Struggle refugees complain of abuse in Poland

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 appreciated it a lot. There was no bullying.”

Now she says the ambiance on the college – and in Poland total – has modified.

“Two weeks in the past, she got here residence and stated “One boy stated to me at present, ‘Return to Ukraine’.” Svitlana was astonished.

She is considered one of dozens of Ukrainians residing in Poland who’ve instructed the BBC that anti-Ukrainian sentiment has risen significantly in current 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.

The day after Svitlana’s daughter was instructed to return to Ukraine, the abuse grew to become even worse.

“Ladies 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 residence 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 employees the place she complains about her daughter’s remedy.

She stated she had seen attitudes altering in direction of Ukrainians somewhere else, too: “At work, many individuals have been saying Ukrainians come right here and behave badly. And my Ukrainian buddies say they need to go residence as a result of Polish individuals do not settle for us. It is scary to reside right here now.”

In response to authorities statistics, no less than 2.5 million Ukrainians reside 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. Daily individuals had been calling, asking, ‘How can we assist?'” says activist Natalia Panchenko, head of the Warsaw-based ‘Stand with Ukraine’ Basis.

“A few of them organised humanitarian convoys or introduced refugees right here. They gave their homes, meals, every thing they’ve – and their hearts, too.”

Three years later, Natalia says she believes the vast majority of Poles nonetheless help 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 return to actual life,” she says. “Not too long ago, we have now increasingly more of those sorts of conditions… xenophobic [abuse] of individuals working in outlets or accommodations simply because they converse with a Ukrainian accent.”

Natalia says that many Ukrainian refugees are traumatised. “These teams of ladies and kids are in Poland due to the conflict, fairly often their family members are on the entrance line, in captivity or useless… and that is the group of individuals being focused.”

Analysis means that Poland’s public opinion of Ukrainians is certainly worsening. In response to 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.

Ukraine has develop into a hot-button political subject in Poland’s essential presidential election marketing campaign.

Far-right populist Slawomir Mentzen, at the moment 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 conflict 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 avoided espousing his pro-Ukrainian credentials in an effort to appeal to 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 conflict victims is disappearing, destructive sentiments are taking up and it isn’t a completely comfy subject 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%, repeatedly fulminates in opposition to what he calls the “Ukrainisation of Poland”.

Final week, the Polish authorities warned of an “unprecedented try” by Russia to intrude 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, affords 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 chargeable for the conflict,” 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 instantly with the rise in anti-Ukraine sentiment in Poland, and says an growing variety of Poles have gotten influenced by propaganda.

“However we are going to solely see the impact after the election – what share of Poles need to vote for brazenly pro-Russian candidates.”