Migration challenges discussed
by Hammersmith and Fulham Press Office
26/01/2009
The effects of east European migration into the borough were discussed at a town hall summit last Friday (23 January).
Latest figures from the electoral register show that the number of east Europeans living in H&F has jumped by 191 per cent since May 2004 - when workers from countries like Poland, Bulgaria and Romania were allowed to look for jobs anywhere inside the European Union (EU).
The number of national insurance registrations from east European workers was up 600 per cent, or 1,790 people, in H&F in the year after the EU opened up its labour market. 85 per cent of the new migrants were from Poland. But this most recent influx of migrant workers to H&F is nothing new. Good transport links with central London and Heathrow has long meant that Hammersmith & Fulham is an attractive location for migrants.
The borough has strong and long established links with the Polish community ever since Polish airmen and WWII refugees settled in the area. The Polish Social and Cultural Association building, or POSK, was built on King Street in 1974 and has cemented the Polish community’s position in the borough.
The symbolic importance of the Hammersmith area among Poles was reinforced in October 2007 when the polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, visited Polish workers at the Tesco’s on Hammersmith’s King Street.
In fact, a walk down King Street will reveal the positive contribution Polish migrants have brought to H&F. There are at least five major Polish advice and information offices, seven Polish delis and most newsagents stocking Polish and other Eastern European food and newspapers. There are an estimated 91 Polish businesses employing more than 600 people in H&F with 99 per cent of east European migrants in work and 85 per cent living in private housing. However, the good news for the vast majority of migrants contrasts with a small minority who do end up falling on hard times.
Councillor Greg Smith, Cabinet Member for Crime & Street Scene, says: “This borough has a long and proud history of welcoming east European workers, particularly from Poland. The work and culture of Polish people as enriched the borough for more than half a century and we are delighted to see this continue.
“However, the reality of international migration will always create winners and losers and there are a visible minority who are losing out.
“This minority may have fallen victim to badly thought out plans for their move, may not speak the language or have pre-existing problems, like alcohol abuse, often end up rough sleeping, street drinking and begging.”
But this minority of Polish migrants who find themselves on the streets of Hammersmith & Fulham are being provided with a way out thanks to the council’s work with the Barka Foundation.
The Barka Foundation is a Polish charity that helps migrants who have not found life in Britain as easy to cope with as they anticipated.
While the vast majority of migrants assimilate into British culture and working practices well, some struggle to find suitable work. Personal battles with drink, drugs and debt can often be at the heart of the problem, and very quickly some find their lives spiralling out of control.
Homelessness is a real problem for foreign nationals, because most hostels are not able to accept them, and while they have entitlement to primary medical care, this does not extend to drink and drug rehabilitation treatment.
The Barka Foundation looks to bridge the gap that exists by helping those people in the borough who are struggling in this way. Over the last twenty years the charity has helped over 20,000 people in Poland through its network of twenty small homes.
Barka staff are based at the Broadway Centre in Shepherds Bush and attempt to give migrants the support they need to get their lives back on track.
One option for migrants, who have failed to find success and prosperity in Britain, is to return home. H&F Council has been allocated £50,000 for the 2008/09 financial year and the same for next year to pay for the Barka bus which has returned 150 people to Poland in the past year. The Department for Communities and Local Government pays the money to cover the travel costs of people who have been unable to find work and want to rebuild their lives in their home country. Once their problems are sorted out, or perhaps they have expanded their skill set, they may well return to Britain with a greater chance of making a successful life here.
Councillor Smith said, “We want to do all we can to ensure that migrants in our borough are provided with the necessary support, but in a lot of cases we find that there is only so much we can do to help.
“The Barka bus allows people to return home to an environment that will give them better opportunities and a brighter future.
“It must be said that this is only one of the ways Barka aims to help migrants. There is much more good work that they do in terms of early interventions and advice and there are structural problems like the Workers Registration Scheme which, if removed would stem the flow of migrants to the informal or 'black' economy where a lot of the problems are exacerbated.”
