Battle refugees complain of abuse in Poland

[ad_1] <img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/94ef/live/a5566f00-2ffa-11f0-b79a-3fe8d6dd3f8f.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/94ef/live/a5566f00-2ffa-11f0-b79a-3fe8d6dd3f8f.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/94ef/live/a5566f00-2ffa-11f0-b79a-3fe8d6dd3f8f.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/94ef/live/a5566f00-2ffa-11f0-b79a-3fe8d6dd3f8f.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/94ef/live/a5566f00-2ffa-11f0-b79a-3fe8d6dd3f8f.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/94ef/live/a5566f00-2ffa-11f0-b79a-3fe8d6dd3f8f.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/94ef/live/a5566f00-2ffa-11f0-b79a-3fe8d6dd3f8f.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/94ef/live/a5566f00-2ffa-11f0-b79a-3fe8d6dd3f8f.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="EPA Three young children hold hands with their backs to the camera as a woman looks down at them and a man on the other side carries two bags" class="sc-4abb68ca-0 ldLcJe"/> EPA At the least 2.5 million Ukrainians stay in Poland - making up almost 7% of the nation's complete inhabitants

Svitlana says her daughter cherished her college in Poland.

"Even after we moved to a different space, she did not need to change colleges," says the 31-year-old Ukrainian mom. "She preferred it a lot. There was no bullying."

Now she says the environment on the college – and in Poland general – has modified.

"Two weeks in the past, she got here house and mentioned "One boy mentioned to me immediately, 'Return to Ukraine'." Svitlana was astonished.

She is one in all dozens of Ukrainians dwelling in Poland who've instructed the BBC that anti-Ukrainian sentiment has risen significantly in latest months.

Many described experiencing abuse on public transport, bullying in colleges and xenophobic materials on-line.

A polarising presidential election marketing campaign has added to the strain, with the primary spherical of voting going down on Sunday.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/6e59/live/77d13e20-2ff5-11f0-9ee6-2d3c0e7be1a5.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/6e59/live/77d13e20-2ff5-11f0-9ee6-2d3c0e7be1a5.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6e59/live/77d13e20-2ff5-11f0-9ee6-2d3c0e7be1a5.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/6e59/live/77d13e20-2ff5-11f0-9ee6-2d3c0e7be1a5.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/6e59/live/77d13e20-2ff5-11f0-9ee6-2d3c0e7be1a5.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/6e59/live/77d13e20-2ff5-11f0-9ee6-2d3c0e7be1a5.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/6e59/live/77d13e20-2ff5-11f0-9ee6-2d3c0e7be1a5.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/6e59/live/77d13e20-2ff5-11f0-9ee6-2d3c0e7be1a5.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="The back of a woman in a black leather jacket is seen with a child's hands around her back in a hug " class="sc-4abb68ca-0 ldLcJe"/> Svitlana says her daughter has been bullied at college for being Ukrainian

The day after Svitlana's daughter was instructed to return to Ukraine, the abuse turned even worse.

"Women from the category above began complaining about her talking Ukrainian. Then they pretended to fall to the bottom shouting 'Missile! Get down!' and laughing," Svitlana says. "She got here house crying."

A Russian missile had slammed into Svitlana's hometown in Ukraine days earlier than, killing scores of civilians, together with youngsters. Her daughter was traumatised.

Svitlana – not her actual title didn't need to be recognized as she fears reprisals. She confirmed us screenshots of messages with college workers the place she complains about her daughter's remedy.

She mentioned she had seen attitudes altering in direction of Ukrainians elsewhere, too: "At work, many individuals have been saying Ukrainians come right here and behave badly. And my Ukrainian pals say they need to go house as a result of Polish individuals do not settle for us. It is horrifying to stay right here now."

In keeping with authorities statistics, at the least 2.5 million Ukrainians stay in Poland, comprising nearly 7% of the overall inhabitants of Poland.

When the full-scale invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022, there was an outpouring of compassion from Poles. "It was superb. On daily basis individuals had been calling, asking, 'How can we assist?'" says activist Natalia Panchenko, head of the Warsaw-based 'Stand with Ukraine' Basis.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/d078/live/c90a3df0-2ff5-11f0-9ee6-2d3c0e7be1a5.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/d078/live/c90a3df0-2ff5-11f0-9ee6-2d3c0e7be1a5.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/d078/live/c90a3df0-2ff5-11f0-9ee6-2d3c0e7be1a5.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/d078/live/c90a3df0-2ff5-11f0-9ee6-2d3c0e7be1a5.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/d078/live/c90a3df0-2ff5-11f0-9ee6-2d3c0e7be1a5.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/d078/live/c90a3df0-2ff5-11f0-9ee6-2d3c0e7be1a5.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/d078/live/c90a3df0-2ff5-11f0-9ee6-2d3c0e7be1a5.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/d078/live/c90a3df0-2ff5-11f0-9ee6-2d3c0e7be1a5.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Natalia Panchenko, with dark hair and in a dark shirt looks directly at the camera" class="sc-4abb68ca-0 ldLcJe"/> Natalia Panchenko's organisation has seen an increase in anti-Ukrainian abuse on-line - and in actual life

"A few of them organised humanitarian convoys or introduced refugees right here. They gave their homes, meals, every part they've – and their hearts, too."

Three years later, Natalia says she believes nearly all of Poles nonetheless assist Ukraine. However some do not – and her organisation has seen an upsurge of anti-Ukrainian on-line abuse that started a number of months in the past.

"Then it began to come back to actual life," she says. "Not too long ago, we've increasingly more of those sorts of conditions… xenophobic [abuse] of individuals working in retailers or inns simply because they communicate with a Ukrainian accent."

Natalia says that many Ukrainian refugees are traumatised. "These teams of girls and kids are in Poland due to the warfare, fairly often their kinfolk are on the entrance line, in captivity or lifeless... and that is the group of individuals being focused."

Analysis means that Poland's public opinion of Ukrainians is certainly worsening. In keeping with a March 2025 ballot by the revered CBOS Centre, simply 50% of Poles are in favour of accepting Ukrainian refugees, a fall of seven share factors in 4 months. Two years in the past, the determine was 81%.

Round one million Ukrainians are formally registered as having arrived after the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Poland spends 4.2% of its GDP on Ukrainian refugees.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/26e2/live/8216adb0-2ff6-11f0-b79a-3fe8d6dd3f8f.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/26e2/live/8216adb0-2ff6-11f0-b79a-3fe8d6dd3f8f.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/26e2/live/8216adb0-2ff6-11f0-b79a-3fe8d6dd3f8f.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/26e2/live/8216adb0-2ff6-11f0-b79a-3fe8d6dd3f8f.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/26e2/live/8216adb0-2ff6-11f0-b79a-3fe8d6dd3f8f.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/26e2/live/8216adb0-2ff6-11f0-b79a-3fe8d6dd3f8f.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/26e2/live/8216adb0-2ff6-11f0-b79a-3fe8d6dd3f8f.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/26e2/live/8216adb0-2ff6-11f0-b79a-3fe8d6dd3f8f.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="EPA Rafal Trzaskowski wears a suit, stands in a bus doorway, holds up a megaphone and speaks into it" class="sc-4abb68ca-0 ldLcJe"/> EPA Presidential front-runner Rafal Trzaskowski is enjoying down his pro-Ukrainian credentials within the marketing campaign

Ukraine has change into a hot-button political situation in Poland's essential presidential election marketing campaign.

Far-right populist Slawomir Mentzen, presently polling third, is virulently anti-Ukrainian and helps an "settlement" with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

In second place is conservative Karol Nawrocki, who opposes EU and Nato membership for Ukraine and monetary help for refugees, however helps the warfare effort.

Probably the most pro-Ukraine candidate is front-runner Rafal Trzaskowski from Prime Minister Donald Tusk's coalition, though even he has promised a discount in social welfare for Ukrainians.

Trzaskowski has shunned espousing his pro-Ukrainian credentials with the intention to entice the centrist vote within the elections, says political analyst Marcin Zaborowski.

"He is responding to the change in public attitudes. The preliminary enthusiasm for supporting warfare victims is disappearing, destructive sentiments are taking up and it is not a wholly comfy situation for him."

One other far-right candidate, Grzegorz Braun, is below investigation by police for tearing down a Ukrainian flag from a metropolis corridor constructing throughout an election rally in April. Braun, who's polling at simply 3%, recurrently fulminates in opposition to what he calls the "Ukrainisation of Poland".

Final week, the Polish authorities warned of an "unprecedented try" by Russia to intervene within the Polish elections by spreading "false data amongst Polish residents on-line". Moscow denies all allegations of election interference.

Michal Marek, who runs an NGO that screens disinformation and propaganda in Poland, presents some examples of the anti-Ukraine materials being circulated on social media.

"The principle narratives are that Ukrainians are stealing cash from the Polish price range, that Ukrainians don't respect us, that they need to rob and kill us and are liable for the warfare," he says.

"This data begins in Russian-speaking Telegram channels, and, after that, we see the identical photographs and the identical textual content simply translated by Google Translate. And they're pushing [the material] into the Polish infosphere."

Mr Marek hyperlinks such disinformation immediately with the rise in anti-Ukraine sentiment in Poland, and says an growing variety of Poles have gotten influenced by propaganda.