Dayana Karvan
We are living in the time of rapid globalization, when people are travelling from one country to another for entertainment, work, leisure or in pursuit of a better life. This implies that each and every one of us meets new people that originate from different cultures, people with different traditions, mentality and backgrounds. However, owing to the fact that previously we were living in much more isolated and close-knit societies, we are still learning to cope with all differences between us. Our historical backgrounds and traditions are colliding with each other, which leads to conflicts and arguments between people. In my paper, I would like to discuss the topic of Ukrainian-Polish relations. It seems that Poles dislike Ukrainians, while Ukrainians like Poles.
Ukrainians in Poland constitute a group of people towards which Poles show moderate sympathy. Suffice it to say that dislike for Ukrainians is expressed by almost the same number of Poles as sympathy is. At the same time, the number of people who do not like Ukrainians is slightly higher. It is also important to mention that there are some issues that are constantly shaping this attitude. Among these issues are events that have taken place in recent years. They include the annexation of Crimea, which increases the sympathy; and the growing migration of Ukrainians to Poland, which brings more of a dislike. Comparing the data of sociological studies for 2013, 2014 and 2015, we may observe positive changes in attitudes towards Ukrainians. In 2013, 31% of Poles felt sympathy for Ukrainians and 33% disliked them, which means that Poles were more reluctant to deal with Ukrainians. In 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, there was a change: 34% declared sympathy for Ukrainians while 33% disliked them, which indicates that more Poles began to treat Ukrainians with greater sympathy.
In the following year, 2015, the percentage of Poles with a positive attitude grew up to 36%, while the part of Poles with a negative attitude have slightly decreased (32%). However, a dramatic change was observed in 2018, when there was a sudden deterioration in sympathy (24%) with a simultaneous increase in dislike (40%). Then the attitude of Poles towards Ukrainians was the worst in the last 10 years. It is difficult to say with certainty what was the reason for such a change. Perhaps, in the early years, Poles felt compassion towards Ukrainians because of the situation in their country, but a few years later this feeling dulled, and the Poles began to feel bad about the mass migration of Ukrainians to Poland. In 2019, the level of positive attitude improved (31%), but the level of dislike did not decrease, but even rose to 41%. This shows that the level of sympathy for Ukrainians amongst Poles has returned to the level of 2013, i.e. to the level before the annexation of Crimea. Nonetheless the level of hostility towards Ukrainians has grown significantly compared to 2013.
Ukrainians treat Poles much better than Poles treat Ukrainians. However, it should be emphasized that the attitude of Ukrainians towards Poles, which has further improved after the events in Crimea, has also deteriorated recently. Whereas in the period from September 2015 to February 2016 58% of Ukrainians had a positive attitude towards Poland, in the period from June to August 2016, sympathies decreased to 53-54%. This was followed by an increase to 58%, but since September 2017, there has been a decrease in positive attitudes towards Poles. According to the latest data for March 2018, only 48% of Ukrainians declare a positive attitude towards Poles. In any case, even with such figures, Poland is topping the list of nations to which Ukrainians show the strongest affinity.
Summing up everything mentioned above, the statistics showing how Poles treat Ukrainians and vice versa demonstrate that the attitude is always dependent on the historical background and is formed on the fly depending on various factors. Current situation in Poland and Ukraine provides the reason for majority of Ukrainians sympathizing with Poles, while also offering an explanation for a big number of Poles preferring to treat Ukrainians with reserve.
Literature
CBOS, Komunikat 12/2013, Stosunek Polaków do innych narodów, Warszawa luty 2013, https://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2013/K_012_13.PDF, [Accessed on 01 May 2021]
CBOS, Komunikat 20/2014, Stosunek Polaków do innych narodów, Warszawa luty 2014, https://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2014/K_020_14.PDF, [Accessed on 01 May 2021]
CBOS, Komunikat 14/2015, Stosunek do innych narodów, Warszawa styczeń 2015, https://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2015/K_014_15.PDF, [Accessed on 01 May 2021]
CBOS, Komunikat 37/2018, Stosunek do innych narodów, marzec 2018, https://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2018/K_037_18.PDF, [Accessed on 01 May 2021]
CBOS, Komunikat 17/2019, Stosunek do innych narodów, luty 2019, https://www.cbos.pl/SPISKOM.POL/2019/K_017_19.PDF, [Accessed on 01 May 2021]
Чому поляки та українці почали гірше ставитися один до одного? – Наш вибір — інформаційний портал для українців у Польщі, https://naszwybir.pl/chomu-polyaky-ta-ukrayintsi-pochaly-girshe-stavytysya-odyn-do-odnogo/, [Accessed on 01 May 2021]
