Poles’ attitude towards refugees from Ukraine has deteriorated - survey
The number of people in Poland who have a negative attitude towards refugees from Ukraine is growing. This is evidenced by the study "Public Perception of Refugees from Ukraine, Migrants and Actions of the Polish and Ukrainian States", conducted under the leadership of Dr Robert Staniszewski from the University of Warsaw and the Academy of Economics and Humanities in Warsaw, Censor.NET reports citing Radio Liberty.
The study showed that the decline in the attitude towards Ukrainians has spread to all spheres of life, even to the granting of asylum in Poland. The Poles' attitude towards migrants has also decreased.
According to the researcher, the number of those who have a negative attitude towards Ukrainian military refugees is growing due to what respondents called a "pretentious position", in particular, the desire of Ukrainians to have the same rights as Poles in the field of social benefits, etc.
"What really surprised us in this survey is the significant drop in all issues except schooling for Ukrainian children, which remains consistently high. The opportunity to go to school is supported by 82% of respondents," Stanishevsky said.
At the same time, to the question "What is the main curriculum for children of refugees from Ukraine who are accepted to Polish schools?" half of the respondents said that the Polish curriculum should be used, and 40% were in favour of a new curriculum agreed between Poland and Ukraine.
According to the new study, the number of people who are convinced of the need to help Ukraine has also decreased.
Only 31% of respondents believe that Poland should definitely help Ukraine (in January 2023, 62% of Poles thought so). 43% of respondents believe that it "should rather help". 19% oppose assistance.
72% of respondents believe that, despite the Ukrainian war with Russia, Poland should primarily take care of its own interests, especially food exports. The opposite opinion was expressed by 15% of respondents.
Currently, only 17% of Poles agree to accept refugees from Ukraine with the possibility of settlement (37% thought so more than a year ago). 61% want them to return to their country after the war.
