Ukrainians in Search of their Polish Roots

The Guide to Leaving a Country

By: Sonja Agata Bian

October 16th, 2015

Due to the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014, and the ongoing conflict,
which it lead to, south of Ukraine has been under the effects of continuous violence.
It is of no surprise that people inhabiting that part of Ukraine do not feel safe and the majority
finds moving elsewhere inevitable.
While some, simply, head to other parts of their country, others find migrating to another country
a better option. Number of people considers Poland to be a good final destination.
A Solidary Ally
It seems that, ever since Poland founded its own Independent Self-governing Trade Union
Solidarity" in 1980, the word solidarity, for Polish, became a lot more than just a word.
It is then of no surprise that, apart from having the Polish Premier Ewa Kopacz offering Ukraine
a credit of 100 million euros for rebuilding Donbass and supporting the self-governed reforms
earlier this year, Poland wants to do more for the Ukrainians. One way of showing its support is
by welcoming the Ukrainians in search of a new home. In fact, Poland accepts so many
Ukrainians (even if they do not get the status of asylum seekers) that, during his last visit to
Berlin, Polish President Andrzej Duda was told by the German Christian Social Union
representative Manfred Weber, that the countrys efforts in welcoming Ukrainians should be
recognized and taken into consideration when European Union will be analyzing and declaring
the refugee- quota program.
The Accepted Ones
Premier Ewa Kopacz stated that, most likely, Poland should be accepting more than 2000
Ukrainians, that was initially planned to. Many of the Ukrainian immigrants coming to Poland
receive support, e. g. housing and financial government assistance every month. The exact
quota, however, depends also on mayors of particular cities and their relations with the cities
from which the immigrants are coming. For example, Bydgoszcz declared in April that it is soon
to accept 2 Ukrainian families of Polish descent, coming from Donbass, as the two cities have
close relations. Those families will move to apartments owned by the city, being allowed to stay
there for 3 years, and during the time, are to receive a monthly assistance.
The Limits
Despite its recognized good will, Poland faces some limitations when it comes to accepting the
Ukrainian newcomers. So far, apart from examples of good practice, there have also been over
2500 asylum seekers who have had their claims and appeals rejected. Even though many
Ukrainians move to Poland, very few of them obtain the status of an asylum seeker.
One of the biggest limitations for that are those stated in the Geneva Convention.
In accordance to the Convention, basis to claim protection in another country is: a well-founded
fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular
social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing
to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a
nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such
events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it. Convention of 1951, Article
1A (2).
While it is very likely that most of the applicants have had their rights infringed, the reason why
Polish government rejects the majority of Ukrainian asylum seekers, is based on the fact that in
larger part of the country is not a war- zone. It is only the east of Ukraine that is physically
affected by conflict. Therefore, the Polish argument for not granting more of asylum seeker
positions is that the applicants could have gone to another part of their country.

Of course, each case is an individual one and has to be approached that way. Rafa
Kostrzyski, a Warsaw UNCHR representative, stated that there was a case of a family whose
members were Jehovah's Witnesses. They lived in the east and moved to the west of Ukraine to
avoid the conflict, but there, they have been continuously bullied and told that it is their fault
that there is a conflict in the country in the first place. Afterwards, the family members obtained
status of asylum seekers in Poland, as in their case, the oppression was obvious and not
avoided by moving to another part of the country.
What To Do Then?
There are, basically, two ways in which staying in Poland can be legalized. One concerns the
forced migrants. Such people often do not have the documents required to legally enter Poland,
therefore they need to ask for asylum the very moment they find themselves at the border.
Afterwards, they need to go through various formal procedures allowing them to obtain some
form of an international protection, that is, refugee status or subsidiary protection. That form of
legalizing the stay is intended for people who have suffered or are at risk of experiencing
serious harm in their own home country. In this case, Ukraine.
The other way regards foreigners who come to Poland by choice- to work or study or move in
with their relatives. They simply enter Poland with a visa, which has a specific expiry date.
However, it can be prolonged based on persons plans and actions in Poland, or, in case the
person is of Polish descent, it is possible for her or him to obtain a permanent residence permit.
And, actually, the Ukrainians of Polish descent seem to be the most fortunate ones in this
situation, as the Polish Government, then, has the legal basis to show most of its support, by
offering housing, monthly allowances and help in search for jobs.
Either way, as sad as it might be, if it is not possible for a person to find peace in their home
country, there are ways for her or him to find it elsewhere. It is just a matter of finding the right
legal way (and enough patience) to pursue that.