Ireland from a Polish perspective

Paddy In Poland has drawn my attention to the interesting news on Thenews.pl about one Polish emigrant who addressed the need of making the Polish language the 3rd official language of Ireland (link). The guy who’s name is Marcin Wrona said that: “We are the most numerous ethnic group, hence we should be granted more rights, like, for instance, the right to use our mother tongue in offices“.

What can I say. Only that I can not believe in such stupidity. I would like to admonish him that we - Poles - are more or less long term but temporary emigrants. In next 10 years most of us would be living in Poland or somewhere else, but probably not Ireland. In that case demanding more rights - having in fact almost the same right like Irish - is completely lack of understanding the situation. His demands are completely childish, and should be regarded in that way. I don’t expect Poblacht na hEirean to introduce Polish language as a 3rd official. The cost of that would be enormous - translating all of the official statements, all of the official signs etc. and for only temporary period of roughly 10 years? Of course many of us will stay in Ireland for longer period or forever. Those who want to stay have to speak English and to integrate into Irish society. Of course they will never be Irish, but I mean to be part of one multicultural Irish society and not to be behind of the wall of ghetto.

Most of readers of my blog - both Irish and Polish - know well that majority of Poles in Ireland is living behind the ghetto wall built of lack of knowledge of English among Poles, that gives lack of communication with the Irish, and further - indolence of many of them to learn English, since at present almost everything in Ireland is translated to Polish already. In fact - Poles in Ireland don’t have to speak English at all, because all information is available in Polish. Majority of Poles in Ireland mentally is still in Poland, they are in Ireland only 8 hours a day at work. After that they are back in Poland, in Polish shops, in their homes - where everybody speaks Polish, where they have Polish satellite TV and Polish internet. I don’t blame them, since - as I wrote before - they are going to stay not for long, and… the situation makes them lazy - it is enough to speak Polish in Ireland, so they don’t need to learn English. However this is a ghetto. There are some negative stereotypes about Polish among the Irish, there are also growing slowly negative attitude to Poles among the Irish. Sitting behind the wall of Polish ghetto, which now is strengthen by those negative stereotypes and attitude of some Irish won’t make any good. Mental ghetto with walls built of Polish language will make a big harm to Polish emigrants in Ireland sooner or later.

The attitude of that man - Marcin Wrona - is a clearly example of the attitude “when somebody is giving you a finger you want to get a whole arm”. I am very sorry for him, his lack of understanding real needs of Polish society that are education in English language and destroying the walls of Polish ghetto rather than building these walls higher and higher and making a 2nd Poland behind them.

I will never be Irish and I will always be Polish, but in Ireland I am Polish member of Irish society, a man who communicates in English, who reads Irish newspapers, who is interested in all the aspects of life in Ireland.

I am completely against the ideas of Marcin Wrona. In Ireland we should be able to speak at least English. I say NO to any attempts to rise the walls of Polish ghetto.

and I hope that I am not the only one Polish person who is against Polish ghetto (or 2nd Poland) in Ireland.

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