The Polish Diaspora in Super-diverse Antwerp Migration motives, patterns and structure

Malgorzata Szabla Anr 876031

Master’s Thesis Communication and Information Sciences Specialization: Business Communication and Digital Media

Faculty of Humanities Tilburg University, Tilburg

Supervisor: prof. dr. J.M.E. Blommaert Second Reader: dr. J. Van Der Aa

December 2014

Abstract: The process of globalization and developments in information technology have brought about the drastic shift to the way society functions nowadays. It brought increased mobility and connectivity that revolutionized the field of migration studies. The most recent stage of migration is the stage of superdiversity, which aims to comprehend the increasingly complex nature of this phenomenon. The aim of this study is to investigate how Polish community in Antwerp functions with respect to the notion of super-diversity. It addresses several questions, mainly, who is a part of this community? What is the structure of the Polish diaspora in Antwerp and how does it relate to the place, such as Berchem? The results reveal that Polish community itself and the neighborhood in which they live are indeed superdiverse. Polish community displays high levels of fragmentations, which implies that it can no longer be seen or solely studied on the basis of its ethnicity. Furthermore, the results show that despite the drastic changes in the legal context of migration, such as visas exemptions and opening of the labor market; Polish immigrants still enter the same segment of the labor market as they did 20 years ago. This implies that the new, improved labor system still functions as an old one and Polish workers occupy the same socio-economical position as in the past.

In loving memory of my grandmother, Anna who always told me: “Miłość i Praca człowieka wzbogaca, a nauka człowieka uszlachetnia” “Love and work enriches a man, while science ennobles him”

Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................................... Table of Contents .....................................................................................................................................1 Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................................3 1. Introduction......................................................................................................................................4 1.1. Globalization ..............................................................................................................................4 1.2. Super-diversity ...........................................................................................................................5 1.3. Research Questions ....................................................................................................................6 1.3.1. Method ...............................................................................................................................6 1.3.2. Field....................................................................................................................................6 1.3.3. Data Collection..................................................................................................................7 1.3.4. Structure of the paper .........................................................................................................8 2. The history of Polish migration ......................................................................................................9 2.1. Polish Diaspora ..........................................................................................................................9 2.2. The beginnings of the migration period .....................................................................................9 2.2.1. The Partitions of Poland .....................................................................................................9 2.2.2. The Great Migration .........................................................................................................10 2.2.3. The migration during the First World War ......................................................................10 2.2.4. The migration during the Second Polish Republic...........................................................11 2.2.5. The Black Decade of Polish migration and the Second Great Migration ........................11 2.3. Polish migration after the Second World War .........................................................................11 2.3.1. Emigration during Polish People’s Republic (1945-1989) ..............................................11 2.3.2. Emigration just after the Communism .............................................................................12 2.3.3. Emigration after the European Union Membership in 2004 ............................................13 2.4. Polish migration to Belgium ....................................................................................................14 2.4.1. Labor migration agreements.............................................................................................14 2.4.2. Visa exemption.................................................................................................................14 2.4.3. General Pardon .................................................................................................................14 2.4.4. European Union Membership of Poland ..........................................................................15 2.4.5. Legislation “bottleneck professions” ...............................................................................15 2.4.6. The opening of the labor market ......................................................................................15 2.5. The migration of the Morawski Family ...................................................................................16 2.5.1. The migration history .......................................................................................................16 2.5.2. The evaluation of the story ...............................................................................................17 3. Antwerp, Berchem and Polish community ..................................................................................20 3.1. Antwerp....................................................................................................................................20

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3.1.1. General information about the province...........................................................................20 3.1.2. Antwerp’s inequalities......................................................................................................20 3.2. Super-diverse Berchem ............................................................................................................21 3.2.1. Background information about the district .......................................................................21 3.2.2. The slums of Antwerp: “Am I in the right place?” ..........................................................21 3.2.3. Problematic neighborhood?..............................................................................................22 3.2.4. Shops and facilities in Berchem: “They even have my mayonnaise!” ............................22 3.2.5. Church ..............................................................................................................................24 3.2.6. Polish facilities in Antwerp ..............................................................................................24 3.2.7. Berchem- the Center for Newcomers ...............................................................................24 3.3. Polish community in Antwerp .................................................................................................25 3.3.1. Diversification of Polish Diaspora ...................................................................................25 3.3.2. Old and New Polonia .......................................................................................................26 3.3.3. The nature of the Polish Diaspora in Antwerp .................................................................26 4. Immigrant Women in Antwerp ....................................................................................................31 4.1. The reasons for migration ........................................................................................................32 4.1.1. Difficult financial situation ..............................................................................................32 4.1.2. Reunion ............................................................................................................................35 4.1.3. Brighter future in Belgium ...............................................................................................36 4.2. Coming to Belgium- the story of the host society....................................................................40 4.2.1. The Jewish community ....................................................................................................42 4.2.2. The Belgian community ...................................................................................................46 4.2.3. The Moroccan community ...............................................................................................48 5. Discussion .......................................................................................................................................49 References ..............................................................................................................................................52

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Acknowledgements There are moments, in each individual’s life, which are so important that they require a lot of strength, commitment and determination, but also tremendous amount of support. These moments make you stronger, better and wiser, but most of all they help you realize that without the help of others, you could never be the person that you have become. Writing this thesis was one of those moments for me, it has been a long, enriching journey during which I received countless support from many different people. And if it was not for their encouragements, this thesis would not lie in front of you today. First and foremost, I want to express my deepest gratitude to Prof. Dr. Jan Blommaert who has been the greatest supervisor that I could have ever hoped for. He made me work really hard, but I have been blessed with his supervision that did not only include guidance throughout my research and writing, but also encouragement and support. In short, he helped me to get the best out of myself. I also want to thank Pika for her exceptional hospitality, encouragement and help throughout my fieldwork in Antwerp. And of course, Fred and Alex for sacrificing their room for me, when I needed a place to stay and their help in addressing Polish community in Antwerp. Additionally, I am extremely grateful to my boyfriend, Pascal who has been there for me throughout the whole process. He never stopped believing in me, and managed to live aside a stressed, constantly focused on writing girlfriend for the last half a year. I also want to thank my family and friends for their support and encouragement. Thank you for all the hours in which you listened to me talk about my thesis. Thank you for being my friends throughout all this time. Last but not least, I want to thank all the Polish people in Antwerp who invested their time and effort in making this study even possible.

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Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Globalization Nowadays world is often described by the notion of globalization. This process encompasses all the changes in socio-economical organization that occurred from the 1990s, including the developments in the field of information and communication technology (Castells, 1999), which altogether led to the emergence of the contemporary capitalistic state. The term- globalization refers to this specific historical phase (Blommaert, 2010) and therefore covers a wide range of issues and processes, which are not straightforward, hence impossible to compress into a single definition (Reich, 1998; Christopherson, Garretsen & Martin, 2008; Castells, 1999). “Like all major transformations in history, it is multidimensional: technological, economic, social, cultural, political, geopolitical” (Castells, 1999, pg 1). This is also why in order to fully understand its complexity, it would be necessary to define globalization in terms of each of these dimensions (Castells, 1999). This however would trigger a debate, which is impossible to incorporate into this paper, and therefore the scope of the globalization complexity will only be dealt with, to the extent that is necessary in order to get a general, yet clear picture concerning this process. Castells’ (1999) definition, which is focused on the economical dimension entails that “a global economy is an economy whose core activities work as a unit in real time on a planetary scale. Thus capital markets are interconnected worldwide, so that savings and investment in all countries, even if most of them are not globally invested, depend for their performance on the evolution and behaviour of global financial markets” (pg 4). The emergence of free market and globalized economy does not mean however that everyone has the same access to specific resources nor it assumes that division of power is equally distributed among people or different states. On the contrary, it creates new inequalities and broadens old ones, because not everyone has the means to take part in the globalization process. The ones who have these opportunities affect the rest of population with the decisions they make; in a way, they are imposing their view on others, who have no say in this process (Blommaert, 2010). This view is in line with the perspective of Castells (1999) who suggests that despite the world-wide effects that the global economy has on both individuals and states; it does not directly include all these parties in its process. It only connects the system to valuable assets and diminishes the connections with the weak parties. Nonetheless, the societal changes and implementation of global economy also triggered views that presuppose cultural and societal uniformity. Robertson (1995) suggests that “the form of globalization has involved considerable emphasis, at least until now, on the cultural homogenization of nationally constituted societies” (pg 35). He also states that globalization can be “defined in its most general terms, as the compression of the world as a whole” (pg 35). Similarly, Albrow (1990) points out that “globalization refers to all those processes by which the peoples of the world are incorporated into a single world society, global society” (pg 9). These views often lead to the assumption that world is becoming compressed, and its complexity reduced. There is nothing more misleading than these generalizations. Blommaert (2010) explains this discrepancy as follows: “The world has not become a village, but rather a tremendously complex web of villages, towns, neighbourhoods, settlements connected by material and symbolic ties in often unpredictable ways. That complexity needs to be examined and understood” (pg 1).

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1.2 Super-diversity In order to understand this complexity however, it is necessary to first conceptualize it. Blommaert (2013, following Vertovec 2007) discloses two primary forces that have directly affected life’s structure and its organization, namely the internet that enabled connectivity and human mobility that occurred after the fall of the Iron Curtain. . The end of the cold-war initiated some profound and irreversible changes to the structure and organization of the world’s order. As a consequence, the world has become mobile, which means that a free movement between the borders of post-communist countries and the rest of the world became possible (Blommaert, 2013). This, in turn, led to the increase in states diversity, due to large number of individuals who were willing to immigrate, both temporarily and permanently. “In general, more people from more places migrated into more and different places and for more and different reasons and motives than before; and the outcome was an escalation of ethnic, social, cultural and economic diversity in societies almost everywhere” (Blommaert, 2013, pg 5). The second primary source, specifically the internet enabled “simultaneous social interaction at a distance” (Castells et al., 2007, pg 171). The communication structure changed dramatically (Blommaert, 2013). From that time on, it was possible to communicate to anyone, from any place and at any given time (Castells et al., 2007). The advancement in the field of information and communication technology created possibilities to manage and sustain existing relationships from a distance, but also to create online communities and virtual contacts, which provide information and often reliable networks (Blommaert, 2013). Both forces, the mobility of individuals and groups of people and advancements in the field of communication added much complexity to the way in which the world is perceived and understood. It also changed the way in which it is structured, resulting in increased levels of diversity within and between the communities (Blommaert, 2013). This process is described by Blommaert (2013) as super-diversity and reflects all social, cultural and economical diversity. The notion of super-diversity was first introduced by Vertovec (2007) whose investigation of the migration in Great Britain led him to conclude that the nature of immigration process in Britain has changed to such a great extent that it can no longer be characterized as simply diverse, nor it should be studied in one-dimensional terms, with a primary focus on one single variable, such as ethnicity. He also states that the nature of migration has changed, and therefore needs to be studied in accordance with these changes. “Over the past ten years, the nature of immigration to Britain has brought with it a transformative ‘diversification of diversity’ not just in terms of bringing more ethnicities and countries of origin, but also with respect to a multiplication of significant variables that affect where, how and with whom people live”(Vertovec, 2007, pg 1025). It is therefore no longer appropriate to investigate the nature of migration, by simply looking at communities. It is necessary to look into them and take their connection with other variables into account. Vertovec (2007) distinguishes several factors that are important to include in the migration research, specifically: “Such additional variables include differential immigration statuses and their concomitant entitlements and restrictions of rights, divergent labour market experiences, discrete gender 5

and age profiles, patterns of spatial distribution, and mixed local area responses by service providers and residents. Rarely are these factors described side by side. The interplay of these factors is what is meant here, in summary fashion, by the notion of ‘super-diversity’” (pg 1025). Most recent stage of migration can therefore be referred to as super-diversity. It involves different opportunities and constrains and leads to the creation of highly diversified neighborhoods. These new emergent neighborhoods can therefore no longer be studied without taking under account the variables and issues that shape the current migration process. Drawing from previously discussed theories, it can be expected that similar patterns will be observable when investigating the Polish community residing in Antwerp. In order to address it however, it is necessary to acknowledge the limitations of existing studies, and improve the research focus from the single theorem, such as ethnicity towards more complex interrelations of various variables, as suggested by Vertovec (2007). 1.3 Research questions The aim of this research is to get an insight into the Polish migrant community residing in Antwerp and answer the following research questions: I. How does the Polish community in Antwerp function and who is a part of it? II. What is the structure of the Polish community in Antwerp and how does it relate to the place such as Berchem? 1.4 Method The migration phenomenon requires re-conceptualization and placement in the brother context, which will help to unravel the complexity behind it (Blommaert, 2013; Vertocec, 2007). This is also why in order to investigate this rather complicated, layered migrant community, an ethnographic approach has been adapted. As explained by Blommaert and Dong (2010) ethnography is the most suitable method used to unravel the complexity of a certain phenomenon. In contrast to quantitative studies that aim at “simplification and reduction of complexity” (pg 11), ethnography is able to dig underneath the surface and deal with much deeper questions (Blommaert & Dong, 2010). The pre-established focus of quantitative research approaches that often take under account only limited number of variables often leads to oversimplification of the question at stake, which, as explained by Vertovec (2007) does not transcend the essence of the super-diverse nature of migration. 1.4.1 The field The research was conducted in form of ethnography and draws upon fieldwork in Berchem, Antwerp in the period from September to November 2014. The access to the field was more difficult than first expected. Even though I also originate from Poland, I was not immediately accepted within the community. Many individuals whom I have encountered throughout my fieldwork were very suspicious and often even afraid and hesitant to engage in the conversation. After hearing about the research, they would be even more reluctant to say anything that could possibly affect them in any way or cause eventual consequences. They were not sure if my intentions were sincere and feared possible legal consequences. As I have later found out this was caused by the fragmentation of the Polish community as such and fear of losing their position 6

in Belgian society. One of the individuals has even suggested that my research might be a cover, and my intentions are to spy on Polish community in order to inform about their engagement in the informal labor market. This was a major obstacle on my way to find people willing to participate in the study, but also something that leads us to the heart of my conclusions. After several visits in Berchem, and with no volunteers to participate in the study, I came up with an idea to join one of the online-community blogs on facebook, namely Polska Antwerpia (Polish Antwerp). After a few days, I was accepted by one of the members and I decided to post the information about my study. I explained who I was, what I was doing and what the aim of my study was. This was a turning point in my fieldwork. My post received a lot of interest, visible by the number of likes and comments that were both positive and negative. Notwithstanding the resistance noted above, many individuals were very enthusiastic about the study and offered their help in the process. 1.4.2 Data collection The data collection methods, in fact triangulation of methods (e.g. Bezemer, 2003) consisted of fieldwork, non- participant/participant observation, interviews and observation (lurking) of the participant’s on-line activities through facebook and their engagement in the community forumPolska Antwerpia. Fieldwork On the first day of my fieldwork, I have started a diary where I documented all of my observations and thoughts, even the most obvious or trivial ones. This approach was adapted in order to ensure that even after familiarizing with the field, the important issues would not be overlooked in my analysis. Throughout my fieldwork I have generated substantial corpus of data, such as my own notes, pictures and recordings. I have collected flyers and free Polish newspapers that were occasionally available in the Polish shops in Berchem. Furthermore, I have also engaged in informal conversations that provided me with information about the community and facilities, such as Polish church. Non-participant/ participant observation In order to get an insight into the community, I have visited Berchem regularly during the period of three months. Polish people were very closed off in the beginning, which forced me to collect my data in form of non-participant observation. Towards the end of my study however, I have gained more trust from the community and could proceed in form of participant observation. The short span of time prevented me from becoming a community member, but I have been ‘accepted ‘and recognized in the neighborhood, which has already been a big step. It helped me to gain insight into the lives of the Polish migrants and their so called “descriptions of the life world” (Kvale, 1996, pg 5). Interviews I have conducted 16 interviews with 13 different participants (see Table 1.1) in a form of an openinterview: two face-to face interviews, one group face-to face interview, four skype interviews, one group skype interview and eight e-mail interviews. All of the participants were the volunteers who wanted to take part in the study. Each of the interviewees was asked very general and open questions to initiate the conversation, such as could you tell me something about Polish community in Antwerp or could you 7

tell me something about your migration to Belgium? The respondents could focus on the issues that were important to them and lead the conversation in a desired direction. There was therefore no preestablished set of questions that would guide the interview process and all of the interviews were held in Polish. Table 1.1 Participants No:

Name:

Age:

Sex:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Grazyna Janina Ewa Klaudia Monia Aneta Alicja Paulina Monika Sylwia Szymon Krzysztof Kamil

54 54 50 22 20 26 31 26 23 36 24 35 19

Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Female Male Male Male

The year of arrival: 1995 2004 2003 2003 2007 2008 2000 2012 2014 2002 2004 2012 2012

Years in Belgium: 19 10 11 11 7 6 14 2.5 9 months 12 10 2.5 2

Currently living in: Berchem Hobboken Willreck Willreck Edegem Hobboken Brasschaat Antwerp (centrum) Merksem Aartselaar Berchem Antwerp (centrum) Merksem

Observation of online activities (Lurking) Many researchers suggest that online and offline worlds are often interconnected, and should not be perceived as separate from one another (Varis, 2014; Sade-Beck, 2004). Incorporation of both worlds within the research frame will therefore enrich the gathered data (Varis, 2014; Sade-Beck, 2004). Following the recommendations given by Varis (2014) and Sade-Beck (2004) I have conducted online observation of Polish peoples’ activities on facebook forums and their private facebook accounts. The information gathered supported the views displayed by the participants during the interviews. Furthermore, it has also brought attention to other interesting aspects and issues, such as the role of these online environments. It is clear that they function as facilitators of many processes, including the migration. 1.5 Structure of the paper The first chapter of this paper aims at providing the context in which nowadays migration studies should be placed. It discusses the major shifts and developments that have led to some profound changes in the structure of nowadays society. Nevertheless, it also explains the methodological aspects. Consequently, the aim of the second chapter is to provide some background information about migration patterns of Poland. This chapter specifically focuses on the history of Polish migration and Polish migration to Belgium, but it also identifies the changes in the legal system that shaped the contemporary migration process. In the end of the second chapter, the migration patterns of one Polish family are discussed and explained. The third chapter provides the necessary information and insights about Antwerp, Berchem and Polish community; however it also discusses complex, and conflicting nature of the Polish diaspora. Furthermore, chapter four investigates the female migrant community, which serves as an example of larger patterns of super-diverse dispersion. Finally, chapter five provides a discussion and conclusions, and also mentions possible limitations of this research.

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Chapter 2: The history of Polish migration 2.1 Polish Diaspora. The migration phenomenon is present in most countries throughout the adages. In Poland, however, it has been markedly substantial due to the county’s difficult history (Pacyga, 2005). “By the beginning of the twenty-first century some 20 million people living in more than 90 countries claimed Polish ancestry. This number is equal to about half of the current population of Poland. These Polonia communities have existed both within and outside of Europe since the end of the eighteenth century” (Pacyga, 2005, pg 254). It implies that Polish Diaspora is one of the largest in the world (definitions.net), due to its mostly long-term and permanent migration character (Weinar, 2011). This massive and often permanent form of migration led to the creation of many, sizeable Polish communities abroad, which are often described by Polish people as Polonia (Weinar, 2011). Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Poland explains that “Polish Diaspora refers to people of Polish descent who live outside Poland”. “It is also known in modern Polish language as Polonia, which is the name for Poland in Latin and in many other Romance languages” (definitions.net). Weinar (2011) stresses the importance of the actual differences between Polonia and Polish immigrants. She states that : “Polonia is the name given to descendants of Polish emigrants or refugees. Polish emigrants are Polish citizens, who left the country. In the presently given sense Polonia are Polish emigrants, and their descendants, who create Polish organizations abroad, who reside abroad, who have a legal status (usually citizenship of the country of residence), who are aware of their origins, and who want to cultivate their Polish identity (Weinar, 2011, pg 1).” 2.2 The beginnings of the migration period For centuries now, Poland has been one of the countries with the largest number of emigrants (Weinar, 2011; Pacyga, 2005). There are many reasons for these migrations, which vary from religious and political motives to social and economical needs (Weinar, 2011; Mazurkiewicz, 2011, Pacyga, 2005). Nevertheless, in addition to the above mentioned determinants, there is also cultural migration, for which primary motive is schooling and arts, and forced emigration, such as exile and escapes (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). 2.2.1 The Partitions of Poland Polish history has laid the fundaments for the dispersion of Polish population; therefore it is necessary to go back to the roots of this phenomenon in order to fully understand its complexity. Already in the 18th century, the pre-partition state initiated the first significant wave of emigration from Polish grounds (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). Consequently, the three partitions of Poland only intensified the migrations, which, during that time, had mainly a political character (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). The country, or the people that were left of it, struggled for over hundred and twenty years from these foreign grounds to regain its sovereignty. They held on to the thought of the song of the Polish legions in Italy: “Poland is not yet perished, as long as we live (..)” (Mazurkiewicz, 2011), which later became the Polish national anthem, after the independence has been regained in 1918.

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2.2.2 The Great Migration The annexation of Poland led to the abolishment of most of the patriotic, cultural and social organizations within the country and therefore prevented most of the political activities. After Russia refused to respect the laws of the Vienna congress, the November Uprising (“Powstanie Listopadowe”) took place in 1830-31, which was however lost by the Poles. This led to another important migration period, known as the Great Emigration (“Wielka Emigracja”), during which most of the Polish elite, ministers and authorities left Poland (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). The emigrants include famous poets, such as Adam Mickiewicz, Cyprian Norwid and Juliusz Slowacki, but also a world famous pianist Fryderyk Chopin and notable chemist- Marie Curie Sklodowska. Furthermore, majority of the Polish soldiers were forced to join Russian, Prussian or Austrian armies, from which they would never return (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). The exiles and emigrants would disperse to different countries such as France, Ireland, England or Belgium, wherefrom they still planned and joined revolutions, both for their home and host countries. “An economic emigration took place as a result of both the partitions and of the capitalist and Industrial Revolutions of the nineteenth century. The twentieth century brought more economic upheaval and war, resulting in refugee emigrations across the globe” (Pacyga, 2005, pg 254). 2.2.3 The migration during the First World War The First World War has led to a politically driven migration, but it has also initiated an economically driven migration in the post-war period (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). The beginning of the First World War in 1914 is described as a traumatic emigration period, during which many Polish people were forced to join the armies of partition powers (3.2 million Poles) and perform enforced labor in these countries (1.2 million Poles), namely in Russia, Prussia and Austria. This in turn led to escapes and mass refugee movement (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). Nevertheless, the Poles from both the foreign countries and Polish lands used the conflict between the partition powers in their advantage and succeeded in establishing Polish sovereign state in 1918. Many refugees returned to Poland after this success, but it has not been a massive wave of reemigration. The difficult economical situation of Poland, the limited number of jobs and an extensive number of unemployed people did not attract Polish emigrants; on the contrary it led to an increased interest in emigration again (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). One of the very famous Polish people who emigrated during this period is an actress Pola Negri, who moved to Germany in 1917 to look for brighter career perspectives. Polish government has also been actively involved in facilitating the migration opportunities, namely by establishing migration agreements, which aimed at opening labor markets for Polish workers (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). “In 1919, the first official convention between Polish Republic and the French Republic concerning the contract workers was signed. It gave basis for legal employment and settlement of almost 700 000 Polish miners and workers (600 000 from Poland and 100 000 second-time migrants from Westphalia) between1919 – 1938. This was the first contract on such a scale in the history of Poland” (Weinar, 2011, pg 1).

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2.2.4 The migration during the Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic was an economically struggling country, which caused a massive wave of work emigration during the 1918-1939. “Almost 2.2 million Polish people emigrated, 61 % to European countries, and 39 % overseas” (Mazurkiewicz, 2011, pg 11). At first, the majority of emigrants, namely 88.3 percent, chose to migrate to non-European countries, such as the USA. However, this tendency changed after 1922, making the European countries, such as France, Belgium or Denmark the primary migration destinations for Poles during that period. By the end of 1939, half a million Polish people resided in France and around 40.000 Poles lived in Belgium (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). 2.2.5 The Black Decade of Polish Migration and the Second Great Migration The period of the Second World War is often referred to as the Black Decade of Polish migration as it led to exiles, escapes, deportations and displacements (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). The post-war period initiated the second Great migration that took place during 1945-1989, and during which many of the Polish intellectuals, elite and the government members flee the country again (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). These were however mostly very wealthy and important figures (Weinar, 2011), because Poland had been under the Russian regime after the end of the war and fleeing the country had became extremely difficult. During this time in history, Poland is seen as ‘a country without exit,’ due to securities introduced by the Polish People’s Republic (‘Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa’), such as border protection systems, limited mobility and almost unattainable visas (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). The government’s control of emigration, however, did not close the borders for everyone. Their anti-Semitic campaigns made it possible for Jewish Poles to return to Palestine, if they would give up their Polish nationality. Only 28 % of the emigrants actually moved back to Palestine, the rest settled in the West Europe and North America. The Germans have also been exempted of the nonemigration rule, and could return to Germany during that period (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). “In Polish People’s Republic (1945-1989) the emigration flows were formed by anti-minority policy and passport policy. The emigration policy of the Polish People’s Republic was twofold: on one hand emigration was banned and free movement of citizens was not allowed. On the other hand the authorities supported “silent emigration”, with purpose of getting rid of unwanted individuals. The ethnic deportation was a tool primarily meant to create a homogenous nation within the new borders after 1945” (Weinar, 2011, pg 1). It is clear that from 18th century onwards, emigration from Poland was becoming quite substantial due to the difficult political situation within the country, such as the loss of sovereignty and unsuccessful uprisings. From the 19th century onwards, economical migration was becoming more and more popular, and it soon became a major emigration motive in Polish history, namely during the years 1870-1939, with its highest peak in the years 1890-1914 (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). 2.3 Polish migration after the Second World War 2.3.1 Emigration during Polish People’s Republic (1945-1989) During the time of communist Poland, most of the immigration had an illegal character, which often implied that emigrants would never return to their home country. The Polish government was aware of the growing problem of escapes and enabled a temporary migration starting from 1960. The temporary 11

visas were granted to most of the individuals travelling within the Eastern Block; business trips to the West, however, were also becoming possible, although much more difficult. Most of these migrations can be seen as economically driven, and even after the temporary emigrations were granted, the majority of these ‘bread seeking’ emigrants chose to stay in the host countries (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). Mazurkiewicz (2011) explains that the dramatic economical situation within the country was the primary reason for Poles to temporarily migrate to another country. However, their motivation to do so has also been fed by rather extensive connections around the world, their awareness of the contrast between the life standards, attractive consumption in the west and a black market for the foreign currencies. All these factors led to the highest willingness to emigrate in history. In the 80s almost 80 % of people working in the socialized economy wanted to leave the country. 75% of Polish elite and 70 % of young adults were also willing to migrate due to the reasons mentioned above. Only during the last 10 years of the Polish People’s Republic’s existence, 5.7 million temporary migrations to capitalist countries have been registered, yet only 83.000 people have actually received the permission for legal emigration. During the years 1945-1989, 2.1-2.3 million people left Poland and only about 100.000 people have returned to their home land (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). 2.3.2 Emigration just after the Communism With the fall of communism in Poland, the year 1989 brought free mobility in comparison to limited and illegal mobility (Glorius, Grabowska-Lusinska & Kuvik, 2013), which in turn led to a decrease in permanent emigration (Weinar, 2011). This mobility enabled people to travel freely, which caused 19.3 million departures from Poland, only in the first year. This means that there were 500 trips for every 1000 inhabitants, whereas in the 1960s there were only 25 trips for every 1000 people (Mazurkiewicz, 2011). This caused working abroad to become even more appealing to Polish inhabitants and the numbers of legal migrants increased exponentially. In the year 1995, the number of work migrants has been estimated to be around 1.5- 2 million people (Weinar, 2011). “The change was brought forward by the facilitations of the cross-border movements for the Polish citizens introduced by the Western European countries in the early 1990s. Thus the increasing mobility was linked to the increasing short-term labor migration. The pattern that emerged was of temporary migrations to the secondary labor markets. At the same time, the directions of mobility changed – the short-term migration for the US dropped, while the streams to the EU countries increased, thus diversifying the destinations” (Weinar, 2011, pg 4). Glorius, Grabowska-Lusinska and Kuvik (2013) describe the years between the mid 1990s and 2004 as a transition period during which many possibilities and opportunities arose, although they were still rather limited. Poland however, was one of the very few countries (together with Romania and Bulgaria) that had already had a considerable number of emigrants in Eastern Europe, before their actual European Union membership. Bilateral agreements played a very important role in this process. “The largest bilateral agreement was implemented in Germany beginning in 1991, and Polish temporary workers were the main beneficiaries. For instance, in 2002, around 260,000 seasonal contracts were issued to Polish nationals, mainly for agricultural work, which made

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up 85 per cent of all seasonal contracts with CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) nationals in that year in Germany”(Glorius, Grabowska-Lusinska & Kuvik, 2013, pg 8). In addition, the United Kingdom and Ireland, two of the three countries (together with Switzerland) who were the first to open up their labor market to Poland after the European Union membership had also had a sizeable group of Polish migrants before the membership. Poland was one of the primary members of the United Kingdom’s work program called Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) that have operated since the year 2000. Ireland, on the other hand, has granted over 20.000 working permits to CEE in 2002 (Glorius, Grabowska-Lusinska & Kuvik, 2013). This implies that the form of work mobility present during these years, had still been limited to the bilateral agreements and country laws that enabled only a specific market for seasonal workers, but still it has created many labor opportunities. 2.3.3 Emigration after the European Union Membership in 2004

Table 2.1Start of Free Labor Migration for Polish Citizens in EU-15

The migration period after 2004 can be seen as an entirely new era of migration, both regarding the migration patterns and the characteristics of migrants (Glorius, GrabowskaLusinska & Kuvik, 2013). It tends to be described as “the Last Migration,” since these kind of changes in mobility are not expected to happen again in the future (Mazurkiewicz, 2011).

Austria: May 2011

The seasonal migration patterns can still be seen as quite influential, but the borders have also opened up to the entire new group of young migrants, such as students or fresh graduates (better educated people), with no obligations and no strict plan for the future, which in turn started changing the migration patterns. After the membership, unrestricted entry to the EU countries allowed great freedom regarding travel, and gradually also labor (see table 2.1) and life abroad (Glorius, Grabowska-Lusinska & Kuvik, 2013).

France: July 2008

“Roughly 2.21 million people from Poland were engaged in international migration or mobility during the period from May 2004 to December 2007. Poles became a dominant ethnic group in many of the receiving labor markets where they had not had such a sizable population before” (Glorious, GrabowskaLusinska & Kuvik , 2013, pg 10). As a consequence of these changes, mostly seasonal and short-term migrations were expected to change into rather long-term migration patterns (Weinar, 2011; Levrau et al., 2013). Moreover, “Poland has become one of largest exporters of labor within the enlarged European Union” (Iglicka & Ziolek-Skrzypczak, 2010).

Belgium: May 2009 Denmark: May 2009 Finland: May 2006

Germany: May 2011 Greece: May 2006 Ireland: May 2004 Italy: July 2006 Luxembourg: November 2007 Netherlands: May 2007 Portugal: May 2006 Spain: May 2006 Sweden: May 2004 United Kingdom: May 2004 Source: Migration Policy Institute, 2010

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2.4 Polish migration to Belgium Already since the 19th century, Belgium has been one of the traditional emigration countries for Polish people (Levrau et al., 2013; Kuzma, 2004). Most of the immigrants during that period migrated to Belgium for political reasons. At that time, Belgium was seen as one of the most liberal countries in Europe and that is also why it became a center for political migration. 2.4.1 Labor migration agreements After Poland has regained the independence in 1918, the main migration motive of the Poles that chose to move to Belgium changed from political to economical. The Kingdom of Belgium and the II Republic of Poland had an agreement regarding work emigration, which enabled many of the Polish people to work in the Belgian mines or in metallurgy. This agreement has been operating until the beginnings of the II WW (Kuzma, 2004). In 1989, the communism in Poland has fallen. As a new emergent democracy, Poland has lost some of its privileges, namely Polish citizens had no longer the right to ask for the status of political refugee in the Western European countries, such as Belgium (Kuzma, 2004). 2.4.2 Visa Exemption Another important change dates back to 1991. Polish people got exempted from visa requirements, and could legally travel to and stay in Belgium for a period of three months, without the right to work during their stay. In light of the law, visits were regarded as having touristic motives only. After the three months period, they were expected to return to their home country. If this rule has not been abided, the individuals immediately became perceived as illegal immigrants and would be expelled from the Schengen zone. If an individual wanted to stay in the country for a longer time, or wanted to undertake labor activities, he needed to ask for a visa in the Belgian Embassy in Warsaw. Having this document, an emigrant was expected to visit local ‘la commune’ in the first week after arriving in Belgium in order to receive the actual permit to stay or work. These two documents were the only mean to legal labor. It will therefore come as no surprise that most of the individuals were inclined to engage in illegal working sector. They would risk deportation, if caught, but deportations did not bring any serious consequences. They were financed by Belgian government and did not cause the prohibition of entry into the country. In addition, the return to Belgium was possible almost instantly after arriving in Poland (Kuzma, 2004). “Most scholars estimate that between 30,000 and 50,000 Polish workers were living in Belgium by the late 1990s. Belgium was listed seventh on a list of the most popular destinations for Poles and the highest concentrations of Polish immigrants were found in Brussels and Antwerp” (Levrau et al., 2013, pg 7). 2.4.3 General Pardon In the year 2000, Belgian government wanted to regulate the issue concerning illegal Polish workers. The aim of this action was to legalize the stay of all illegal Polish workers who could prove that they were living in Belgium for the last 5 years. The action has never become very popular, because Polish people did not trust the good intention of the Belgian government. Only 2176 Polish people were granted the permit to stay, bearing in mind that almost every person that applied has been granted the actual permit (Kuzma, 2004).

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2.4.4 European Union Membership of Poland European Union membership in 2004 has brought about many changes for Polish migrants. First of all, the emigrants that were willing to stay in Belgium for the period that was longer than three months did not need a visa anymore. Nevertheless, they were still required to register in Belgium maximum seven days after their arrival and request a permit to stay. Due to difficult financial situation of migrants and the fact that the Belgian labor market has not been opened yet, the permits were unattainable in most of the cases. The border stamps have been withdrawn, which facilitated the ease of the stay. This implies that the only people, who could be deported to Poland (this time at their own expense), were the people caught engaging in black work. The financial fines had to be covered by the employer, who would need to pay 15.000 euro fine, or spend from eight months to one year in prison. However, in reality, fines were substantially lower. They would never exceed 4000 euro per illegal immigrant. This shows that Belgian government was aware of the illegal work character of the Polish community, however this awareness was rather twofold, on one hand they tried to prevent it, and on the other they were tolerating it (Kuzma, 2004). Belgium did not immediately grant the free labor market to the EU members. They wanted to control the migration patterns and therefore implemented a 5-year transition period (Levrau, et al., 2013). This meant that many of the migrants still had no other choice than to engage in illegal working sector, especially considering the fact that labor cards were almost exclusively granted to highly skilled employers, as illustrated by Levrau et al. (2013) below: “New immigrants were only allowed to work legally if they obtained a permit (‘labor cards’). A ‘B-card’ gave them the opportunity to do one particular job for one employer for a period of 12 months, which could be extended. After four years, they could obtain an ‘A-card’, which gave them the right to work without any restrictions. Initially, labor cards were issued to only highly skilled employees, specialized technicians, researchers and those who could work in sectors that were experiencing difficulties filling vacancies. As a consequence, many Polish migrants (and others) continued to work illegally (Levrau et al., 2013, pg 7). 2.4.5 Legislation ‘bottleneck professions’ In order to tackle the problem of labor shortages and illegal labor market within the county, Belgians implemented a new legislation in 2006 that aimed at dealing with the niches in ‘bottleneck professions.’ This system granted work permits to people in more than 112 different professions, such as construction, horticulture, transport and nursing. However, this legislation has only been successful in the fields where illegal or semi-illegal work has not been possible. It did not bring much of the change in other work sectors (Levrau, et al., 2013). 2.4.6 The opening of the labor market The final, very important change for Polish emigrants took place in 2009, when Belgium opened up their labor market to Polish people. It brought several essential changes. First of all, Polish people no longer needed to obtain work permits. Secondly, Polish migrants could make use of the ‘service vouchers system’ that has been operating in Belgium since 2004. This system “allowed private individuals to hire registered domestic workers at very competitive prices,” (Levrau, et al., 2013, pg 7) but most of all, it improved working conditions, and gave Polish migrants access to holiday money and social insurances. This change has influenced the self-employed immigrants to a great extend, but it had the strongest impact on Polish women immigrants. Many Polish women became officially employed in a domestic sector, but also many of them joined their families in Belgium after these 15

work opportunities have been created. Last but not least, opening of a labor market encouraged many Polish people to register in Belgium as a rightful inhabitant of the country (Levrau, at al., 2013). 2.5 The migration of the Morawski Family The various stages of recent Polish migration, their specific challenges and features, can be illustrated by means of the migration history of one family, whom I encountered during my fieldwork in Antwerp. 2.5.1 The migration history The migration history of Morawski family starts with Ryszard (63) who moved to Antwerp almost 16 years ago, in 1998. It was during the time when legal work migration has been very difficult, because Polish people were exempted from visa requirements only for the first three months. Poles could only visit Belgium for the period of maximum three months and would have many difficulties arranging a visa and a labor permit if they wanted to stay longer. The case of Ryszard however has been different. The construction company for which he was working delegated him to Belgium. This means that all the necessary arrangements have been already done by his company before he moved to Belgium. During this time, not many Polish people had possibilities for legal work abroad; Ryszard however has been already travelling for his company before, he had their trust, so they arranged everything for him and they acquainted him with the procedures. His main motive for migration was purely economical. Even while working for the same company, he would earn much more money if he went abroad. Ryszard really liked the work, and the country. In the beginning, he was planning only a short-term migration that soon turned into a long-term one, and later became permanent. Due to massive amounts of work, Ryszard would not be returning home too often. It would never be more frequent than every three months. Ryszard moved alone, and left his family in Poland. Ryszard’s wife Lucyna (60) has struggled during this separation period that kept on being extended. After she could not take it any longer, and after the first possibility to emigrate arose, she decided to join her husband in Belgium. She moved to Belgium 6 years after her husband, in 2004 and her main migration motive was reunion with her husband. The reasons as to why she did not already migrate before are quite simple. It was very difficult to legally migrate to Belgium. After Poland joined the European Union, illegal stay became much easier, because it was difficult to check how long a person has been residing in Belgium. Nevertheless, a legal stay was still very difficult, so for the first 4 years, Lucyna was residing in the country illegally. Finding work for her was quite easy, so she began working almost immediately after moving to Belgium. She started working illegally for a Jewish catering company, where she is still working at present. The legislation of 2006 helped Ryszard to find a job in the Belgian construction company and to receive the labor and stay permit. The opening of the labor market in 2009 was a breaking point for Lucyna who was then able to legalize her stay and labor. The opportunities that the opening of the labor market brought with itself got Lucyna and Ryszard thinking. They knew their daughter Wiola (39) had a difficult financial situation in Poland, so they decided to tell her about the labor possibilities in a domestic sector. She wanted to start a new life, so she decided to move to Belgium in 2009. In the beginning, she lived in the apartment of her parents who tried to help her as much as possible. It took her a while to figure everything out, but after working as a cleaning lady for several months she has been able to find a place of her own. This is when she decided to take the rest of her family to Belgium. Her two sons, Dominik (21) and Konrad (17) moved to Belgium first, in 2010 to reunite with their mother. Her husband Wojtek (39) moved a few months later, during the same year in order to reunite, but also to look for a brighter future abroad. 16

Her sons were not too happy about the decision that their parents have made for them. They had everything in Poland. Nevertheless, they look at this experience from another perspective now: “It was the best decision that our parents have ever made for us.” They soon went to Belgian school and learned the Dutch language. They feel more at home in Belgium now. Wojtek still struggles to find a stable job and works on the project-basis in a construction sector, but Wiola is capable of providing for her family on her own. After Wiola has paved the way in Belgium, she told her sister Ela (41) about how great and easy life in Belgium is. She promised to help Ela with all the necessary arrangements if she would decide to move to Belgium. Ela did not hesitate for long and moved to Belgium to her parents in 2011, just like her sister did two years ago. She had two motives, first economical, but the second one was to reunite with her parents and a sister. She quickly found a job in the domestic sector and asked her family if they would want to move to Belgium too. Her husband Krzysiek (43) did not see any perspectives in Poland, so he decided to look for a better future abroad. He reunited with his wife in Belgium in 2012. Kamil (19) was not sure about moving to Belgium at first. He liked Belgium and has visited it before, but he was very patriotic. Nevertheless, several months before the actual migration of his father, he got brutally beaten up by a few men in Gdansk, because of his alternative way of dressing up. He could have stayed in Poland, but the incident caused him to change his mind. Kamil decided to migrate to Belgium together with his father, as he has lost his faith in Polish people. The only member of the family who stayed in Poland was Monika (23) who was already living with her boyfriend Rafal (27) and had a stable job. Monika’s father- Krzysiek started working in the construction sector on the project basis. In January 2014 he has gotten a big project, which he was unable to finish on time alone. Therefore, he asked Rafal if he would like to earn some money and help him with this project. Rafal (27) moved to Belgium in January 2014. Monika stayed in Poland all alone, and that is when she found out that she was 3 months pregnant. The first plan was that Rafal would come back to Poland after finishing the project. Nevertheless, Monika started struggling with the health care system in Poland. She had to wait a month for the first visit to gynecologist, who told her that she would need to wait another 1.5 month for the USG. That is when she made up her mind to move to Belgium and reunite with her boyfriend there. She migrated to Belgium in March 2014. A girlfriend of Kamil, Olimpia (20) who has known Kamil for the last 12 years has reunited with him in Belgium in August 2014. She lives together with Kamil and his parents and goes to school in order to learn Dutch language. The best friend of Monika, Marta (21) moved to Antwerp in July 2014. She is currently working in a horse-stable in Antwerp. They found this job through the facebook group of the riding school that Marta was a member of. Monika helped her finalize her migration. A good friend of Rafal, Karol (27) migrated to Wilrijk in December 2014. He found a job in chemical company, where he will work in the production of graphite. 2.5.2 The evaluation of the story It is clear that the migration patterns, motives and structure of this family have changed during the last 16 years. In terms of volume, more people are migrating in the recent years compared to the previous years. However, they also migrate with a greater ease, due to the changes that facilitated the migration process (see figure 2.1). 17

The first migration, the one of Ryszard can be characterized by a long separation from his family. Gradually, this phenomenon has been changing. As we can see on the structure of the next migration waves within this family, the separation period has shortened gradually. The example of Morawski family also shows that not only men were the ones migrating to Belgium alone (especially after opening the labor market in 2004), but also many women. The head of the family figure shifted in the second wave of migration from only men to men and women, since they also migrated in order to provide a better life for their families. “In a recent study on female migration in Belgium, it was found that women often perceived migration as an empowering experience: it not only strengthened their economic situations but also changed their intra-familial and gender positions for the better” (Levrau et al., 2013, pg 3). The last migration wave, that of the children, also shows that the span of helping people with getting abroad got much greater, which means that the children do not only help family members with their migration to Belgium, but they are also assisting their friends. Consequently, the migration motives became more diverse throughout the years. Mostly economical motives, forced by difficult financial situation have been substituted with a motive to look for a better and brighter future in Belgium. Furthermore, other motives such as better perspectives, education and healthcare seem to play increasingly important role. Nevertheless, there is also coherence in this example, such as the fact that recent Polish migrants still find themselves in more or less the same labor segment as their predecessors. They are not making real progress in that sense, because Polish men can still easiest find a job in constructions, whereas Polish ladies in a domestic sector. The immigration became easier, because the legal context has changed and allowed mobility; however the working sector is still in the same place where it was 20 years ago. Polish migrants still do the same work as before in exactly the same segment of the labor market. Economically they have made no progress. In addition, another common aspect is that in each of the migration waves, the permanent migration won over the temporary-one. This might be caused by the increasing amount of immigrant women residing in Belgium, who are inclined to opt for rather long term character of migration. With respect to the research conducted in the United States, Pessar (1999) explains that women residing abroad tend to invest in their household in the host country, making it a more comfortable home, but at the same time they minimize the savings necessary for their return to the home country. In other words, “immigrant women are more likely to develop personal and household strategies consistent with long-term or permanent settlement in the United States, while men pursue a more transnational strategy--in many cases with an eye to an eventual return”( Pessar & Mahler, 2001, pg 10). One can also observe continuity in the example of this family, when it comes to the informal labor market in Belgium. Polish people have been entering this informal labor market for decades, and even though there are possibilities for legal labor now, it is still very difficult to enter this working segment in the beginnings of their migration. That is also why most of the newcomers are fully or partially dependent on the possibilities from within the informal labor market. Finally, this example shows that migration processes can be seen as a snow-ball effect. This is also why most of people migrate to the countries where they already know someone. This phenomenon seems to be an inseparable part of migration patterns, which changes in its frequency and ease, but not in form.

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Figure 2.1 The migration tree of Morawski Family

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Chapter 3: Antwerp, Berchem and Polish community 3.1 Antwerp 3.1.1 General information about the province Antwerp is the second largest city in Belgium (University of Antwerp, n.d.) in the Flanders region, which municipality consists of the Antwerp city and eight other districts (see figure 1.1), namely Berchem, Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo, Borgerhout, Deurne, Ekeren, Hoboken, Merksem and Wilrijk. Figure 3.1 Map of Antwerp. Source: A-stad- Official Website of Antwerp City.

The city of Antwerp is admired for its historical buildings, its famous painter Rubens, however most of all it is known for its diamond industry, world’s second largest harbor and quite recently for its fashion manufacturers. All these factors lead to one assumption, specifically that Antwerp is a dominant, prestigious, wealthy and strong Belgian country or at least it is perceived as one. 3.1.2 Antwerp’s inequalities Blommaert (2013) explains that these economical assumptions are not entirely in line with the actual facts. Although Antwerp tends to be seen as an economical powerhouse and in some ways it is due to its superior facilities, it is not, by all means the city of only rich and flourishing people. “The average income in the districts of Antwerp is lower than the Flemish average, and much lower than that of some of Antwerp’s affluent suburbs. Unemployment is higher than the national average, and the harbor and access to other arteries of mobility have made Antwerp into a highly diverse city for centuries” (Blommaert, 2013, pg 18). This implies that Antwerp’s municipality, despite of its economical advantages, is also a home for many less fortunate, lower-educated people due to the need for and the presence of “large working class population employed in the harbor and adjacent industries, trade and commerce” (Blommaert, 2013, pg 18). Inequalities that arose between the inhabitants of Antwerp’s municipality are to a great extent the result of capitalistic globalization (Blommaert, 2010). In the last two decades the globalization 20

process has brought about many changes in our society that vary from technological developments, advanced infrastructure and transportation, to mobility that was facilitated by these modernizations. Mobility, in turn initiated the whole new era of migration that led to diversification of many immigrant neighborhoods (Blommaert, 2010). 3.2 Superdiverse Berchem 3.2.1 Background information about the district Berchem, the southern district of Antwerp’s municipality (see figure 3.1) is one of these superdiverse neighborhoods (Blommaert, 2013). It is divided in two by Antwerp’s ring and old defense walls, which are also referred to as an “Iron curtain”, separating an urban part of Oud Berchem from two upper-class districts, namely Nieuw Kwartier and Groenenhoek. Due to its infrastructure, mainly a major Belgian railway station situated in the center of Berchem and its close connection to the major highways and Antwerp’s ring road, it has always been an easily accessible district (Blommaert, 2013). Already since the beginning of 1970 the community attracted a massive corpus of immigrants. The first wave of migration however consisted of mostly Turkish origin immigrants. As a consequence of the substantial Turkish diaspora residing in Berchem at that time, it became known as a Turkish district of Antwerp (Blommaert, 2013). Nevertheless, “the Turkish immigrants were followed, from the early- to mid-1990s on, by successive waves of immigrants from all over the world (..)” (Blommaert, 2013, pg 19) turning Berchem into “one of the Antwerp districts with the highest concentration of non-European immigrants” (Blommaert, 2013, pg 19). This changed the nature of the neighborhood and added complexity to its social organization. “From a rather village-like peripheral district of Antwerp in the early 20th century, it developed into a densely populated popular neighborhood after the second world war consisting of, mainly, lower-qualified laborers (...)” (Blommaert, 2013, pg 18). 3.2.2 The slums of Antwerp: “Am I in the right place?” Picture 3.1 View of the main shopping street in Oud Berchem.

These information, however might give some readers the wrong impression of the neighborhood, so let me give you the heads up. When I was travelling to Berchem for the first time, I expected to see the slums of Antwerp- overpopulated, low-class, messy district. After arriving there, I decided to look around. First thought that came to my mind was: “Am I in the right place?” The village was beautiful, 21

clean, quiet and peaceful. People seemed very friendly and happy. It undermined my expectations, because it was not what I had in mind, yet there I was, in the middle of the most magnificent Antwerp’s ghetto, I could ever imagine (see picture 3.1). 3.2.3 Problematic neighborhood? Throughout my fieldwork, I have met many people with different nationalities who were either residing or visiting Berchem; however there was no one single moment during which I would not feel safe; neither did I observe any suspicious activities. Nevertheless, due to the high numbers of foreigners and highly diversified ethnic communities currently residing in Oud Berchem, high unemployment and low income average, it is perceived as a problematic neighborhood. In order to minimize the risks and expected crime rates, a Police station has recently opened in the core of the town-De Wittestraat (see picture 3.2). This is a very quiet police station, where not many activities can be observed. The station is open between 9-16, six days a week, but has a very small number of employers in the office. Inaccurate expectations of high crime rates within the neighborhood can be perceived as a main reason why the station was built, however they do not meet the actual status of the current crime situation in Berchem, which is a very peaceful neighborhood. Picture 3.2 The police station in Berchem. Source: Official Antwerp’s Police website.

3.2.4 Shops and facilities in Berchem: “They even have my mayonnaise!” The main shopping street in Berchem, the Driekoningenstraat-Statiestraat reflects the superdiverse character of the neighborhood (Blommaert, 2013). It is full of international stores selling culture specific products, such as food, clothes, beverages, tools or even utensils. Everything that one might need can be found there and purchased for very low prices. Due to a large amount of shops, the competition is very high. Relatively many shops are empty; however they do not stay empty for long. Entrepreneurs relocate, change and expand, constantly diversifying the neighborhood. The district is also packed with culture specific snack bars and restaurants, such as Turkish pizza, Italian pasta and Kebab. There are two Polish shops situated in the main shopping street (see picture 3.3). They are neighboring with each other, at the same time increasing the competition. Each of them sells similar products, but there are also differences when it comes to brands and variety. One of them even had in its assortment my favorite mayonnaise, which is a province specific product; often unavailable in other parts of Poland, yet purchasable in the middle of Oud Berchem. 22

Picture 3.3 Polish shops in Berchem

The presence of these shops implies that there is a demand for Polish products, what in turn suggests that the number of Polish immigrants in Berchem is expanding. Every day, many Polish construction workers visit the shops, but also many women and children, indicating varied and diversified groups of Polish people residing in the neighborhood. In addition to that, many other shops, such as Turkish or convenience stores sell specific Polish products, such as beer or strong liquor. There is also a big Polish supermarket run by a Kurd situated on the Carnotstraat in Antwerp. In one of the Turkish pizzerias, the Turkish owner approached me in Polish, even though he could not communicate with me in either English or Dutch. His Polish was clear, but not fluent. He could say several words and sentences in order to communicate with me. It shows that knowledge of the Polish language is an important resource in the village, but also that even without any foreign language competences Polish people can make themselves understandable and the same counts for other nationalities. A line of Turkish owned ‘do it yourself- HAKAN’ shops is a valuable facility in the village. They offer all the necessary materials and tools for the construction industry. Polish men are important customers within the district. Every morning before going to work they are buying their materials there. Therefore, Hakan shop has also another function; it is the information center for newcomer’s that are looking for a job in constructions. Furthermore, there are also many shops offering services that say something about the economical situation of the society, but also about its structure. Call shops offer phone and internet services. MoneyGram, with the slogan: “bringing you closer” facilitates money transfer to most distant parts of the world, without the need of possessing a bank card. There are also Wash Factories, where people can wash and dry their clothes. This means that people who arrive in Berchem do not need many products or facilities of their own, such as washing machine, internet or even a bank card, which makes it much easier for them to function in the society already from the beginning. Hair-dresser saloons are also an important asset in the village. Many of them specialize in culture specific hair styles or even a certain age group, which means that all of them have very different clients. There is also one, very prestigious Belgian saloon in which Polish assistant is hired, which suggests that there is a demand from Polish community concerning this type of services.

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3.2.5 Church Religious life seems to be a very important aspect in the neighborhood that expands very quickly. The functions of the churches are twofold. On the one hand, they are bringing people closer together, but on the other hand, they also have an economical function. Christ Apostolic Church offers prayer calls, but it also states that “they are a church that also supports the less privileged in every way.” This implies that churches often function as support centers, not only when it comes to the soul, but also in terms of finances, accommodation and other services. This might be a primary reason as to why churches are such an important component of ever-day life in Berchem. In a Belgian Saint Theresa church situated on the Grote Steenweg in Berchem, Polish misses are given by a Polish priest named Robert Kurowski. Nevertheless, there is also a Polish churchKapucijnen at Ossenmaarkt, Antwerpen run by two Polish brothers Rafał Chwedoruk and Marcin Derdziuk. Both churches offer parochial education to children and adults. Polish church life seems to be an integral part of the community residing in Berchem, as well as in Antwerpen. This might be a result of the need for unity and integrity within the Polish diaspora. Lambrecht (2007) illustrates a similar pattern with respect to Brussels and stresses the importance of Polish church life. “The most important bonding and formal institutions for Polish immigrants in Brussels in history and today are the Catholic Church, the parish, and the school. Historically, the Church has been a source of unity for the Poles. Many believe that Polishness, as a national identity, survived in the Church during the years of partition (1795-1918) and during communist rule” (Formal Institutions, associations and infrastructure section, para. 2) 3.2.6 Polish facilities in Antwerp In Brussels, next to the Polish Embassy, there is a Polish school ‘im. Generala Stanislawa Maczka’ with its headquarters at Jodenstraat 15 in Antwerp. The aim of the school is to teach Polish children the proper Polish language, history, geography and give some information about the society and politics. It is not a regular school, but a substitute to the Belgian education system. It is not obligatory and financed by the Ministry of Polish Education. Antwerp offers a wide range of other facilities, such as Polish restaurants, offices which mediate the processes of finding jobs and organizations that help with translations, social benefits, housing, Dutch language or even tax forms. In addition, social life of the Polish people also has possibilities to flourish. There are two Polish discos in Antwerp. Club Impreza at Mariastraat and Club-Bravo at Moorkensplein. Both clubs organize events and parties for the Polish community. Social media plays an important role for the Polish community. There are many websites and facebook blogs that are directed specifically towards this community, such as Polska Antwerpia, Polacy w Antwerpii etc. All these websites aim at facilitating migration processes, exchange of information and assistance. People search for housing, clothes or plumbers, but they also help each other with every day issues, such as finding a store that sells specific fabrics, nanny, hairdresser or even a companion. 3.2.7 Berchem- the center for Newcomers Housing prices in the Berchem district are very low what makes it a very interesting migration destination. Many apartments are rented second-hand, for example by Turkish or Jewish people, which 24

makes it possible for people without contracts or income to find a place to live. Its advantageous location concerning motorway, but also public transportation makes it an easily accessible place not only in terms of migration but also its easy connection to other cities in the neighborhood. Job search is facilitated by other individuals in the village, newcomers can find jobs quickly even without any language resources. Men will get their hands on a construction project in no time, while women can start working in a domestic sector. In addition, many shops in Oud- Berchem direct their sells towards newcomer immigrants, namely they offer the whole range of products for minimal prices needed for settling in, making it affordable for people who did not have a chance to earn any money yet. These services and facilities essential for newcomers are primary factors explaining why Berchem can be seen as a center for fresh migrants. Lambrecht (2007) explains that many factors play a role in this process, but he agrees that available services are the primary reasons for new migrants to settle in a neighborhood that facilitates their migration process. He summarizes that process as follows: “Especially language limitations tie newcomers to immigrant communities. Within the communities develops a network of organizations and informal social relationships which permits and encourages the members of a particular group to remain within the confines of the group. Because some of the basic institutional activities of the larger society become either completely or in part ethnically enclosed (education by parochial schools, family life and religion), a member of the ethnic group may sometimes follow a path which never takes him across the boundaries of his ethnic sub-societal network. And although these networks often provide newcomers with information, assistance and jobs, the same networks can limit immigrants’ choice” (Migration networks, social capital and social organization section, para. 2). 3.3 Polish community in Antwerp Already since the 19th century significant numbers of Polish people were migrating to Belgium (Levrau, et al., 2013). It will therefore come as no surprise that recently “Belgium was listed seventh on a list of the most popular destinations for Poles, and the highest concentrations of Polish immigrants were found in Brussels and Antwerp (Levrau, et al., 2013, pg 7). This implies that substantial number of the Polish immigrants is currently residing in Antwerp. “As a province, Antwerp had the largest number of officially registered Poles (5257) in 2008. Only the Brussels-capital region had more officially registered Poles (15,697 Poles) in Belgium (Levrau, et al., 2013, pg 5). 3.3.1 Diversification of Polish diaspora Due to long emigration history of Poles to Belgium, Polish diaspora is very diversified. Although Polish migrants do not form very easily visible and explicit societies, they have created a strong Polish community, or so called Polonia. It is clear that a primary reason for the development of Polish diaspora in Antwerp is to feel at home while being abroad. This, in very general terms explains why Polish community in Antwerp exists. It does not matter which background you are from, or which football club you follow. At the first sight, there seem not to be any distinctions, because you are a part of the community simply if you are Polish, regardless of your roots, accent or football club preferences. It is all about togetherness- ‘we are all from Poland.’ Every difference that could lead to conflicts in Poland itself does not have any impact abroad. However, there seem to be several distinctions within the community, although it is not visible at first. At the first sight, community seems to be fully integrated, 25

not only within their own people, but also with other cultures residing in the same area. After a deeper investigation, it is clear that Polish community does indeed consist of different subgroups, created by the members of the community itself. 3.3.2 Old and New Polonia First distinction refers to the duration of migration and its motives, mainly the difference between “old generation Polish ‘ethnics’ and recent Polish ‘immigrants’, or stary Polonia and nowy Polonia” (Lambrecht, 2007, Introduction section, para. 1). These two groups have entered the host country during different migration periods and have therefore encountered different issues and struggles throughout their migration. This implies that they had different experiences, which could cause conflicts between old generation ethnics and recent immigrants. “One important source of conflict between these two groups is that immigrants and ethnics have different needs. These needs are cultural as well as social, political and economic, for example, the newcomers need to learn some of the culture of the host society, while the established ethnics try to maintain an attachment to the culture of the home country, or the immigrant, at least initially, concentrates on meeting basic needs (jobs and housing), while the ethnic focuses on cultural maintenance. These findings suggest that ancestry does not always function as a basis for solidarity between immigrant and ethnic populations. We should thus not assume homogeneity within immigrant populations, but we should instead account for internal variations within groups” (Lambercht, 2007, Introduction section, para. 1). Lambrecht (2007) explains that this phenomenon is visible in the Polish diaspora in Brussel. He distinguishes several different types of communities that exist as a result of specific immigrant’s needs, such as the economic migrant community, the exile and permanent migration community and institutional migrant community. He describes them in his paper as follows: “The economic migrant community is spatially concentrated within a few neighbourhoods of the city. The function of this community is to facilitate the newcomers’ daily organization. It does this by delivering immigrant services (especially job and housing) and by providing consumer services in the immigrants’ native language. In contrast, the function of the exile and permanent migration community is to celebrate and defend cultural identity. These functions can be met by organizations that are dispersed throughout Brussels. Participation in these organizations is on a very low frequent basis. In some cases no face-to-face interaction takes place, but instead, members keep in contact with the organization through a newsletter. Economic immigrants are dependent on this service community while the others are just optional consumers. The institutional migrant community is spatially located in the upper middle class neighbourhoods close to the international institutions. The internal coherence within that community is very low, because these people feel more like European or global citizens” (Migration networks, social capital and social organization section, para. 5). 3.3.3 The nature of the Polish Diaspora in Antwerp The above described findings imply that Polish community is not homogeneous and should not be perceived as such, which also goes in line with the responses of the informants. The majority of older generation immigrants have a good opinion about the older generation Poles; however their opinion about the newcomers is not that generous. In most of the cases, the recent emigrants were slightly more positive about the new generations, and had more contact with Polish community in general. This could be caused by the fact that new migrants do not have such an extensive social network 26

abroad and would be willing to search for people of the same “kind” in order to satisfy their basic social needs. However, children of the ethnic migrants displayed the most negative view of the recent immigrants. It could be due to the fact that they took over the network of their parents and had therefore no need to create their own network, making it much easier for them to integrate within the existing Polish community. They got accepted by the ethnics immediately, because of their parents and they did not have the difficulties with attaining the necessary economical resources. Old generation perspectives: “Not everything is gold that shines” Janina’s (54) perception about the Polish community shows that Polish community is twofold. “Polish people are a complex problem. There are people who will selflessly help another, but there is also a kind that will kill for 20 euro. I do not have any contacts with Polish people anymore; however I have recently offered my help to a young Polish lady. I registered her at my apartment. After a week she took off and she does not want to sign out, see Majka Malajka and read what she is writing, you will have the evidence that will show you how Polish people really are” (Janina). The ethnics perceive their own old migration community as different from the current Polish diaspora. When Janina (54) just arrived in Belgium, she got a lot of help from other Polish people, who knew their way around. “In that time Polish people still wanted to help each other” (Janina). Alicja (31) shares similar view: “During these times [when Alicja just arrived in Belgium] Polish people were a minority group, they stuck together. They could count on each other. You can even say we were like one family. One would search for a job for another etc. Of course, Polish people were appreciated then and seen as very good, cheap workers” (Alicja). Alicja thinks that administrative changes have had some impact on the Polish community: “Since a few years, a lot has changed, namely after the abolishment of working permits. It became much easier in terms of labor. Of course, everything legal and on the same terms as the Belgians, with social benefits, health insurance etc. Throughout the time, more and more Polish nationals migrated. Old friendships started breaking down. Some Polish people returned to Poland, others started their families. That’s how good contacts started wearing off. After some time, I got the feeling that Polish people started to compete with each other instead of sticking together. It became common to plot behind somebody’s back, if people would help, then their work got ‘stolen.’ Of course, not all the Polish people are like that, luckily decent Polish citizens also exist” (Alicja). Even though the opening for the labor market brought some opportunities with itself, such as possibility of working legally, it made it very difficult for people to find an actual job. Too many people were migrating, and there was very limited number of legal jobs available. This was a main reason as to why Polish people started competing with each other. “The fact is that the more immigrants came here, the harder it got to find a job” (Alicja).

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The impact of these changes cannot be seen as only negative, as suggested by Alicja: “After Belgium has opened the labor market for us, we also became, how shall I say it, much more courageous and open when it comes to multicultural contacts. We would no longer stick to our group, but we would get into contact with Belgian people and other cultures. I think that in nowadays society, many Polish people have contacts with very diverse people” (Alicja). Janina believes that everything has changed after the opening of the labor market in 2009. Now, when a Polish person is working for a good company, they want to make sure that no other Polish person will be hired. “Now, I can count more on a Turkish, Moroccan or a Belgium person rather than Polish. Polish always think: What’s in it for me? That’s why now they are selling jobs to other Polish people” (Janina). Selling jobs is not uncommon in Antwerp. It already took place before, however it became big after the opening of the labor market. The better the jobs, the more money they ask for it. Janina was once offered a nice position in a Belgium company to saw curtains. In order to get in contact with the company, she was asked to pay 1000 euro. She was not even sure if she could do it that is also why she did not dare to take the risk. Grazyna, (54) Ewa (50) and Klaudia (22) also mentioned that work is often being sold in Antwerp, but Grazyna (54) said that it is not only done by Polish people who are returning to Poland, but also by Belgium people who see it as opportunity to earn some money. Ewa (50) does not trust the nowadays Polish community in Antwerp. She warned me about it. “Be careful when doing your research, you can find here various screwballs” (Ewa). Nevertheless, during the interview she stated that when she just came to Belgium, only the Polish people would be the ones that helped her and her family with finding a job, housing and many other things. She specifically said: “Nobody except of a Pole has ever helped us with anything here” (Ewa). “Polish people, despite everything would help you. Polish woman helped me with work. Later Polish woman helped me with official work. Polish people have even helped us with finding an apartment. The first one, the second one and the third one” (Ewa). “There is no place with only perfect people, nor a place with only engels” (Ewa). “There are also bad people in Poland” (Ewa). Two other informants that I have encountered in the Polish shop in Berchem have also expressed their concerns after hearing that I was new to the neighborhood. Saleswoman from the Polish shop warned me: “remember, you need to watch out, who you meet here” (Saleswoman). Another lady that was visiting the shop at that time and was involved in our conversation replied to the saleswoman comment “yes. Remember: not everything is gold that shines” (shop informant).

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Ethnic migrants Children’s Perspective: “Polish person can only put a spoke in other Polish person wheel” Several times during the interview Klaudia (22) mentions that she does not have a lot of contact with Polish community: “I do not come into contact with Polish community.” Nevertheless, she also mentions that she is tutoring Polish children and she is actively involved in the Polish church life. “I only come into contact with Polish people, when it comes to tutoring and in Church” (Klaudia). In her opinion there are two kinds of Polish people. “There are two groups of Polish people in Antwerp. Polish people who go to church and Polish People who do not go to church. Most of the Polish people do not go” (Klaudia). Religion seems to play a major role in Klaudia’s distinction and implies that engagement in religious life and church attendance can serve as a basis for categorization. This means that contradicting views and conflicts between the members of the same community can occur as a result of religious expectations. However, when asked about the general view concerning Polish community, Klaudia illustrates very negative picture of them: “For Polish people everything is always bad. Whatever you would do, it is always bad. No matter if it is in Poland, Belgium or America. Polish people never have enough money, there is always too little of everything, everything is too hard to attain and everything is just bad. It is our nature.”(Klaudia) “Complaint, Fractiousness, Crustiness and Grumpiness are our nations’ nature” (Klaudia). After mentioning her last comment, namely “Polish person can only put a spoke in other Polish person wheel” (Klaudia) She quickly adds other details, saying that it is absolutely not her view of Polish people, but just the one that is circulating around. “Polish person can only put a spoke in other Polish person wheel abroad. Yeahh.. But I personally have never witnessed it. No Polish person has even done me any harm” (Klaudia) “I cannot say a bad word about Polish people, because they are my bread givers. I am tutoring. We have very good relationships” (Klaudia) “No Polish person has done me any harm, and I live here for 11 years” (Klaudia) When asked why she does not have other contact with them than purely professional she states: “I do not know why I do not have any contacts with Polish community. Maybe there is screw loose” (Klaudia)

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The reasons as to why Klaudia’s perceptions towards Polish community are ambivalent will be dealt with in more detail in the next chapter. Similar view is displayed by Monia (20) who states: “I do not know many Polish people here, but the ones I know, I know you cannot trust. They will do anything to make sure that the family will fall apart (that’s how good friends of my parents helped them to get divorced after 24 years of being together)” (Monia). Monia believes that Polish people are not trustworthy. “In general terms, I am not sympathetic when it comes to the Polish people here. Majority is very friendly, but if you turn around they will stab you in your back.” (Monia). Nevertheless, Monia also says that there are exceptions to the rule: “There are also some people (among others also Polish) that are very kind. There are very honest women that I approve of, and I know I can trust” (Monia). However when it comes to her overall opinion about Polish people residing in Antwerp, it is very pessimistic. “In general, I am ashamed of many Polish people who get drunk in front of the shops, because thank to them every Polish person gets the sticker: ‘drunk, vandal,’ because of which I, a peaceful, conscientious, and honest person has difficulties finding a good job and now an apartment.” (Monia). The view of Monika (23) does not differ much from the ones described above. She is also very negative about Polish people, but also about Polish diaspora in Antwerp. “It is not good here when it comes to Polonia. It seems like the worst of Poland arrived here. Everybody is chasing money at all costs. Nobody is helping each other. Polish people call each other bad names even in front of the doctor’s office. They might be good workers, but I also heard how some deliver poor work, take advances and disappear” (Monika.). Monika’s perception of the community causes her to detach from the community. “My aim is to break up with everything that’s Polish. I only want to remember the good things- Polish bread, scented meadow, Slavic traditions and Polish kitchen. And I hope that my daughter will only learn to know the good things about the country, from which all her family comes from.” (Monika). Recent immigrant’s perspective: “Polish people are kind” Aneta (26) has a lot of contacts with Polish community. She herself states that: “I have both a lot of good Polish friends here, but also these others that I just have contact with.” (Aneta) However, Aneta has relatively good opinion about Polish people in Antwerp. She states that “Polish people are kind” (Aneta).

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“Polish community sticks together in Antwerp, we have two churches, I cannot say we do not. Although Turkish people are more united together.”(Aneta) She also mentions that “When it comes to the Polish… they are helpful. I cannot say they are not, because we help each other. One only needs to be a bit careful, because some of them will tell on you. You can’t have a blabbermouth.” (Aneta) Paulina (26) has only a positive view regarding Polish society. She says that both she and her husband have a lot of contacts and connections with the Polish community: “we have a lot of friends here.” Paulina also attends a lot of activities arranged by the Polish community in Antwerp. She is actively involved in a choir in a Polish church. “I together with a group of wonderful people form an adult choir in a Polish church. We have a nice time together, we learn new songs, make barbecues and we travel together to the sea.” (Paulina) It is clear that each of the three groups have slightly different perspectives regarding the nature of the Polish community in Antwerp, which is a result of their experiences and beliefs. However, their opinion has also formed during different periods of time. The old generation’s migrants have known the community for a very long time and might not approve of the changes that a new wave of migration brought. Hence, the children of the ethnics will be highly influenced by their parent’s opinions and might not be open for contacts with the fresh immigrants. The recent immigrants on the other hand, did not have much time to learn everything about the Polish community in Antwerp, which might also be a reason for their positive attitudes towards this group. On the other hand, they might also be the ones who know the current Polish community much better and from a different perspective, since they are the ones who engage in contact with them and therefore, they would be less likely to base their opinion on rumors or isolated incidents. Chapter 4: Immigrant Women in Antwerp As it has already been shown in the previous chapters, migration is nothing extraordinary for Polish people. On the contrary, it is a part of their national tradition. The most recent stage of migration, as illustrated on the example of Morawski family, reflects the principles of superdiversity. It is a complex phenomenon that involves completely different opportunities and constraints compared to the previous migration waves; however it also shows some continuity. After addressing all these issues, we are now able to make more precise statements about superdiversity when it comes to the Polish community in Antwerp, which will be illustrated in this chapter with the example of immigrant women. This research is especially interesting, because there are a very limited number of studies that address issues of Polish migration in Belgium, most of which investigate the situation before the European Union membership of Poland (Levrau et al., 2013). After 2004, European Union migrants in Belgium got relatively little attention, which might be caused by the fact that dispersion is no longer seen as emigration. People do not need visas or permits to relocate to another EU country, which makes it very difficult to investigate their immigrant communities. In addition, most of the studies that tackle these matters focus on the situation of Polish migrants in Brussels (Levrau et al., 2013). This means that research regarding Polish diaspora in Antwerp is scarce and that Polish immigrant community in Belgium is not well known at all (Levrau et al., 2013).

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Nevertheless, why am I going to specifically focus on immigrant women in this chapter? Already from the beginning of my fieldwork, I have met many Polish women in Antwerp. The majority of collected materials document the perspectives and stories of women immigrants residing in Antwerp. Therefore, these women respondents became the central people in the history of my fieldwork. Their stories struck me to such an extent that I realized that they have a very interesting migration history, especially in the case of women that migrated to Belgium alone. It is a result of coincidence, but at the same time women are generally less well documented in the migration studies than men, which add a very interesting perspective to already existing literature on this topic. Implicitly, migration is a masculine affair. When one thinks about migration, one often associates it with male workers in lower level jobs, such as construction and steel or mining industries. This is also why most of the existing research has focused on the male perspectives when addressing migration patterns, which caused women migration to often become overlooked .This phenomenon however has been slowly changing during the past decade (Mugge, 2011). “Female migrants are no longer solely studied as passive followers of husbands and fathers, but as actors with agency of their own” (Mugge, 2011, pg 41). However, despite the changes concerning research on immigrant women, the information on this topic in Belgium is scarce (Timmerman et al., 2012). This is also why the aim of this chapter is to fill the gap in the existing research and address the migration issues of Polish females residing in Antwerp, as an example of larger patterns of superdiverse migration. 4.1 The reasons for migration. The collected data shows that women are completely autonomous agents who make migration decisions themselves. Therefore, when it comes down to it, women base their decisions to migrate on the same opportunities, arguments and ideas, as the migrating men do. However, what are the actual reasons for Polish women to make such a drastic change in their lives and migrate to another country, such as Belgium? Of course, there are no two stories of the same kind; however there seem to be some similarities, on which basis a few categories have been formed. Table 4.1 General Information about women appearing in this chapter Name: Grazyna Janina Ewa Klaudia Monia Aneta Alicja Paulina Monika Sylwia

Age: 54 54 50 22 20 26 31 26 23 36

The year of arrival: 1995 2004 2003 2003 2007 2008 2000 2012 2014 2002

Years in Belgium: 19 10 11 11 7 6 14 2.5 9 months 12

Currently living in: Berchem Hobboken Willreck Willreck Edegem Hobboken Brasschaat Antwerp Merksem Aartselaar

4.1.1 Difficult financial situation A majority of respondents who migrated to Belgium before the opening of the EU labor market were forced to make this decision due to difficult financial situation in their home country. The struggling economy in Poland, generating a limited number of available jobs made it impossible for them to 32

improve their situation while staying in their home land. All of these women had children who stayed in Poland at the time they migrated to Belgium. In addition, each of these women migrated to Berchem, which implies that it is an important place for newcomers. The story of Grazyna Grażyna is a 54- year old Polish lady that has been living and working in Berchem for the last 19 years, since 1995. She used to be an owner of a Pizzeria and a disco (in Nysa, Poland) that were prospering quite well for several years. However, as she says: “my pizzeria went bankrupt when the fashion for McDonald’s came to Poland” and since it was her main income, she needed to start looking for other means for her livelihood. Her disco did not bring enough money to live from, and finding another (well-paid) job in her town was very difficult. In addition, she also incurred some debts after the bankruptcy and needed to quickly earn substantial amounts of cash. Therefore the pressure of debts and insufficient earnings became very high. Her husband Staszek had already been working in Belgium to secure a better future for his family in Poland. The earnings were however rather low and unstable, and job security was very limited, which implies that they could not solely rely on his income. Due to the fact that her husband had already been abroad, and could help her with getting a job, she decided to move to Belgium too. Their children were still residing in Poland for the next couple of years and have been coming to visit them during the holidays. Grazyna summarizes her motive to migrate as follows: “Like for majority of migrants 20 years ago… I was independent; I had my own restaurant and a disco during the season. During that time in Poland, many companies went bankrupt and mine was one of them. I had debts, I had a repo man coming to take my stuff, and I had to do something about it. After a few years I finally paid off my debts, but I still couldn’t resolve everything, because I had to raise two children alone. And then I went legal and decided to stay. Both my children started their families here; it was another reason for me to stay here” (Grazyna). The story of Janina Janina (54) migrated to Antwerp (Berchem) in 2004. She was a single mother of two children who was to a great extent dependent on the alimony from her ex-husband, which was unfortunately reduced after joining the European Union. Her part-time work in the butchery did not earn much, but she could provide for her family even after the alimony has been reduced. After her employer committed suicide, the shop closed, and she lost her job. On her last day of work, an old friend came to the shop to buy some meat; she did not have any money with her and asked if she could get a chicken on credit. Janina asked: “aren’t you the one working abroad and you are not able to pay for the chicken?” The friend responded that she had to pay her bills and does not have anything left from her money. In addition, she promised that she would help Janina with finding a job in Belgium if she would ever need one, if Janina would just do this one favor for her. Janina did not hesitate any longer knowing the circumstances she was in. She gave her friend a chicken and not long after that she moved to Belgium in order to provide for her family. Her children did not join her immediately, because her husband did not approve of it, but she took them with her anyway after 7 months, when travel on the basis of idcard became possible. (They could not receive a passport without a permission of their father). Int: What was your main reason to migrate to Belgium? J: Economical situation. No work in Poland. They took away my social benefits. They took away the child support. Three businesses got closed. I did not have enough to get by with two children. That’s why I decided to migrate. 33

Int: So, your main motive was difficult financial situation? J: Yes, it was the only motive. Int: If this all was not happening, would you still want to migrate? J: I do not think so… Int: So in some way, you were forced to migrate? J: Yes… I could have stayed to live in poverty.

When describing the beginnings, Janina describes few major obstacles: lack of legal work, no social benefits and high costs of life. “It was heavy…for three years I could not find a legal job” (Janina). “The beginnings were horrible. I had no legal job, no social benefits. I had to pay for my children’s school, for the dentist…100% of the price. I had to work for 20 hours a day to be able to earn enough money for apartment, school and life” (Janina). The story of Ewa Ewa (50), together with her husband Pawel and daughter Klaudia (22) had a prosperous life in Krynica Zdrój in Poland. Her husband worked for a company that was supplying shops with different commodities. He had a relatively high income, and since he was transporting goods, he has also had an easy access to them, at very reasonable prices. That is also why Ewa was running her own shop. Nevertheless, after her husband lost his job, the shop could not prosper any longer. “We were afraid we would go into debt. We couldn’t let it happen” said Ewa during the interview. Together with her partner they came up with an idea to rent a cafe in which they would organize different events. It was during a festive period and since there was no time to waste, they organized a New Year’s party that turned out to be a total disaster, because nobody came. It became clear instantly that their idea to run a café in the village was not such a brilliant plan. “We had a knife at our throats. We did not have enough money to live. We were afraid. Our shop could not function. The café did not work out. Do you understand? My husband lost his job. And what now? We were afraid we would go into debt. We had a house; we had to pay the bills. The second house was under construction. Luckily we did not have any credits…” (Ewa). After the New Year’s party failure, they met an old friend of her husband, Slawek, who was visiting Poland at that time. He told them that for the last 10 years he had been living and working in Antwerp. “The sky got repealed [Polish idiom meaning that someone deepest desires come true]. I told my husband to ask Slawek if he could take him to Belgium with him. I thought this could have been the solution to our problems. My husband then talked to him and Slawek promised to look around and to call him when he will know something. In February my husband has already gone to Belgium” (Ewa). In March 2003, Pawel called Ewa and said that he could not make it on his own. He insisted that either he would be coming back or she would need to come to Belgium. This is when Ewa decided to move to Berchem. Pawel came back for her in April, with Easter, and Ewa went to Belgium with him. Klaudia was finishing school; therefore she had to stay in Poland. She was temporarily living with Ewa’s mother (her grandma) for two months. In June they went back to pick their daughter up.

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4.1.2 Reunion Two interviewees have moved to Belgium at a young age in order to reunite with their parents. They were not autonomous in their decision, because their parents have made this decision for them. They are both highly integrated in the community and can speak the language fluently. The story of Klaudia The viewpoint of Klaudia (22) is slightly different from that of her parents. She moved to Belgium 11 years ago, in 2003, because her parents chose to live there and it was the only way to reunite with them. Her parents have made this decision for her. She was only 11 years old and still in primary school. All she knew was Poland, she did not know any other languages and the thought of going abroad was both exciting but also terrifying. Klaudia describes her beginnings in Berchem as very difficult, because she did not know the language. She went to a Belgium multicultural primary school, where she had a really hard time. “When I arrived here I was in a 5th class of primary school. I started here at the same level. I went green to school [Polish idiom meaning you have no knowledge about something], without the language, without anything. In my opinion, I got into one of the worst schools, because there were many Moroccans and Turks who bullied me” (Klaudia). “It was hard. The beginnings were very hard, but it is hard for everyone” (Klaudia). This led to very strong desire to learn the language. Today Klaudia speaks fluent Dutch, with a strong Antwerp accent. “In the period from September until December I managed to learn the language. In December I was already helping Polish people with translations” (Klaudia). The Dutch language skills and her educational background define her position within the Polish community. She is tutoring Polish children. She helps with all the courses in a primary school, but also with learning Dutch and translations. “In present day, my contact with Polish people is limited to tutoring Polish children” (Klaudia). Klaudia explains that she does not have much contact with the Polish community in her private life, but she depends for her livelihood on these people. Her interests in the community are therefore money interests. “I do not come into contact with Polish community” (Klaudia). “I only come into contact with Polish people, when it comes to tutoring and in Church” (Klaudia). The above statements explain Klaudia’s ambivalent position regarding the Polish community, discussed in the previous chapter. She is dependent on the newcomers and other members of the Polish community when it comes to her livelihood. Even if this community would have a negative reputation, which has already been confirmed by others, her own view is constrained by her socioeconomic position in the Polish community (a service provider of a crucial cultural resource) that significantly differs from the positions of Polish women that work as cleaning ladies or shop keepers. The Polish community is very important for Klaudia this is also why, she does not want to express that 35

general, negative view as her own. It is only logical that when you are a cleaning lady you have much different relationship with newcomers than when you are teaching them, or when you are entirely dependent on them as a market. In other words, the position one occupies within the community influences his or her relation to it. The story of Monia Monia (20) moved to Belgium in 2007 (7 years ago), as a 13-years old girl, together with her mother, 16- years old sister and a dog. Her father had been working in Belgium already for 3 years, and before that he was working in Holland for a year (his sister has been living in Holland for the last 30 years). The Belgian employer of Monia’s father was very happy with him and he proposed that her father take his whole family to Belgium with him and live in his second house in Eksaarde (near Antwerp, in the province of Oost Vlaanderen). That is also what happened. Several years later, Monika started a relationship with a Belgian boy and she has recently moved to live with him in Antwerp (two years ago in 2012). “When we arrived here, I was the one that had to go everywhere to translate in English. During the first year I attended a daily language school together with my sister in order to learn the language. We were in a group with 20 other people (each one of them with different nationality). The teachers’ only spoke Dutch to us…ojjjj… it was very hard. After a year we went with my sister to a regular school. It was even harder. Other friends from the language course could study the language for 2 years, before going to Belgian school” (Monia). 4.1.3 Brighter future in Belgium Several respondents migrated to Belgium in order to look for a better future abroad. They were not forced to migrate due to difficult financial situation, but they believed they would be able to have a better life in Belgium. The story of Aneta Aneta is a 26-year old lady who moved to Antwerp in 2008 and has been living in Hobboken for the last 6 years. She moved to Belgium for one primary reason- to look for a better life. The choice of the country was not accidental, she choose Belgium because her boyfriend’s (currently husband) father has already been working for a year in Antwerp. In addition, her boyfriend had also been working there during the summer holidays. She explains her motive as follows: “We came here because my father in law has already been working in Belgium. We had this opportunity. My boyfriend asked me if he could go to work in Belgium. I said of course, for holidays, why not? From working during this holiday period after finishing school, he extended the stay until December. Then he came back and asked me to marry him and in March we moved to Belgium together” (Aneta). “We decided to migrate, because I had a job in Poland, but my husband had difficulties with finding a job. In the end, we decided that we wanted to migrate together” (Aneta). The first half year after migrating to Belgium was very difficult for Aneta. “It was very hard to get used to the new country during the first half a year. I would only go to the shops with self-service” (Aneta).

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Her feelings about Poland are ambivalent: “I come from Stary Sącz. I miss the mountains. I miss the quietness, peace, greenery. I miss my parents. But still, if they were not there, I would not be going back there at all” (Aneta). The story of Alicja Alicja (31) has been living in Antwerp for the last 14 years, since 2000. She moved at the age of 17 to her aunt who has been living and working in Antwerp for several years. Alicja had already spent several holiday periods in Belgium, and she really liked Antwerp. So, one day, her aunt asked if she would like to stay with her, and if she did, her aunt promised to help her arrange everything with school and with finding a job. Alicja says that she did not have a concrete motive, except of a search for a better and brighter somewhere else: “There was no specific reason for my migration; the only reason could be the willingness to experience how it is somewhere else, to see some of the world, simply the curiosity how it is somewhere else” (Alicja). Nevertheless, her beginnings were not easy: “When I arrived in Belgium, I went to a Polish school, and attended a Dutch language course. Of course, I also had a few side jobs, such as babysitting children of Polish friend, working at my aunts’ butchery, or cleaning the houses of Belgian people. During that time you were still living unofficially. Belgium was making very big problems when it came to legal work and legal permit to stay etc” (Alicja). “It was not easy, it was really hard, but you could survive it” (Alicja). The story of Paulina Paulina (26) moved to Antwerp 2.5 years ago. She and her boyfriend were both working and studying in Poland, but because of limited possibilities in their home country they would always go abroad to work in order to earn some money. Paulina would always go to England, while her boyfriendKrzysiek went to Belgium for the first time about 3 years ago. He was appreciated by his employer and he simply fell in love with the city of Antwerp. After his return to Poland and unsuccessful search for a good job, they decided to try somewhere else “My story is rather usual and unspectacular. During my studies I met my current Polish husband. We have both finished higher education and we were working in Poland. The only difference was that I worked in the UK during the holidays. For 5 years, during my studies, I have gone there every summer to practice my English. During my last year of studies, I went to work in UK, whereas my husband, Krzysiek came here to work for 2 months. The owner of the company liked him, and he quickly got appreciated in his work. This led to his admiration of the city. After his return and 2 months search for a job in Poland, we did not have any vision of development possibilities in Poland, so we wanted to try abroad. It was January 2012, so relatively recently, 2.5 years ago” (Paulina). Paulina did not have too hard of a time integrating into Belgian community “We integrated very quickly. During the second day of my stay in Belgium I already found a job in a fashion industry, where I still work presently. Our life here is so much easier than life in Poland. We have a vision of development possibilities and we are so much more 37

appreciated than in our own country. Last year we have bought a house (mortgage) in a quiet, peaceful part of the city. Last week we exchanged our car for a newer. There are only benefits of this migration” (Paulina). The story of Monika The story of Monika has already been mentioned in chapter 2, when the migration of the Morawski family has been discussed. Nevertheless, her story and point of view provides an important insight that is also why her case will also be dealt with in more detail in this chapter. Monika (23) moved to Antwerp quite recently (in March 2014). She moved To Belgium to look for a better future: “We did not come here to work- we came here to look for a better life.”About 16 years ago, her grandpa Ryszard (father of her mother) was delegated to Belgium. After a few, very lonely years for her grandma, she finally joined her husband. After that, the sister of Monika’s mother (Wiola) went to work in Belgium as a cleaning lady; she then took her children and husband, one by one, with her. “The story of my family is similar. After the path has been paved and it was known how to start your life, where to go, and how to find a job, my mom migrated” (Monika). Monika’s mother- Ela was the second one to migrate to Antwerp, and as Monika says: “she moved to Belgium to look for a better tomorrow.” Ela had a good job in Poland, but perspectives seemed to be better in Belgium. “There were jobs in Poland, and my mom could not complain about hers. However, life in Poland as a country was bad, expensive and unpleasant” (Monika). Consequently Monika’s father (Krzysiek) and brother (Kamil) moved there too. As Monika was already old enough to take care of herself, and was living with her boyfriend anyway, she stayed in Poland with her partner. Monika supported the decision of her family: “I was already living on my own expense, but my brother had a whole life ahead of him, he has just finished the primary school” (Monika). Everything changed after Monika’s father got a huge project and asked her boyfriend to help him out. “The 9th of December, my boyfriend went to work in Belgium, and on the 30th of January, when I was absolutely alone in Poland, I found out that I was pregnant” (Monika). Monika did not consider migrating to Belgium at that time. “The plan was that my partner would come back to Poland. We had our own flat, and I had a stable job as a manager of a vegan restaurant” (Monika). However, her decision changed after encountering several problems with the Polish health-care system. “After I had to wait for a month for the first visit with a gynecologist, and another one and a half month for the first USG, the decision became clear-cut: I am going to Belgium. I packed my personal belongings and arrived at the rented apartment, which is beautiful, in green surroundings, and the money for the rent my boyfriend earned in a month. We collected all

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the baby stuff in no time and we did not spend more than 200 Euros. In Poland we would surely need to take a credit for that” (Monika). This implies that a practical medical reason for migration also plays a major role for Monika. The fact that triggered her decision was better medical care available in Belgium. “When it comes to the hospital, despite my many fears, it was amazing, just like in an American reportage on MTV. I was afraid because I have just came here and I did not know which part of the costs will be covered by the insurance, because I still do not have permission for permanent residence, I do not have ID and medical care can be used only 6 months after being insured. Luckily I got registered in the apartment of my parents as dependent relative, because of this, I got my insurance” (Monika). Monika’s experiences in the hospital were very positive: “In the hospital I got a one-person room and my boyfriend could sleep there free of charge. The nurses were professionals in every detail. Friendly and warm. Even though I got anesthesia, and did not feel any cramps, they visited me and massaged my belly. In the morning the pulse of my daughter started disappearing, so she had to be quickly delivered through C-section, yet everyone was waiting, prepared for Rafal to be there with me. Everything took 10 minutes. The next 7 I spent in the hospital. I do not have the words to explain how grateful I am to each and every nurse for help and care. I would hug and kiss every one of them. Above all that, I would get three meals a day that were of restaurants quality. Polish hospitals are a backwardness and I will declare it with all the responsibility, on every possible occasion. I thank God every day that I could give birth here!”(Monika). She also believes that life in Belgium is much easier than in Poland. “Even life in poverty is easier in Belgium” (Monika). The story of Sylwia Sylwia (36) has been living in Belgium for the last 12 years (since 2002). At first, she intended to move to Belgium only for a year. She wanted to take a break after her bachelor, remain a bit at a distance from her family and to earn some money. Sylwia wanted to learn more about other cultures, new country, other way of living, but not only as a tourist. She was looking for an adventure and more suitable place to live. She started as an au pair in Neerpelt (Limburg). She extended her stay from one year to another and changed places (au pair homes) in order to see as much of Belgium as possible. When she visited Antwerp, she knew it was “the love at first sight” and since then she decided to migrate for good and she never lived anywhere else than in Antwerp. “I came here only for a year to rest after my studies (bachelor) and from my family and to earn some money while working as an au pair nanny, taking care of three children. I wanted to visit another country, but not as a tourist and to experience an adventure. I fell in love with this country to such an extent, that I extended my stay from one year after another. I was only changing the places where I would be staying until I decided to stay permanently” (Sylwia). “The first family that I was working for lived in Neerpelt (Limburg), however one day, I visited Antwerp and I fell in love with that city at the first sight. I made sure that next families for which I was working for were living in the province of Antwerp. I migrated alone, but after

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a while I persuaded my friend to come here too, she would ‘inherit’ my au pair families” (Sylwia). “What was the main motive to migrate?-the willingness to learn other languages, adventure and freedom (overprotective mother)” (Sylwia). Each of the above described examples is unique; however the stories have several things in common. First of all, almost every story implies that beside the similarities between personal reasons for migration, the choice regarding the future host country relied strongly on the connections they had within that country. This means that almost every migrant knew someone that has been already living abroad and possessed or had access to some knowledge as to how life looks like in Belgium. Therefore, the choice of the country cannot be seen as accidental. The selection was primarily made on the basis of their knowledge about the country and an easy access to the society as such. 4.2 Coming to Belgium- the story of the host society. In most of the cases, the beginnings in the host society were very difficult. Individuals who migrated to Belgium without any knowledge of the language had the most difficult start. They were often fully dependent on their friends or family members who were already residing in Belgium. Nevertheless, the language was not necessary (in most of the cases) in order to work. It was only a barrier when it came to finding a job or a place to live. This implies that although the language is a handy tool to possess, it is not absolutely indispensable in order to be able to function in the host society. For example, the lady running the Polish Delicatessen shop in Berchem does not speak any foreign languages. She speaks only Polish and is still able to run a successful business. Nevertheless, just like in the case of finding a job, she needs to know someone who possesses these skills, because how else would she be able to do her administration? This means that the community is highly interdependent. The lady from the shop must know someone who has the necessary language skills and is able to help her. It is clear that there is a high level of social cohesion within and between the communities produced by minimal investment in the relationship and therefore minimal engagement. Resources are exchanged between societies and within them depending on the needs of the two or multiple parties. These transactions are based on the principle of reciprocity and solidarity. ‘I scratch your back, you scratch mine.’ All of the resources are pooled and exchanged. Individuals, who possess language skills, might need help with plumbing or gardening and vice versa. This means that all the resources are valued and can be easily exchanged, regardless of their kind. The same is visible when it comes to interactions with different communities. In Antwerp there is no Polish bakery, but there is a Spanish one that bakes Polish bread. The Polish supermarket Biedronka is run by a Kurd. Another Belgium shop Delhaize, situated in Antwerp has assistants speaking Polish. A very up-market hairdresser in Berchem has a Polish assistant. And many Turkish and Asian shops even sell Polish beer. It is clear therefore that various communities have different roles in a place such as Antwerp, and this is also visible in the case of female respondents. After arriving in Belgium many respondents had to rely on the Jewish, Moroccan or Indian communities in terms of finding a job or a place to live, which had mostly an illegal character. The native Belgian community also provided jobs, both in legal and illegal working sectors.

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Illegal work is to a great extent an ingredient of this sort of superdiverse environment (cf Blommaert 2013, chapter 4). In the context of superdiversity, two labor markets are available, a legal and an illegal one. Newcomers in Berchem overwhelmingly enter the labor market through the latter sector, in a complex set of interdependencies with other communities (such as, e.g., the Turkish immigrant community). Superdiversity creates complexity and stratified diversity, at the same time feeding the illegal labor market. In these terms, the reason as to why many shops and companies exist and flourish in rather poor, lower- level communities, such as Berchem is because they have access to very cheap labor force. As explained by Blommaert (2010), “The new migrants typically settle in older immigrant neighborhoods, which thus develop into a layered immigrant space, where resident (‘old’) immigrants often rent spaces to newer, more temporary or transient groups, and where new segments of labor market are developed. Many of the new immigrants live in economically and legally precarious conditions, and many of them are strongly dependent upon informal employment and solidarity networks, such as churches” (pg 7). This implies that superdiversity involves the layering of the space and therefore also the layering between illegal and legal employment. In which, the illegal world is usually the world of the most vulnerable people. Individuals who settle in the illegal labor market, do not only have rather low salaries, but they also have no right for legal entitlement, namely there is no insurance to cover them if they get injured and they have no legal rights in such situation. It is very interesting that illegal labor markets still exist and involve EU citizens such as Poles, at a time when European Union citizens should be no longer forced to enter this work segment. After the EU membership, it became much easier administratively for Polish people to migrate to Belgium. They are free to move within EU borders and there is also the mobility of labor. However, high unemployment levels and crises in Belgium, force them into the illegal labor market. Even though there is an absence of legal labor, there is no shortage of work. People still want to have their houses cleaned or rebuilt, but for very low prices. It is the only part of the labor market that actually needs workers continuously. This is exactly the spot where most members of the Polish community come in, when migrating to Belgium. They enter an informal labor market and they have been already doing it for decades. So even though the structure, motives and patterns of migration have changed due to the improvements of the legal context and it became much easier for people to migrate to Belgium. They still get into an old labor market. This would mean that the labor system is basically the old one, with a little bit of mobility that makes it possible for people to legalize their stay. Therefore, in these terms, there has not truly been a serious improvement for Polish migrants after joining the EU. In other words, there is mobility of labor within the EU, but only illegal work is available. And even if there was legal work, the market that Polish people enter does not differ much from the one that they have been entering 20 years ago. This means that socio-economical position of Polish people did not really change. They need to use the same kind of networks in Belgium, which they were using during the period, when it was a lot more difficult to move to Belgium. They are in an illegal work sector, because of the social position they occupy. They are a cheap labor force. It is not their choice; it is what is expected of them.

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4.2.1 The Jewish community We already pointed towards the interactions between Polish immigrants and other communities in Antwerp. The Jewish community stands out as exceptionally important for the women I interviewed. Jewish employers offer jobs as a cleaning lady, housekeepers and babysitters, and also provide earlystage housing, all of it usually illegally. This community plays and essential role for newcomers, who all tend to start their life in Belgium from within the Jewish district. Grazyna Grazyna (54) could speak some German when she arrived in the Jewish district in Berchem, but her husband spoke it fluently, so they found her a job very quickly. They were living in the Jewish district, and because Grazyna was a seamstress, she went to some of the Jewish sewing shops and asked if she could find a job. One Jewish lady said to her: “here you have a plan as how to sew this jacket, if you can do it, you can work here”. Grazyna did this. The lady was very happy with her work and immediately offered her a job. She was working there for 11 years until the owner retired. She had a pleasant relationship with her employer and was earning pretty well at that time. Of course, she has been working for long hours in informal working sector, but as she herself said: “That was the only job in my life that I was really happy with. I did not speak the language, but I was good in it and it was enough. I was never checked or controlled” (Grazyna). Grazyna also said that she did not feel like she needed much help, even with limited communication skills, she could always manage. “I did not have time for friends or entertainment. I did not have a private life. I was always working” [during the day Grazyna was sewing, at nights she would clean in the Jewish restaurant or Jewish houses in the weekends, especially during the festive period]. This led to her divorce, but she felt she was independent: “I was alone, but I also was autonomous” (Grazyna). She was lonely, but thank to her dedication, she was able to pay back her debts and buy an apartment in Poland. “My life in Belgium was a life of solitude, thanks to which I was able to buy an apartment in Poland” (Grazyna). Grazyna also said that the Jewish community was the one in which you could find a job with a greatest ease. “The Jews had more faith in Polish people than Belgians” (Grazyna). Moreover, Jews had big families; they often needed a lot of help. The richer the family, the more help they needed. In most of the cases, these families would have a Belgian house-keeper and a Polish cleaning lady. Middle-class families did not have money for a Belgian house-keeper, so they would prefer to have a live-in housekeeper. These would most of the time be Polish, or from some other Eastern-European country. The language was not needed, and often the Jews already spoke some Polish, so it was a very easy to access their environment. Jewish children would be brought up by Polish ladies, which did not speak any other languages, what meant that the children would also learn to speak Polish. 42

“Middle-class families did not have enough money for a Belgian woman. They then took a Polish lady as a live-in house-keeper and she was living with them. Jewish children learned Polish and they would speak Polish with them. The Jewish mothers did not mind. They were happy about it, because you can never know too many languages. Every Jew knows at least 4 or 5 of them” (Grazyna). During the festive period, there were a lot of jobs available in the Jewish homes. During that time of year many Polish ladies would be asked to find some other Polish ladies to help out. This is when they would reach out to their families and friends. A lot of Polish ladies came just during these periods to “repair their budget in Poland” (Grazyna). “Some of these ladies had to work really hard, some of them a bit less hard. But it all depended on the person, and how much they allowed to happen. I believe that it all depends on how you value yourself” (Grazyna). Grazyna worked for 11 years in the Jewish community in Antwerp and she does not complain. But she says that it was not an easy work. The Jewish children would run around the house and scream “Goj”..”Goj”…”Goj” (the word used for non-Jewish people, “gentiles”). “We are Gojs for the Jewish people. It is written down in their holy book” (Grazyna). “The Jewish children would walk after the cleaning ladies and scream: Goj!” (Grazyna). They did not do it to Belgium people, because, as Grazyna said, “they would probably go to Police with that, but Polish ladies did not dare, because they worked illegally.” It is true that the Jews paid very little, but Grazyna believes it was a fault of the workers. When they had a job, they were afraid to say anything in a fear of losing it, so they would work for 2-3 Euros an hour. “If they would learn the language and would bargain, they would have gotten more. That is why it is important to learn the language. If people underestimate its importance, they get lost” (Grazyna). Grazyna also believes that Jewish people were helpful. One Jewish man helped her and her husband in the early stages of their residence in Belgium. “My husband met a Jew who had a butcher shop. It was a good man, who marketed me to his friends. And thanks to him my husband could do dome small renovations in people’s houses. If we had too little money, he was giving us money to buy food, and sometimes even some alcohol for the weekend” (Grazyna). Jewish people did not have many nationalities working for them, but they also had other Eastern Europeans working for them. “They did not only want Polish women, but all women from Eastern Europe. Belgian women also worked there. Everyone wanted to earn something extra. But Polish women have good name, they work hard” (Grazyna). “I have never seen a Moroccan, Turk or a black person working for them. They are the biggest racists in the world. They say the Polish people are, because we do not have too many foreigners in our country, but the truth might be just a little bit different” (Grazyna). 43

Grazyna has good memories when looking back on her experiences. She says that the opening of the labor market did not bring many opportunities. She believes it used to be easier to find a job in the past. “Since I am working legally, I cannot find a job I would like to do” (Grazyna). “It was much easier in the beginnings. I am sure I can always clean, but my health does not allow me to, but I know that I can always find work here in this sector. The problem is with less heavy jobs” (Grazyna). The Jewish community was an important place for Polish people when it came to finding a job. “Both Jewish community, but also Belgian community were important. Only it was easier to find a job with a Jew, because many of them speak Polish, so there would be no problems with communication” (Grazyna) Janina Janina (54) started working in a Jewish kindergarten (her Polish friend helped her to find this job). It was hard work, but she did not stay there for long, because an old cleaning lady came back looking for work. However, she kept working in a Jewish community. She would clean their houses, and she would also work in a sort of an event house, where Jewish weddings and other Jewish events would be organized. Janina worked there at night. During the weekends she would work in the Jewish schools’ kitchen. She would help with cooking and cleaning the dishes. She did not know any language at that time, but believed it was important in order to lead a better life in Belgium. Janina states that in the Jewish community “they hardly ever had legal workers. It would mostly be black market work in this environment.” “When it comes to Jewish and Indian communities, they never hire people legally. Polish ladies work black there” (Janina). The Jewish community was the first place, where a newcomer would go looking for a job, because they knew that they would find it there. In these terms they helped Polish people a lot, but they have also used Polish ladies. “Jewish community was helping, but they were also exploiting you, paying 3.50 an hour. The only thing you did was cleaning, doing dishes and babysitting their children” (Janina). They had to work really hard, while the salary was very low. Most women would start their career abroad in Jewish homes. “Majority of women started at the Jewish homes. There were also Polish Jewish women who would help with arranging a job for you… of course for some money in exchange” (Janina). Janina however, does not have good work experiences in Jewish society. “The work for Jewish women was worst. They are very devious and deceitful” (Janina). One time after Janina was finished with work (in three hours), a Jewish mother offered her some coffee. Janina was certain that she was happy with her. She did her best, but then the Jewish mother said she was extending her working time, because normally Janina would be done 20 min early. 44

Ewa Ewa (50) arrived in Berchem, in the Jewish community. “I arrived in Belgium. When I saw this nightmare, this Jewish district, these streets there.. Because you know I did not go to the center. First I went there, I am not sure if you know what I mean- the Jewish district in Berchem” (Ewa). “My husband took me there. When I came here, and I saw this Jewish district, this Stone curtain there [old defense walls often referred to as Iron Curtain], this muck on the streets. I thought: Holy mother of God… why? It was a nightmare. I thought it was terrible. But yeah.. we did not have a choice, so we were living there” (Ewa). They did not have a choice however, because they were not legally in Belgium. The only place they could live in was in a Jewish neighborhood. They lived in a tenement house on the roof; in a very tiny room with some other people sleeping on the same floor. There was just one toilet for the entire building. Ewa thought it was a dirty, horrible place and wanted to rent an apartment somewhere else as soon as possible. The living standards in these apartments were low. “In the Jewish district there were most of the Polish people. When you came to Belgium, you needed to start from there, you had no job. It was the only last safety net, you had no other choice. We were lucky to know Polish people that helped us a lot” (Ewa). Ewa said that Jewish people paid very little and they were exploiting their employees. Nobody else wanted to work there except for Polish women. Some of them liked it, because they would live there, eat there etc. Ewa did not because she had her own family and did not imagine working 15 hours a day like some of her friends. Most of her friends however started working legally. She believes that not many Polish women work in the Jewish homes anymore. “Nowadays, there are very few Polish people working in the Jewish homes. Now Russians are there, because they want to work black and it is much cheaper for the Jews. Polish people have resident’s cards so they do not want to risk losing it by working black” (Ewa). Ewa holds very negative opinion about the Jews in general: “The Jew would first spit in your bread before giving it to you” (Ewa). Aneta When Aneta (26) came to Belgium 6 years ago she lived in Berchem. She had difficulties with getting used to the place without knowing any foreign languages. Aneta’s first job was in a Jewish house; they had 12 children. All she had to do was to iron in the basement. It was extremely hot in there. The children were running and screaming, and the mother said nothing. Aneta got 4 euro per hour and has worked there for 4 hours during her first day. She never had enough courage to go back there. “Where the Jews are, that’s where you can find Polish people” (Aneta). Aneta says that in the Jewish district, not many other people want to live. That is why polish people choose for this neighborhood. It is easily accessible. The apartments are cheap. It is also very safe for families, because the Jews pay for extra security within their district.

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“If you rent from a Jew, Moroccan or Turk, you are better off, because Flemish peoples’ apartments are very pricey. The apartments might not be fully-equipped, but for 350 euro you can have a nice studio” (Aneta). Jewish people can be considered a quite important and prominent community in Antwerpen. “You can find both white and black work in their district, depending on what you are looking for.” Because according to the Polish women, Jewish mothers hardly do anything, almost every family has someone who helps them with every-day duties. “Polish ladies do everything in their homes; the Jewish mother only sits and talks through her telephone. They do not even cook, but rather order their food from Jewish restaurants” (Aneta). Yet, Aneta heard many stories of Polish people who would be helped by Jewish families. Her friend who came to Holland 17 years ago was helped by the Jewish community. “They taught Polish people the Dutch language. They are helpful and quiet, even if they would see a naked lady on the street they will not turn around. Turkish on the other hand can really intimidate Polish ladies; they follow them to see where they live. Belgians are also very peaceful” (Aneta). Alicja Alicja believes that Jewish community was especially important for new migrants, mainly women, but it was also the only alternative for people who had difficulties with finding a job. “Many Polish women were cleaning houses in the Jewish homes for very little money. Majority of these people were women who could not find a job in a Belgian community. They then had to work for much lower earnings, so that they would have something to eat. Let’s look the truth in the eye; Jewish community knew exactly how to make use of this vulnerability. I remember people used to say: ‘A Jew will give you a job, but he is not going to pay a lot.’ I have heard and read many stories about the Jewish community in Antwerp, but I also think that some of them are a bit exaggerated” (Alicja) 4.2.2 The Belgian community Grazyna After Grazyna (54) lost her job in a sewing shop, she had been working as a cleaning lady in Belgian houses for a several years (until she had an accident, after which she could no longer work). She would also iron shirts for Belgian families. She started working legally since 2009 in the Belgian community and she has rather good experiences. Grazyna believes that there is a stereotype that Belgian people have towards the Polish community. It is not necessarily negative, but it creates sort of a barrier of becoming anything more than what you are expected to be in the stereotype. “Polish people work hard. Men are good in construction and women in cleaning. As a community that’s what we are expected to do, every other job is something that is not expected of Polish people. We are pigeonholed in these categories” (Grazyna). Grazyna also says that Belgian people, not only when it comes to Polish people, but in general to foreigners tend to make difficulties when buying a house. They prefer to sell it to other Belgians. 46

“As a Polish, Moroccan or Turkish, you need to buy a house in a bad neighborhood, and very often in a very bad state too. The good houses, in good neighborhoods are not for us” (Grazyna). In general however, she believes that Polish people have rather a good reputation in Belgium. “They [Polish People] work hard; they do not take social benefits” (Grazyna). Nevertheless, Grazyna thinks that it was better in Belgium before the euro came. “Everything was so beautiful and clean. It used to be as clean as in German cities… There are too many people in Antwerp now. They destroy everything, but everyone wants to stay, so we can only complain” (Grazyna). Janina Janina (54) started working legally in 2007 in an Onion and Carrot factory in Antwerp. The work in a Belgian community was mostly the one of a legal kind, she says. ”The best jobs you could find were in Belgian community, of course with exceptions, but in general, these were the jobs worth fighting for” (Janina). “When it comes to Belgian community, there is possibility of legal work” (Janina). Yet she said that Belgians can often be very cynical when it comes to her profession. “A job as a cleaning lady is the worst profession you can have. It is often humiliating. Nobody appreciates this kind of job” (Janina). Ewa Ewa started her migrant career in the Belgian community. She was doing cleaning work in several houses, but she was most happy when she started working for a very rich Belgian lady in Berchem. It was a good job, with long hours. She knew that Belgians did not want to have just anybody in their houses; these people were rich and had a lot to lose. So you had to be lucky to get into this environment. However, after you got in, you would hear about other ones though the grapevine. Someone needed to recommend you in the Belgian community at first, and the rest was sort of a snowball effect. Flemish people also checked you in the beginning; they would leave money under the bed or other places, where it would look like it was forgotten or lost. It was sort of a test, if you passed it, you could stay. “My barrier was the language”, said Ewa. The Belgians did not want to have people who could not speak any other language. However, because of the recommendations, some of the Belgians gave Ewa a chance, and if they did they wanted her to stay. “I owe everything to Polish people. One’s own helped their own” (Ewa). “Belgian people were very cautious, but it is because they were vulnerable to people they were hiring. You heard a lot about things that went wrong, like a Polish cleaning lady stealing the Mercedes from the garage…”(Ewa). Yet the opinion about Belgian (or Flemish in particular) people in general is not that positive. “Flemish person will not help you in anything, they would much rather put the spoke in your wheel” (Ewa). 47

“There are no places at the Universities for Polish people” (Ewa). “Nobody had an easy time coming here” (Ewa). Ewa perceives the country as racist, which might be caused by the fact that Antwerp is the center of extreme-right wing politics in Belgium, the stronghold of the right-wing extremist Vlaams Belang and the only slightly less radical Flemish nationalists of N-VA (cf. Maly 2012). “The only job for Polish women is cleaning houses. You will always be treated as one. Belgium is a nasty, racist country. You will never be treated as an equal here” (Ewa). Klaudia Klaudia (22) perceives many barriers on her way that she thinks are caused by her being Polish, especially when it comes to her education on the university. “Flemish people say that Polish people should attend vocational schools. They are needed to do the hand jobs and not to be studying at the University” (Klaudia). “I went for an exam from accounting. The professor asked me: It is not a Belgian surname? I said no. He said we will see each other in September” (Klaudia). “Even if I will finish my education at Leuven University, I will always be treated as a Polish person” (Klaudia). “We are oppressed at my university. You are a foreigner, and University is for a Belgian” (Klaudia). “At my catholic university, a teacher made my Moroccan friend say the Our father prayer and do the sign of the cross” (Klaudia). Even though she does not think the Belgian community is fair to her, she has a lot of contact with them. “My personal contacts are mainly with Belgian people” (Klaudia). Alicja The perception of Alicja is slightly different from Kaludia’s. She thinks that Belgian community does not make big differences between their own people and the Polish. However, Alicja also mentions that you can meet racist people here too, but this is visible in every country. “I don’t think that Belgium country or Belgian people really treat us different compared to their own people. Many of us complain, but it is this Polish sort of complaining. Just as any country, you can find a normal person or a racist” (Alicja). “The fact is that the more immigrants came here, the harder it got to find a job” (Alicja). 4.2.3 The Moroccan community Janina (54) has worked for members of the Moroccan community. She would be a cleaning lady in their homes. She says it was easy to find a job in their environment, but it was horrible work. You had to work very long hours, minimum 12, and the wages were scandalous, because it would never be 48

more than 3 euro an hour. That is also why mostly the newcomers would work for this community. Work in that community was never legal. “I have worked for only two Moroccan ladies. They paid very little and have tried to exploit you as much as possible” (Janina). The above examples prove that the Polish community is strongly dependent upon the informal working sector. They find work relatively easily, but the work is exploitative with long hours and poor salaries, and no labor contracts entitling them to health insurance or other social benefits. Their slot in the labor market is at the very bottom of the ladder, as cleaners, confection workers or as lowly service providers such as housekeepers and babysitters. Similar patterns were present in Blommaert’s (2013) description of the stratified labor market in Berchem, where newcomers (such as Polish immigrants) were recruited as cheap labor by upwardly mobile members of earlier immigrant communities (such as the Turkish community). The Jewish and Moroccan communities provide similar gateways for Polish newcomers: often uncomfortable entrances to the labor and housing markets, but of critical importance in making immigration a worthwhile project. 6. Discussion In the last two decades, the migration phenomenon has changed significantly (Vertovec, 2007, Blommaert, 2013). This shift required a new research approach, as suggested by Vertovec (2007), which has been adopted in this study. The present research conducted in form of ethnographic inquiry explored the compound nature of Polish diaspora in Antwerp. It specifically focused on two research questions, namely how does the Polish community in Antwerp function and who is a part of it and what is the structure of the Polish community in Antwerp and how does it relate to the place such as Berchem? The generated data provided the answers to these questions. First of all, it has been shown that Polish diaspora in Antwerp is extremely diversified. It consists of People from distinct parts of Poland, of different sexes and ages, who migrated to Belgium for variant reasons, either alone or with their families during various stages in the history. This led to the creation of large, super-diverse Polish community in Belgium, which number is estimated to be around 50.000 people, and which constitutes the sixth biggest migrant community in Belgium (Pew Research Center, 2014). Antwerp and Brussels are the two most important destination cities in Belgium (Levrau et al., 2013). Despite the large size of the Polish community, it is not very conspicuous and explicit society. Their presence in Antwerp however has spawned a large number of organizations, shops and facilities that positively influence their being. The Polish diaspora forms a strong community that is wellintegrated within the neighborhood. Nevertheless, their community cannot be perceived as homogenous, it is internally diversified and consists of various subgroups. This explains the ambiguous and ambivalent views that were displayed by the Polish respondents when describing their own diaspora. Secondly, the example of migration patterns of Morawski family shows that the structure of migration has changed over the last 20 years. Nowadays, it is much easier to migrate to Belgium, which causes an increase in the numbers of immigrants. The decision to move to another country is made with a greater ease, people are no longer forced to make these decisions due to difficult situations in their home country, but they are more likely to emigrate in order to look for a better life abroad. It has also become much easier to bring the family to Belgium, if one of the family members is working abroad, thank to which the separation time from the family has shortened greatly. The 49

Morawski’s family migration also shows that women are completely autonomous and active agents in the migration process, fully capable of making migration decisions on their own. Furthermore, the social networks became much wider, and the span of helping others with moving abroad much greater, which also contributes to the increase in the number of Polish emigrants. However, immigrants still tend to rely on the ties and connections they have in the host country, when making a decision about their migration. This causes a snow-ball effect in the migration process. Changes in mobility after the EU membership facilitated migration processes. It became easier to migrate, from an administrative perspective, and to take the rest of the family along. EU-induced Labor mobility, on the other hand, increased the possibilities of legal labor, but legal employment remained very hard to attain. Officially, there is now mobility of labor, but in fact there is mainly only mobility of work. Polish individuals still remain the cheap labor force they were before, and enter the informal labor market when migrating to Belgium, which implies that, they will have many difficulties with changing their socio-economical position in the close future. This explains why Polish people still find themselves in the same segments of the labor market, as their fathers and grandfathers did, and occupy the same sort of jobs. The majority of men work in construction and mine industries, while women work in a domestic sector. The above mentioned limitations of the labor market force newcomers to strongly depend on the informal labor segment. They often rely on ethnic migrant communities, such as Jewish, Indian or Moroccan. Most of the Belgians offer legal employment and the most favorable working conditions, even in case of illegal employment. This community is however the most difficult to access and newcomers have very little knowledge about the paths that lead to it. Therefore, a majority of recent migrants have no other choice than to approach the communities, which are easy to access. They do not have many difficulties finding a job, even without the knowledge of any foreign language. Nevertheless, the segment they enter forces them to work for very long hours, in poor conditions and for relatively low salaries. Berchem is a center where all of these resources – housing, informal labor, commodities and access to several communities – are available and can be accessed. Berchem is especially important for newcomers. Many older generation migrant communities reside there and facilitate the processes necessary to settle in the host country, such as offering jobs and housing. In addition, Berchem is an easily accessible neighbourhood, due to its location and facilities such as large railway station and its close distance to highways and a motorway. Furthermore, the shops in the neighbourhood offer all variety of products and services essential for newcomers and at very reasonable prices, what makes it affordable even for the least wealthy immigrants. The results of the study prove that Polish community is Antwerp is indeed super-diverse, and so is the neighbourhood in which they live. Limitations and Implications for Future research There are several limitations to the present study. Given the short span of time to conduct the research, there was not enough time to interview a larger number of participants (specifically men) and to compare their views to these of women. Furthermore, the limited amount of time forced me to focus on a few major issues, while a more extended time frame could have helped me to investigate other important aspects, such as the role of ‘vernacular Dutch’ in the daily lives of older and new migrants. Nevertheless, the limitations became apparent only after conducting my research, and only because I have done it, I know now that there are also other aspects worth investigating in the future research. 50

Therefore, it could be helpful if the future research would investigate issues such as the role of the Dutch language, in order to see if language resources have any impact on the socio-economical position that Polish people occupy. It could also be advantageous to compare other districts in the surroundings of Antwerp, to see if there are any other places that could, like Berchem, also play an important role in the migration process of Polish people. Finally, an investigation of male perceptions regarding migration and Polish diaspora in Antwerp might add important insights to the present study.

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