For the last couple of months we have been facing sad news about attacks on Polish community in Northern Ireland.
The first attack took place on 20th of May in Derry - Waterside when the Polish family was attacked at their place by masked men. Another attack took place on 27th of May in Megheraflet in county Derry. Young Polish male has been brutally beaten and severely wounded (broken skull and wounded face). The attack took place late evening when he was walking from door to door trying to sell some pictures of saints.
The last one took place last week in Belfast on Castlereagh Road. Somebody put fire at the door of the house inhabited by Poles who work in Belfast. A few of them were brought to the hospital with the symptoms of suffocation and monoxide poisoning.
Despite of the fact that The Northern Ireland Police claims that some of the reported attacks and threats could be provoked by very loudly behavior that brought attention of some of the hooligans, the common rumor about attackers is the same as the some opinions of the Northern Ireland Police: the attackers are supposed to be Protestants involved in far right neonazi movements that are very popular in the North, and almost all of the Poles are Catholics and the number of Poles grows rapidly both in the Republic and in the North.
I can agree with the opinions that some of the noisy aggressive Poles can provoke attacks, and every Polish person is in charge of the opinion about whole community, and because of level of hate and pressure in the North people – especially Protestants – can be less tolerant than people in the Republic. It is clear.
But for sure, there is another aspect of this problem. Number of Polish emigrants is growing rapidly. We are the biggest minority in the Republic, and the same is in the North
I guess. Most of the Poles are Catholics, and many of them decided to stay longer than temporarily in Ireland, thus the percentage of the Catholics in the North is growing, and maybe now Protestants are outnumbered.
Maybe the pressure of the changing religious – political status quo is the answer for those attacks. In a couple of years Protestants in the North may become minority. Of course Polish minority has no direct effect on political situation, but for sure they have an effect on minds.
Some of my friends have no good memories from the protestant areas of Belfast. They were told very seriously that Catholics, especially Poles, are not welcomed there. They had no problems in Catholic districts.
It is told that loyalists are usually cut off and closed minded. I can understand aggressive reaction on aggressive behavior of foreign emigrants, and I know that could happen, as I know how we behave sometimes, but those attacks have religious and nazi background.
The loyalist’s attacks on Polish emigrants can’t lead to any good thing. It can only antagonize all communities and put formerly neutral Polish minority at the same side as republicans. At the moment we and republicans have the same threat – loyalist masked criminals
Will that “DAY” come for Poles as well? It depends as the same on us as on the Protestants in NI.
A the end, I have to admit, that I got some black-mailing emails with threats sent from the Northern Ireland.
Graffiti in Derry (after Polish National Television TVP):
From all the changes recently in Ireland, politcal and economic, north and south, loyalists have tended to be the losers. They’re generally just very angry people with a very big seige mentality.
I hope the Poles don’t take it too personally, they’ve been treating Irish in the north the same for years.
Dude!Revise your grammar (present perfect/ past simple!
Ah give him a break, English is not his first language after all.
The problem here is that loyalists are facing a United Ireland, well they are when the majority vote in the North wants the country United with the south. With the Catholic population booming in the province they feel threatened and now with our country going through such a diverse change with more nationalities coming in for work and to live they feel threatened even more. Their backs are against the wall and they have no idea on how to handle the situation.
The Polish should always be welcome anywhere in Ireland as they prove to be extremely hard workers and are always polite, unlike must drugged up Loyalists that love to feud with anyone and even those within their own community.
Note to JP….manners, simple!
ok! irish are always good too, if they are always honest and pay good for extremely hard work which we do for You - Irish!
I will never be work for You Irish, this is my opinion - Ok!, even for 25000 pounds. In Poland I earn much more and I work only 7 hours a day! I will not to be a white negro!
Above is a good example of inferiority complex and false asumption of being always exploited when we are working abroad.
BTW. This comments were posted from Amsterdam, and before that I got some flood offensive comments from the same IP.
Robert Kowalczyk aka Piotr Wieciek: I am affraid you didn’t udnerstand this post. It is actually nothing about wages and salaries. It is about the problem of loyalist agression against Poles.
Moreover, it seems that you are working in Amsterdam for Dutch instead of Irish or English, so where is the point?
Before you start to be nervous stay calm and try to read my posts twice.
As a an Irish Catholic who has seen the results of of Loyalist attacks - my aunt was machined gunned to death by them - I sympathize with the Polish community in the North. My message to them is to stand firm and stay together and if necessary seek friends in the Catholic community.
I feel that loyalists will never move on. I hope to see better times ahead for the Polish nationals here. We will stand together to end this hateful discrimination! I would urge Poles to become involved in their local catholic community where strength in numbers can be assured!
Thanx! I hope that Poles will be interested to be involved in the local communities. In the South they are not usually. In The Northern Ireland the conditions are different and Poles face acts of aggression and hate from the loyalist paramilitary groups. As I wrote above that can turn them to the Irish catholic communities.
As someone who moved from the republic to northern ireland for work 3 years ago, I can honestly say that the only peolple ive been able to relate to are the polish here.Strange or not strange?The atmosphere here is tense for any outsiders.
Northern Ireland, compared to the rest of the UK, is an extreme place and racism is much more common there. Prejudice towards the native Catholic community has been about for hundreds of years, in the street and in government. NI needs time. Only then, will things change and I pray for the better
I’m about to live in Belfast for the next three years and I’m a bit scared after what I’ve read about the attacks on Poles. My girlfriend and I are calm and peaceful people. She will probably work at the uni, I’m a computer scientist so I’m planning to work as a software developer for one of the IT companies based in NI. Are there any districts/streets you can recommend for us? Rail station near by or good bus transport to the Uni at Jordanstown is very important. Do you think it’s easy to become a victim of racist attacks even if you stay away from troubles and not wander drunk on the streets at night ? Any clues welcomed.
Well, see the date of that blog entry. There were no any serious attacks for more than 1 year. You will have to learn where you can go and where not, and remember that not all of the people in the North are Irish, and some of them actually hate everything what is Irish.
At present there is no serious threats, and I think there is no point to be afraid.
I’m not sure I understand the whole conflict correctly, I would like to read more about it. Anyway, I am American (living in the states) and religion is really a non issue, there are mosques, temples, churches, ect within blocks of eachother. Why do people have these bad mentalities in NI but not here? I know a problem is one religion controlling jobs and discriminating and such. But here we work with muslims, jews, christians, with really no problems. Regardless of race, creed or where you came from after allegaince to the Flag, we are all Americans. Ive been all over the States, the East coast, West Coast, farthest North, deepest South, I live in the heartland. Let me tell you I always feel welcomed and still at home anywhere on this soil.
I am Irish and 40 years old. My lifetime spans 20 years before and 20 after the changes in this country. Ireland was invaded and settled just as Germany invaded and tried to settle Poland. Fortunately for Poland the Germans were defeated and a denazi- fication process put into effect.
This was not the case in Ireland. No one came to help. The penal laws were put into effect to systematically destroy our culture and language, to be replaced with an English protestant identity.
This is why I don’t speak Irish and this is in English.
This supremacy became integrated into the loyalist mentality. The catholic population, however, had to become adaptive in their outlook. The electoral districts were planned by protestants to control the votes of Catholics through housing allocation and the drawing of electoral boundaries.
A protestant state for a protestant people.
The troubles in the north got a lot of international attention but that was the end of a situation and not the start. Catholics are seen as enemies of the state. If they get too numerous the state will be destroyed.
I like most of you don’t understand what is going on up there. They all seem crazy to me. Being from the south and listening to all the arguments over the years. I have given up trying to understand.
It is wrong to say that America is not the same. The Irish Catholics went to Canada and suffered the same treatment. It was only then that the USA became a major destination. And even there they were treated the same. They had to fight for their rights. Even JFK had to fight the to get the nomination for president.
I have seen many things change here. I worked with 2 Polish girls in Dublin and was so impressed. I learned some Polish and headed off to Poland. I have been there twice this year and would love to return and spend more time traveling.
Why? Because I find it interesting that Poland is changing as Ireland. I would like to explain this more but that is another topic.
The situation in the North is hard but better now for anyone of difference. How do I know this? You should have been here in the 70s and 80s. Bombing, shootings and homes being stoned. This was all that was reported on TV. To see the leaders in the north working together is mind blowing. It is like seeing the Israeli president French kissing the Iranian president.
The difference between the protestants and Catholics is simple and easy to understand if you look long enough. Protestants have defined themselves by what they are against and Catholics by who they are. Catholics could not get jobs and so had to look to higher education to get out of the ghetto while Protestants could go into the shipyard. This was good in the short term but eventually works against them.
In closing I want to say that I don’t mind anyone from the rest of Europe coming here and working. I love to meet new people from the continent. We live on this small mostly peaceful island yet I feel we need to help our fellow EU citizens. Ireland is a wonderful place despite the weather.
Give it tme.
In going to the north and looking at northern TV. it is like going back in time. They have not changed. The economy is mostly state sponsored. There will be a united Ireland and when it comes it will be know big deal.
I can only say to the Polish and others in Southern Ireland. Understand we are humans. We are not higher beings and in time all this will be the topic of discussion in your country.
Finally let me welcome all Poles to Ireland and wish you all what you deserve and that is that your dreams come closer to reality.
Your funny Gerry - you mention the forced expulsion of the Irish to Australia and USA. Well the descendants of those people have no right of return to Ireland. I tried!!! if you are a US or Aussie citizen you have no right to work in the EU. Thats fucked!
The author has mischaracterized (or more likely misunderstood) the nature of the problem in north of Ireland. Its about land and political control, not religion. Rather like they’re now doing in Iraq, the british media and government talk about sectarian strife to mask their hand in events. They in fact help sow division at every opportunity just as they have done in Ireland for centuries.
Three Poles I know in Belfast have voiced the opinion that they want British citizenship. They reference a supposed financial gain vis a vis a pension. Offspring of Poles are currently ineligible for Irish citizenship by default due to changes in constitution of republic (which was in response to ‘anchor baby’ migrants). These factors will be a major problem.
Already there is talk of a “Second Plantation” by britain, whereby the british use north of Ireland as a dumping ground for people loyal to them and their methods. That development is most unwelcome.
If you Irish don’t want Poles to work in your country who do you want? They are like you, they are catholics and have the same problem you had couple years ago when you were emigrating to USA. I’m wondering whether you’d be happy if i.e. Indians or Pakistans would emigrate to Ireland insted of Poles. In couple years Poland may become richer country than Ireland because economy in Poland is flourishing very fast nowadays.
Could you explain me why are Pakistanis and Indians worse than Poles?
they aren’t worse but they are also white and catholics so their children will be regular, proud Irish. They did a lot good for America and I believe they can do the same for Ireland either. Best wishes to Polish people!
Daniel.. so… you are suggesting that we - Poles - are better because we are white and Catholics? don’t you mean that Pakistani or Indians are worse due to the colour of their skin and religion? It sounds like that.
Moreover… Let me remind you that you are commenting the post about Northern Ireland where at least half of the population is Protestant and at the time I was writing this post it was not clear if they would be accepted by protestant community (or to be more accurate by loyalists). Actually - trying not to be biased on any side favour - I could understand reluctance of the Protestant community to the massive migration that could rise the percentage of Catholics and thus made them - Protestants - minority.
Moreover… Polish Catholicism is rather an empty bottle. Poles rather want to show how big Catholics they are, but it has nothing to do with thinking about other people and being good person. Some of us are good and some of us are bad (i could say 60% is good and 40% is bad) and the religion has nothing to do with that. In the same way most of the Poles used to treat pope JP2 as Polish icon, but most of them have never thought about what he was saying. That is Polish Catholicism.
And the last… what do you mean in a couple of years? Richer? Let me remind you that Ireland is much smaller country than Poland (how can you compare 4 million population in Ireland to 38 million in Poland?) . It is well known that it is much easier to manage the economy of a small country (see former SU republic - Estonia, or Czech Republic or Slovenia) than the big one. Unfortunately most of the Poles in the States who have been living over ther for years or decades are rather completely cut off from the possibility of seeing the reality in Poland. This lack of up to date view of their “homeland” was clearly visible in the results of the last elections in Poland. Kaczynski party won in the States and lost in Poland, UK and Ireland.
Yeah, you are good critical thinker! I like Poles, that’s why I bias towards them. Yes, I know that 80% of Chicago’s Poles voted for Law and Justice but friends of mine who are new-emigration wave hate that party and have voted for Civic Platform. I believe that party is going to improve Poland’s situation in Europe because they seem to be clever guys.
Indians out!!!!!
FROM WHAT I HAVE READ HERE I CAN SENSE A LOT OF BITTERNESS AND HATE…
EVEN THOUGH POLAND AND IRELAND ARE PART OF EU STILL IN OUR MINDS WE DIDNT GROW UP TO BE UNITED:( SAD TIMES…
IRISH LIKE TO FAIGHT SO DO POLES. IF IRISH DODNT FEIGHT AGAINST THEMSELVES THEY WILL FIND SOMEBODY ELSE. AND IT LOOKS LIKE NOW ITS POLES THEY FIGHT AGAINTS. POLES ARE VERY REBELIOUS AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR HISTORY ITS KINDA BLOODY HISTORY(LITERALLY). SO THESE TWO TOGETHER MAY NOT BRING PEACEFULL FUTURE:( INSTEAD OF LOOKING FOR DIFFERENCES LETS LOOK FOR THINGS THAT JOIN US! PEACE TO YOU ALL
“they aren’t worse but they are also white and catholics so their children will be regular, proud Irish.”
A belief that that is true is exactly why they are being attacked. The Loyalists are fearful that with settlement of Catholics the knife edge demographic balance in Northern Ireland will tip in favour of a united Ireland and they’ll be forced unwillingly into being ruled by what they consider to be a foreign and enemy government and they will have been defeated by people who have been killing them for 30 years to coerce them into giving up their national status. That’s the point. Get it?