Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Poles Are Taking Pakistani Jobs!

In the years since Poland joined the European Union, a significant number of Poles have migrated westward, particularly to the UK. They have a reputation for being competent and hardworking, and since they are accustomed to lower wages than those prevailing in Britain, they are often effective competitors with native Britons for available jobs.

And now we have a new twist to the situation — the earlier Asian (read “Pakistani”) immigrants and their descendants are complaining about the upstart newcomers.

According to The Yorkshire Post:

Eastern Europeans ‘targeted by angry Asians’

A clash of cultures between Asian and eastern European youths is leading to increasing tension and violence on Yorkshire’s streets, it is claimed.

Some young Britons of Asian descent are now leading a campaign of intimidation against the new economic migrants from eastern Europe, whom they claim are taking their jobs.

The situation has become so bad in cities like Bradford that a leading social think-tank has begun research into how to get the two sides working together.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has commissioned Bradford-based organisation QED to identify the causes of tensions between the two groups and improve cultural understanding and communication between them.

In the introduction to the project it states: “The newly-arrived central and eastern European migrants have settled within five of Bradford’s most deprived communities, which have high percentages of ‘settled’ ethnic minorities.

“There are problems of local cultures clashing and major misunderstandings of each other’s backgrounds and ways of living.”

Project director Mohammed Ali told the Yorkshire Post: “The European Union expansion has had an impact on the number of jobs going to those in the ethnic minority communities - it’s easy to bring in outsiders who will work for less but we run the risk of leaving people behind.

“We’re looking at the causes of tension and ways of bringing the groups together. Communication is the key to these things - we want to look at opportunities to bring people together to share each other’s cultures and backgrounds and experiences.”

I don’t know for certain — maybe some of our Yorkshire readers can give an informed opinion — but isn’t one of the “causes” of the problem the fact that Poles are actually willing to work hard?

The article goes on:
- - - - - - - - -
While most of the crime between the communities goes no further than verbal threats, car vandalism and petty fights, little gets reported to the police because of the traditional eastern European wariness of authority.

Yes, anyone who has experienced life under communism knows better than to attract the attention of the state authorities.

One Asian scholar at a Bradford mosque, who did not want to be named, said: “A lot of Polish people are coming into Bradford at the moment and unfortunately we’re seeing Muslim boys breaking their windows. They’re complaining that the Polish people are coming in and taking their jobs.

“They’re taking out their aggression on the newer immigrants for what they’ve had to suffer themselves in the community for years.”

We had to go through this, so now it’s your turn!”

Writing on an internet forum about a recent problem of eastern Europeans selling fake gold jewellery in the city, bank worker ‘Amir’ said: “Our parents worked very hard, they had two jobs at a time, with no benefits.

“They suffered racism and other hard times - but these Polish people are causing mayhem on the streets, illegal driving, drugs, crime, harassing women.”

Harassing women! Well, that’s something that’s never been seen before in Pakistani communities.

Philip Davies, the Conservative MP for Shipley, said: “We’ve been accused of being racist in the past but this proves that the problem with immigration is not about race but about numbers.”

The light finally dawns. It’s not about race. Who would have guessed?

“We cannot cope with the numbers coming in from eastern Europe, it places huge tensions in communities, it puts pressure on housing, health services and schools, and as we’re seeing, creates all sorts of problems.”

It’s funny that it took Poles to force them to reach such sensible conclusions.

Actually, I’ll disagree with one of the above conclusions: this is about racism.

It’s about the paternalistic British authorities who never expected any better behavior from “Asians” because they weren’t white. Now that Poles — white people — cause the same problems, the agents of the State are forced to confront the consequences of their earlier racism.

It’s the “soft bigotry of low expectations”, British style.


Hat tip: Jens.

17 comments:

X said...

It's not about race... right. I remember a few people predicting this sort of reaction back when the accession countries first joined. You see, Poles aren't anglo-saxon, they're a mixture - Uralic, slavic, germanic - so consequently they're not the same "race" as "us" anglos, which would make discrimination against them into racism if you were to apply the standards equally. However they're also white, so that makes it okay to discriminate against them in the eyes of the bods in charge, and any discrimination against them by ethnic minorities is also okay since it's not "racism", it's perfectly justified resentment against the oppressor.

That's the logic they use anyway.

This has been rumbling on since the eastern accession countries joined. They're the wrong sort of immigrants. They work hard, they're christian, they're white. Baaaad. Of course there are problems - I recall a story a while back regarding a polish mother who put her children in an orphanage and then came over here to claim child benefit on their behalf. A good portion of these people are coming here for the same reason as a large number of previous immigrants; free money. We wouldn't have half the problems we have if that welfare trough was only open to British citizens... but that would be racism too, I suppose since the vast majority of non-citizens in the UK are ethnic minorities.

Henrik R Clausen said...

It *is* not about race. It's about culture. Now, 'Asians' have a reputation for being orderly, hardworking and ambitous, at least here in Denmark. The difference, of course, is that 'Asians' means something else here: Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai etc.

A shame, of course, if less effective Pakistanis are pushed out. That's the law of supply & demand: Quality workforce is in demand, non-quality isn't.

It's interesting that people from ex-communist countries are seen as more efficient and honest than immigrants of 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation. I hope they won't simply be compensated by welfare, but instead decide to increase their skills and drop taking troublesome religious rules to their workplace.

Anonymous said...

My God - the Poles are having to bear the brunt for us again
Seems that in order for us to keep our self-respect as right-guided liberals the Poles have to fight both the muslems and the whites this time
But then again - they have had to do that before..They were the only ones willing to fight in Vienna, nobody wanted to listen to them when the Battle of Arnhem was being planned and so a lot of Polish soldiers died needlessly, and now they are alone again

kepiblanc said...

"Asian youths" complain about Poles taken their jobs ??? - What jobs might that be? - Is Britain THAT different from Denmark?

And those "Easterners" selling fake gold and jewellery in the streets are undoubtedly Roma's (gypsies). What kind of jobs do they take away from our friends, the Muslims?

Cobra said...

Christian reconquista!
Maybe this is the way to do it all over Europe....

DavoGrande said...

Delicious irony on so many levels I can't decide what part is best.

Live by the group victimhood status, die by it, I always say.

Unknown said...

I dunno, I think that any American who lives in a major city that has experienced large waves of immigration (whether we're talking about Irish, Italians, Latin Americans or Asians) would shrug his shoulders at a story like this. So the Poles have become the Koreans or the Mexicans of Yorkshire.

It doesn't surprise me at all that Polish newcomers are perceived as "more efficient and honest" than British-born Pakistanis, or that the latter would perceive the former as an economic and cultural threat. It's the way of the world.

As regards Islamic extremism in the UK, how much of it is coming from British-born generations, and how much from the immigrant generation itself? In the US, an awful lot of identity politics nonsense comes not from the immigrant generation (which generally tries to assimilate and reach some accommodation with the dominant culture) but from the American-born descendants, who may feel insecure about their identity and their own ability to integrate.

Whatever the case, good luck to the Poles. They deserve a better deal than history has given them.

Gaeidhil said...

Turnabout is fair play.

Holger said...

LONG LIVE THE POLISH! I think the authorities should arrest the Pakis for race hate etc. and agression towards minorities!

thll said...

We've had Poles settle in large numbers in Yorkshire before - post WWII - and they've fitted in so well that now apart from their names one can tell no difference between them and the Tykes. So I welcome the Poles - perhaps we'll be glad of their strength and fortitude in the not too distant future.

Kafir_Kelbeh said...

Hmmm...very interesting. What goes around comes around.

But the Poles had Communism forced on them...they were a relatively free and God-fearing Catholic nation prior to their stint behind the Iron Curtain. Therefore, I consider that portion of time an anomaly rather than an illustration of their character.

I think this is why the Poles have the ability to blend in with the British so much easier than the Pakis. If the Pakis are so concerned about this, maybe they should examine why they are having difficulty assimilating, rather than targeting the Poles for their success.

But then, that would require introspection, something Muslims rarely, if ever, have.

. said...

Interestingly, those who fulminate against the European Union on this site and long for a return to "secure" borders and strong nation-states would turn away not only "Asian" immigrants from Britain, but also the Poles.

The Economist has a fascinating series of generally pro-immigration articles (because they tend to boost economies of both the nation being left and nation being entered) entitled "A Special Report on Migration" and available at http://www.economist.com/printedition/. I would recommend anyone who doesn't yet have a closed mind on this topic to read it.

Bilgeman said...

Are the Poles selling dope in Luton now?

Someone call the police!

Luton has always been the best place to buy heroin, and the Luton PD aims to keep it that way, right?

Meanwhile, the worldwide manhunt for that Islamophobic hatemonger intensifies.

I hear the Bobbies have three shifts working the case around the clock.

Yorkshireminer said...

After world War II when the Polish Government in exile was sold out, the Poles who had fought for the British were given a choice they could either stay in Britain or go back to Poland. If they stayed they had to work in the mines. There was a sever labour shortage after the war. They were first housed in old barracks. After a few years They moved out into the local society married local girls and had families. They integrated, they were also spread fairly thinly through the mining communities so there was never a chance that they were able to for ghettos. As a youngster I had many friend who had polish names, if you couldn't pronounce the name you gave them a nick name and it usually stuck. I was talking to an old friend a couple of years ago when I went back to England. We as kids always called him Wob, and I did then, don't ask me what his real name is because I don't know and I suspect that he doesn't know either. I do not remember any time any discrimination towards the Poles perhaps it was because I grew up with them and didn't know any difference. When I started work in the mines as a youngster of 15 as an electrician, I had to work under a Polish electrician called Cheslov Nivitsky. I hope I have spelled that correctly. He treated me almost like a son. Ches was one of the nicest people I have ever met. He was in his early 60s when I worked with him and he retired a couple of years after I started work. His life story would be worth a Hollywood film. He told me that he had fought in five different armies . He had fought at Tannenberg in the Russian army against Luddendorf and Hindenberg, been captured and had fought in the German army against the Russian in the first world war on the promise that the Germans would give the Poles there own state after the war. Had fought in the Polish army after the first world war in I thing a war against Lithuania. He join the French foreign legion because of friendships he had made with the French who were fighting on the side of the Poles. I am certain Kepi would knows more about this than I do . There is by the way a part of assistants Churchyard in Copenhagen reserved for the French dead of that long forgotten war. He spent his time in Algeria and then went back to Poland where he got a job as an electrician electrifying the Polish railways. Shortly before the war broke out he was called back into the Polish Army and was stationed on the Russian front. Shortly after the start of the Second World War he was captured by the Russians and sent to a Gulag in Siberia, here he languished until shortly after Pearl Harbor and the Japanese attack on Singapore. The British needed troops and as they and the Americans were supplying Russia with arms a deal was struck and the Americans flew the Poles over the Himalayas to India where he joined the Polish legion of the British Army. The British wanting to be sure that they had reliable troops in India swapped these Poles with British troops in North Africa. Ches told me that he had fought at Mont Casino and had ended the war in Berlin. Because he was anti communist he chose to stay in Britain. Send me a few more like him, they are worth there weight in gold.

kepiblanc said...

Yorkshire, nice to see you here again! - And you're quite right, the Poles have a long tradition for joining the Legion. Excellent soldiers.
And you said: There is by the way a part of assistants Churchyard in Copenhagen reserved for the French dead of that long forgotten war.
In fact, walking around in that churchyard is something special. Words can't describe it, but suddenly, passing some bushes one stands in front of a sculpture, an arm of steel, approx. 2 meters long, rising up from the ground and holding 'le drapeau tricolore' - absolutely clean and with fresh flowers around it every day, here 90 years later.

Unknown said...

Someone wrote that Poles are not the same race that Anglos, because they are a mixture of uralic, slavic and germans. WoW. Actually nobody heard about polish-uralic conections and germans were kicked out of Poland in 1945. If Polish are diffrent nations then Brits it is only because there are no black, asians or Pakis in Poland that claim to be polish. If we compare poles and brits we will have a conclusion tha Poles are ths white ones. Poland has never occupied any country and never had any colony so Poles do not have to prove that they are now good because they have to be sorry for something. Pole doesnt have a problem to shout on a black or beige people because he feel to say if someone do not work properly what its not so easy for white brits. Apart from that nearly all Poles want to go back to Poland as soon as they earn enough money, you cant say the same about Pakis.

Robo said...

Yeah,just let those Pakistanis and those Muslims all together keep on attacking Poles and just wait for a retaliation:)

In 2004 Al-quaida threatened Poland and it’s citizens with attacks on their soil if Poles,i.e.their goverment, don’t pull out from Iraq.

Well,the Polish goverment and parliment had thousands of letters and entries on internet send to them saying that if anything would happen on the Polish land to anyone,the Ambasadors of all Muslim countries and countries that have Islamic extremists within their borders (and let us not kid ourselves as everyone knows which ones these are)should be warned that none of their country's citizens will be safe on the streets and where evere they are living in Poland if anything like that takes place.
Let us also not forget that it was Poles who stopped Otoman’s hords at gates to Vienna in the XVI from taking over whole of the Europe and the second time in 1920 durring the Polish-Soviet War,when they stopped Communist scumbags taking over civilised Europe,for which they paid dearly later in 1939-1940 when Russians murdered 35000 Polish oficers with the single shot to the back of their heads(look for KATYN)which is still denied by Great new Tsar of Russia Mr.Putin but interestingly enough,all the documentation admiting the crime was passed on to the first preident of free Poland,mr.Lech Walesa by mr.Michail Gorbachev at the end of communist Russia in 1990(sic!)

What I am trying to also say as well is that Poland before the WWIIn was the much more mixed trace country than any other one in Europe and people lived peacefully next to each other and there were Muslims living there as well,Tatars and some Mongols but none of them were trying to destroy Poland existing political or religious system as they are doing over here and where ever they move to nowadays.

I’ve had enough of Poles being called racist etc when they never had any colonies or really occupied any African country or any where else for that matter and we British always say that we did this and that like abolished the slavery,well we were also the ones to start it and after that we were still occupying Ireland,South Africa,India,Australia,New Zealand,you name it.

Sorry that I may have gone a bit out of the main subject but I personally think that our government or even police should do something to protect these polish people now as they had done it for us in 1940 and for the following 5 years and afterwards our counry wanted to send them back home to communist prisons,gulags and even straight into hands of executioners.
An by the way,we(well Churchill) sold that part of Europe to Russia(Soviets) for the next 60 years.
All the best.
Rob.