Going Home: The Polish Migrants Who Lost Jobs and Hope in UK

For Poles, the UK has long been a destination for opportunity. But the promise of prosperity is deceptive, as higher wages in the UK are accompanied by a higher cost of living. Competition for employment is intense, with a strained UK economy and dwindling numbers of construction, janitorial and restaurant jobs, writes Amelia Gentleman for the Guardian. Young migrants from Poland increasingly turn to stealing food and sleeping in parks, and even educated migrants struggle to find positions as unskilled labor. “Trained lawyers have found themselves working as barmen, older people with communist-era educations – and poor English – have found it difficult to adjust,” she writes. The Polish charity Barka assists disillusioned jobseekers with a one-way ticket back home, where the pattern of migration continues, as educated Ukrainians or Russians take jobs as waiters or domestic help. The Polish experience demonstrates yet again the volatility of globalization.– YaleGlobal