The image that migrant workers from Poland work here temporarily in agriculture and then go home again is no longer always correct. Krystyna Meijer from the support center for migrant workers said this on Sunday in the Omroep Brabant talk show KRAAK. Many Poles want to stay here and then encounter all kinds of difficulties.
More than 100,000 migrant workers work in Brabant, but we often do not know them. Krystyna Meijer from Gemert, who is half Polish and half Dutch, wants to change that.
“It’s an invisible group.”
“Many people say they don’t know any Poles, but there are tens of thousands of them living in this province,” says Krystyna. She thinks she knows how that’s possible. “It is a quite invisible group that often lives in its own bubble. Many Poles work and live with other Poles and it is difficult to break away from that anonymity.”
And that worries her: “Because it is such an anonymous group, we don’t really know how things are going within that bubble.” Domestic violence occurs regularly in the group. “In addition, migrant workers often do not know where to turn for help, for example if something goes wrong at work or if they are not feeling well,” says Krystyna.
“They work hard and are sometimes mainly concerned with survival.”
According to Krystyna, it is a misconception that many people from Eastern Europe are only here temporarily. “The news often talks about seasonal workers, but there is also a large group who have been living here for about ten years.” She talks about Adam from Gemert who started as a seasonal worker but eventually stuck around. “He, like many others, wants to be part of Dutch society and is well established.”
But it is not easy for many Poles to learn the language. Because Poland is part of the European Union, integration is not mandatory. “In addition, Poles often work very hard and are mainly trying to survive. They often do not have the time, money or energy to take language lessons in the evenings.”
To draw attention to migrant workers in Brabant, Krystyna created a photo exhibition in the library in Oss in which she introduces us to fellow Polish Brabant residents. The exhibition can be seen until February 4.