The Federation of Poles in Great Britain said it is concerned about the increasing number of hate crimes against Polish immigrants in the area. A Federation spokesperson, Wiktor Moszczynski stated there is a backlash in the area due to the economic downturn. Many blame Polish immigrants for taking British jobs.
According to Moszcynski, "While the Polish workforce has proved to be highly flexible and some 300,000 appear to have left the country now as the economic situation deteriorates, a large number who still have jobs are staying, particularly if they have their families here as well."
The Federation is asking the British government to provide independent statistics on how many citizens from each of the European Union accession states are living in each district. In addition, free English language lessons for EU citizens, including lessons in the workplace are being requested. The Federation also wants the recruitment of Polish-speaking staff by local services, including police and medical, to assist communications with Polish families.
A representative for Lincolnshire Police said, "I don't see many reports of Poles being picked on. The major result of the downturn is rather that quite a lot have gone home." Between 2007 and 2008, racist crime in London had fallen from 8,911 incidents to 8,800.
12 January 2009
