for all the fist pumping Poles and expat Polish sympathizers out there, consider this:
i routinely here Polish people say, "it's bull$hit that America won't let us go to america without a VISA! they let the czech rep. go, Germany, so many other countries......we have troops in the middle east fighting their stupid war! we deserve VISA rights!"
and i'd say 15% of the time, I hear,"they can't open up the borders for Poland, way too many Poles would leave. there already are millions of Poles living in America, many of them illegal."
with more and more 20 somethings speaking English in Poland, along with the job market getting more and more competitive, a move to America for many Poles just graduating college is not an irrational thought. look at what happened when Poland joined the EU.....how many educated doctors left, skilled laborers, fluent English speakers left for England, Ireland, Scotland, etc.
have any of you ever considered that the Polish government doesn't WANT the borders to open in America for Polish citizens? Poland has about 40 million people with a very high concentration of old retired communist era people sitting at home watching Polsat and collecting government checks. if so much as 1 million Poles between the ages of 18 and 35 left for America.....about 2% of the country.....it would be devastating to Poland's economy and the well being of it's citizens. The recent boom in Polish economy is due to a lot of foreign investment fueled by cheap labor and educated citizens. If the cheap educated labor takes a dive, so does Poland. Also, don't forget: industrialized countries can hire from outside the country to fill spots if need be, but who comes to Poland from the West to work for a Polish company after finishing college so they can sit in a 35sq. meter apt. and make 2000zl a month, or 700 USD. For those that do come from other countries, it's on a short term contractual basis, anywhere between 1 and 3 years, and they're getting paid the same salary they were making when they left their home country, not to mention hooked up with an apt. or house, company car, etc.. Google, Toyota, 3M, Hewlitt Packard......I have taught students from all these companies, I know what is going on.
I teach all age groups in Poland and it's interesting how different age groups tend to think quite similarly about their country. For the most part, beyond around 30 years old, they mostly say they will not leave Poland, or at least THINK they won't. BUT, the younger generations, most certainly the 15-25 year old age group....many of them routinely talk about how the only thing that holds them back from leaving Poland is family, and if they had an opportunity to work in Germany, France, England....and often times the USA, they'd do it.
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