Are foreigners welcome in Poland?

How about Indians? Do they tolerate Indians? I am brown but very likeable!

I loved Poland, hence there reason I am still so very interested and why I will continue to be interested. No we had an interesting encounter with an absolutely massive bloke there who lets say appeared to be "connected".

At first he wanted to kill us just because we were sitting near his friend, then he realised we were Australian and had not been involved in any of the happening.

Invited us to come out to a club (despite us being dressed out in nothing but t-shirts and tracksuit pants :P) and even though we go way to drunk, was extremely tolerant and a fantastic host.

Every single person I met in Poland was friendly, from the person trying to show some idiot (me) where the bus out to the Salt Mines was, to the waitress that brought us pizza and tomato sauce (wtf is that about???), to the guy at the internet cafe etc etc.

I hear stories like a couple of stories in here and that is so terribly disappointing. No doubt at all and if they had happened to me the chances are that I would not have ever gone back, but I can only go on what I seen and I am dying to get the time off to go back again.

Unfortunately there are stupid people in every country who look for an excuse to be violent. Sometimes they can be your fellow countrymen and you 'looked at them the wrong way' or 'dissed them' or you can be a foreigner in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I've lived in poland for over ten years and have never personally witnessed any unprovoked form of racism.
Niether have I ever encountered the staring syndrome (but I'm english and white so I don't really look very different).
Then again I live in a smallish town (about 50 000 residents). Probably it's worse in the bigger cities. Possibly because they have to put up with tourists getting very drunk and behaving very badly and assuming an absurd sense of superiority.

A year ago I was in Kraków and I was terribly ashamed to hear almost nothing but drunken brits making an exhibition of themselves in the market square.

Of course ten years ago it was a little different, there were less foreigners here and most people automatically wanted to 'be your friend' if only to practice there english. Nowadays we are not so much of a novelty.

As an aside, I find it difficult to believe polish people don't like foreigners when one of the most popular main stream TV programs is Europa da się lubić. Polish people in general, seem to be very interested in how foreigners experience life over here.

We call it "giraffe syndrome" -people stare like if they saw a giraffe walking in the street. My husband is black and this is what he gets it towns and villages, but he didn't in -for example -Krakow (only girls stared at him, but for a different reason). I heard big cities are more racist than towns, as Poles are keeping their good behaviour if there is a chance they could meet the person again...

This giraffe syndrome keeps annoying me and I can never get used to it -as i tend to forget the skin coulour of my bman and then I see this look and I can never understand what is going on in the beginning, and then I remember again. Those people feel kind of ashamed when confronted -and I like confronting them a lot!

Many people living on the countryside have never seen a black person in real life. Most people in Krakow have.

Probably some people don't think about the dis-respectfulness, they are just curious.
But it's also obvious that many people in Poland don't like black people and Muslims.

Again, I think a major reason is that they are not used to it, even if that's not an excuse.

You got this impression from PF or your experiences (Just curious). It is reflected that way in PF but I rarely had t this impression from people I've met in Poland. People I know here mostly curious in respectful manner.

That`s normal. You dont` usually like sth which you don`t know and have never seen. The unknown makes you anxious and it is understandable reaction. Country people who have never met a black guy are simply fearful.

But I know little settlements in Poland with a black family of doctors. Their kids play with their white Polish peers and feel Polish.

as far as I'm concerned black people have very good lives in Polish villages. People have this strange approach -"he is OUR BLACK" and they will protect them like their own -as long as the foreigner WANTS TO assimilate. Staring is not disrespectful. But it sure is annoying for someone who doesn't see the difference.

I am not blind. Nor naive. I have eyes and ears and use them well. Not all Poland is the same. We're ok where I live.

Both. But these kind of people exist in all countries. If there are more of them in Poland? I don't know. But it seems to be more of them in PL than in Sweden. Probably because there are very few black ppl in PL. But there are also many Poles that are tolerant.

On the contrary, I think you are both.

if there is no tollerance for blacks it must also reflect a general problem. Which means not only they will be the victim of Polish mentality, but also all of you, foreigners, here.


My husband went to Sweden and absolutely loved it. He didn't observe any "giraffe syndrome" there -in contrary to Poland. People seem to mind their own business there. Is that so?


Is there a mod in da house?

The main reason is that people are so used to different skin colors etc. here so people don't even notice it anymore. But we have got some gang-criminality problems involving mostly people from outside Europe. Even though it's a small % of people, it affects the reputation of all non-Europeans. But in general, Swedes are very tolerant because we are used to ethnic diversity, and in most cases it works OK.


I didn't say that there is 0% tolerance for blacks.

I don't understand, are you saying that a lack of foreign tolerance is a problem and that Poland is not diverse enough?


LOL. it must have been a muslim colony in Sweden. Swedes are insanely racist, even towards Poles, let alone blacks. And God bless their sweet evil hearts =) It shows that they value their ethnic identity.


Its "the", regardless of what your husband would have you believe.

Swedish are very racist but they manage to hide it.
Again the polka with the black husband?They fool you into degeneration.

I've been present when Black people have been brought to some small villages in recent years. Like you say, they are like tourist attractions. In one village we heard people from neighbouring villages were dressing up in their sunday best and taking a walk to see if they could see any Black people.

On the same occassion we had to warn the group of young British Blacks, who came as part of an arts/social project, that they would be entering a place where few people had seen or met a Black person face-to-face. It was necessary because these lads had never been in a place where there were no other Blacks, and the constant attention from passers-by (even in the town) was irritating them. Funnily enough, I'm from Britain and grew up in a very mixed area, but even I look if I see a Black person in town, it being rather uncommon.

who told you this crap?

They don't necessarily think that all negroes are bad people (=racism), you only know that they don't like negroes coming to Poland. Maybe they also don't like Russians coming to Poland.

So you should apologize for calling so many Poles racists.


That's because the Swedish government brainwashes everyone from school age that being critical towards negroes or arabs is "racist".

I just came back from the UK, complete with a very snazzy haircut. Too tired to notice any reactions on the 175 bus from Warsaw airport as were everyone else on the bus.

Next day, having received many admiring glances at my tresses in the Midlands I went to the shop to buy bread and milk ... and got positively SCOWLED at by several women as I walked up the street. Is my hairstyle too young for their tastes? I thought. Then I thought "Is that really all you have to worry about, that someone has a different hairstyle than you'd choose?".

Meh. I get stared at when people think I *am* Polish but just not like them.

I do feel that foreigners are very much welcome in Poland. Be it from USA or Japan, Russia or India. Australia or Peru! ... you all are welcome :)

And ? get use to it!
Do you think that in an African country people are not staring seeing white person?
Why you blame others for your discomfort? If you wanted feeling of belonging and uniformity you shouldn't have married person of color.
Learn to live with the consequences of your decisions!


Not that I don't like it, I just don't understand the attraction of dark skin but some girl's(blond) are suckers for darker complexion as it is rather rare in Poland.


well, you are not lone island there other people beside you and they are entitled to an opinion.

That's just kind of what happens when something new and different comes along. If I drove a Ferrari through a village, people would stare.


I agree with you, "monkey" should be reserved exclusively for Amy Winehouse

can I have a key ?

Did I say I blamed anyone? I just said I couldn't get used to it. Like, for example, when we walked in the street one day -I was pregnant then and a guy drove buy staring from his car. I thought to myself "gee, I must be real big". It took me awhile to realise he wasn't staring at me.

I used to think that Poland was a "negative" place. I mean -people always see things from a negative point of view and complain about stuff. But being here makes me wonder -maybe all the world is like that?

Hey

Woah, heavy discussion!!!

Ok am in Poland for 3 months now and I came for a student exchange program through AIESEC. I am basically from India and I am brown skinned. Honestly I have had an amazing experience since I have been here, people are so nice and hospitable and they are always so glad to meet you.

I along with a Ukrainian friend was recently invited by my friends family in a small Polish village for christmas, not only I attended the midnight mass in the village church I also met all his extended family, his family treated us so good that I never felt out of the place or as a foreigner. Though at church people were curious about me and maybe looked at who I am but no one stared at me in a wrong way. I was there for 4 days and I had the time of my life :).

Infact I have felt people very much inclined towards Indian culture and traditions here, with so many bollywood movies and even Indian temples and restaurants, its quite interesting.

And I know atleast 5 Indo-Polish couples, which is very interesting for me.

Over all I think its a nice place and I quite like it here :). I am here for another 3 months, I hope they would be as good as these 3.

Adios

RomeO

Generally speaking - yes!
And sometimes much worse!


oh! You didn't said it but yes it was complain!
semantics aside, you don't like when people stare and you said it - this way you blame others for staring.

true
I don't like the staring -in the extend that happens here. Noticing a black person, even looking for awhile is ok... but not this kind of staring like at animal in the zoo.

Its your interpretation, I confess that I sometimes stare(hope in discreet way) but its due to curiosity then malice.

Don't go to India then, because as a white woman you will be not only stared at but more....

discreet is the key word here. Shows sensitivity even if not achieved...

LOL :|
OKK.. have u ever been to India?? Like really???

Indians are known for there hospitality.. Kudos to Polish hospitality but trust me Indian hospitality is amazing.

And I know atleast 25 Poles who visited my city in India in last one year through the student organization I am here from and they all had an amazing experience.... I know atleast 5 "girls" who have extended there internship and are staying in India longer now!!!

how ignorant can anyone be *shakes my head*

I sometimes stare at a nice female *ss or nice b**bs. And it really doesn't matter to me what kinda colour they come in. Because that is the least important thing of all.

Problems some ppl can create. Very tiring.

>^..^<

M-G (ppl should spend more energy in positive things, not in negative things, saves a lot of time)

hehe I do too