Flexible and Individualistic
Polish Migrants between Worlds
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Half a million people from the new EU member-states are officially living and working in the United Kingdom. The greater part of them are Poles. But Polish migration is not a new phenomenon. Migration and exile are an important part of the Polish national identity. What is new is the character of this work-related migration. Instead of emigrating for good, migrants today show greater pragmatism and flexibility towards their respective opportunities. They live and work between and within two worlds: in their homeland and in their host country. This has implications for how they understand themselves.
(Osteuropa 11-12/2006, pp. 179–190)