and restrictive of in-migration. Migration and diversity erode social trust and social capital. This doesn't mean closed borders but it does mean Poland has every reason to be very.... selective about who it lets in and when you're talking about large groups of people you don't have the luxury of looking at individuals, you have to look at national profiles.
fex...
Somalis - I can't think of a single place where they've done well, even the US has had trouble getting them beyond lower working class
Vietnamese - mostly do okay, in Poland they've historically assimilated well despite institutional indifference or hostility. there are problems of illegal activities but these are mostly kept inside the community
Sub-saharan Africans - 15 years ago they probably outperformed the Polish average (since a large majority were university students who stayed on after graduation). But without that filter.... not so necessary or needed or likely to make a good contribution.
Arabs - depends on a lot on the country, Syrians and Iraqis have traditionally done okay in Poland (again, university education was a filtering mechanism). There were a lot of Libyans at one point but they seem to have disappeared.
Latin Americans - also depends a _lot_ on the country. Hardly any in Poland, but in general Latin Americans kind of idolize Europe so they're more eager to fit in than say muslims (whose religion.... discourages close ties with infidels).
