The major Polish immigration waves to Australia occurred in the aftermath of the second world war in 1940/1950’, and in the 80’ due to the advent of the Solidarity movement, which struggled for a democratic government in Poland.

Unlike the political immigration of the past, the recent dynamic increase in the number of Polish immigrants is mainly attributed to the abundance of the job opportunities and the freedom of movement. Since Poland joined the EU, the UK has officially opened its borders to 264,560 Poles.

However, Australia remains a more challenging destination due to its further distance and stricter immigration laws. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) shows the following break down of the Polish visitor arrivals to Australia in 2005-2006.

Temporary Resident: 648
Student: 1,270
Visitor: 9,193
Other: 1,552
Total: 12,664

There is no age group specified but it can be assumed that students and skilled migrants, who comprise the majority, would be in the age range 20-35 years. So how many young people are coming to Australia today with the plans of permanent settlement?

How do they cope with the complexity of the immigration - a bitter taste of homesickness and the thrill of exciting new opportunities? I have caught up with few young Poles living in Sydney to write down their stories.

Agata was born in Poland but she came to Australia as a little girl when her parents sought political asylum in the 80ties. After the collapse of the communist regime in 1989 the family returned to Poland, but soon after completing her secondary education there, Agata took the plunge to come to back to the place of her childhood to find herself quickly settled in the Sydeny’s world. Her parents and elder sister soon joined her.

It is Friday evening and me and Agata are sipping a glass of Shiraz in a stylish art gallery pub on Pitt Street. The room swarms with young professionals letting off steam with a drink and subtle jazz music in the background. It’s been a long week and Agata is enjoying the wind-down ritual. She is a hard-working and successful young professional, employed by a big Australian insurance company in the Sydney Business District (CBD) for last few years.

She is a big advocate of Australian multiculturalism and fully embraces the Australian work ethics. The working hours can be sometimes tough, in the busiest times stretched till eight or nine in the evening, but Agata is very focused on future career development and she knows it is a price she has to pay. Determined to break through in the intricate world of actuaries, she represents the ambitious and educated Pole who is ready to pull up the socks to seize the opportunities.

“The idea that Australia is the Eldorado is a misconception; I have to put a lot of effort and determination to achieve what I want, but at least I know that there is an opportunity and it is a fair environment, unlike Polish system based on connections and with no proper work ethics”.

Ironically, the disgruntlement with the situation in Poland is the reason why Agata wants to return one day. She knows it will be challenging due to the crawling job market in her profession, high cost of living and considerably lower salaries, but she is willing to go back home to reform. She realizes that Poland needs young and energetic people like her who could introduce their positive experiences they earned abroad to improve their homeland.

Sylwia and Adrian in the Eastern suburbs, Sydney

Sylwia and Adrian, a married couple in their late 20-ties, have been also attracted to “downunder” by interesting job opportunities and the financial stability, which in their opinion, is non-existent in Poland. The rat race, long working hours and constant job-related stress they have experienced in Kraków were so distressing that within few years after graduation they found themselves in the state of dangerous emotional and physical exhaustion.

With tertiary education and impressive working experience in civil engineering and hospitality industry they had no problems with obtaining a skilled migrant visa to Australia. After 3 years in Sydney the fruits of their material success are clearly visible – a shining new car parked in the Bondi apartment complex where they rent a stylish penthouse. They even have an ambitious plan of buying their own place and getting more settled.

“It is a long-term project, but for the first time in our life we feel it is feasible. Going back to Poland is definitely not on our agenda at the moment. In Australia we mostly appreciate the comfortable lifestyle, the recognition in the work place, and the opportunities for career development. But it does not mean that we have to stay here forever, the door has not been closed. We might go back to Poland in few years’ time, or seek employment in South East Asia, or Dubai, it is an amazing feeling that our generation has no limitations.”

When asked about the homesickness and the prospect of bringing up their children far from their family, they admit it is a bit daunting. They are homesick and their first year was really difficult in this respect, but they somehow learned to cope with it. Free internet calls and webcams make it much easier these days to keep in regular contact with relatives and friends.

In Sydney they do not seek Polish people, although they have met few just by a coincidence and they can appreciate that they have a common ground. They admit that it is comforting to share the same cultural background, but it can be a burden as well. That is why Adrian and Sylwia are very keen to maintain cross-cultural friendships.

Ela and Marcin

Ela.The charm of the “global village” and the thrill of adventure were also on Ela’s mind when she decided to buy her ticket to Australia. Having finished a 6-month contract in Japan she spontaneously gave in to her best friend’s nagging: “Come to Australia, you will never regret it”.

Ela, who is now in her early 30-ties, has extended her Australian holiday to five years. The beginnings weren’t easy as she could not speak English, only Japanese; but she soon started attending English courses to learn the language and be able to find a better job. Things improved considerably when Ela met her neighbour Marcin, a Pole brought up in Australia. This year they have celebrated their first wedding anniversary.

Although it wasn’t an easy decision, Ela knows that she is not going back to Poland. Marcin, who left Poland at the age of four and visited Poland few times, is adamant that Australia is a better place for them to raise their family and secure a job in his profession. Ela admits that she also got used to the comfort and affordability of life, the job security and the Australian mentality.

Ela's picnic

“It is amazing that people here are so much friendlier and considerate. They care about the customer service and the convenience of others; our recent visits to Poland turned out to be disastrous in this respect. I was especially painful to see no respect or simply no involvement to help you in some public institutions”.

But this is not the reason why Ela and Marcin do not stick with the Polish community in Sydney too much. It is mainly due to the lack of time and over the weekend they like to be active in a truly Aussie style: enjoy the bush waking, bike riding, or meet their friends for a “barbie”.

Ela used to visit St Mary’s Cathedral in Hyde Park, which gathers quite a big group of young Poles, but after few weeks the charismatic Polish priest moved to Glenmore, which is too far in the country. Although Ela has a couple of Polish girlfriends the majority of her friends are Aussies. She has never experienced any specifically anti-Polish sentiment or crushing stereotypes, but she admits there is a certain barrier resulting from the cultural gap. Ela would occasionally feel intimidated or not natural speaking English, as if she could not fully express herself and maybe could not be fully understood.

Ela and Marcin on a trip to Margaret River, WA

When I asked Rysiu for an interview in English, he did not seem to be bothered by the language at all, and he thrived on being able to share his Australian experiences. A passionate traveller and a typical rolling stone, Rysiu left Poland out of boredom, to look for new, exciting adventures.

Australia just happened to be on his long itinerary, although he also attributes his Australian episode to some kind of inherent and mystical attraction to this far land from his early childhood. Is it really a destiny? In his mid 30s now Rysiu has been living “downunder” for five years, recently obtained a status of a temporary resident and just applied for the permanent residency.

In his nine-to-five job he is helping foreign students to organize their stay at language schools and universities in Australia. To his satisfaction, the numbers of Polish students are picking up. Even though airfare to Australia and the tuition fees are still a great expense, the availability of casual work takes off the burden. Students can easily support themselves, mainly by bartending and working in retail, and they are not interested in going back to Poland or even to Europe.

Australia offers not only a great sunshine but more job opportunities. Western Europe still nurtures the prejudice of the iron curtain; the anti-Polish sentiment is still strong. Rysiu does not feel discriminated here, although he can see some racial tensions within this multicultural nation. Nevertheless, he reckons that Australian employers appreciate Polish workers for their hard work, persistence, flexibility, and good education.

It is a bit different when it comes to the Australian perception of the socio-political situation in Poland. “Poland may be far away but for example the issue of Teletubbies was blow up by the local media to show Polish homophobia, and even though this argument was simply ridiculous and the attention can be very selective, such cases do create certain picture of Poles as well.”

But because Australia is such an isolated and fairly young nation, Australians are less interested in history and politics, and that is part of the reason why it is such an attractive lifestyle. “It is good to have a respite from the bloody and painful past, which we cherish so much in Poland, here Galipolli is celebrated but within limits, the biggest emphasis is on the present moment and the comfortable lifestyle.”

And this is the main reason why Rysiu is not planning to go back to Poland. He is also discouraged by the current political situation there. He is now greatly enjoying the warm climate, the open mindedness and multiculturalism around him. As a globetrotter he is keen to discover and communicate with new cultures and Australia is a perfect place for him.

Mariusz camping in the Kimberley,WA

But not everyone has been won over by the charm of Australia. Mariusz will be soon packing his bags to go back to Poland. He came to Australia for a financial kickback as a typical short-term job immigrant and after 5 years of toiling as a painter he feels like running away from his lifestyle.

Mariusz admits that he is disillusioned with hard physical work, long working hours and not having been home since his arrival he greatly misses his family and friends. He has been living in Ashfiled, which shelters a close-nit Polish community in Sydney, and knows a lot of Poles or East Europeans with similar stories. They work long hours as painters and construction site workers, employed mainly within the Polish community.

“There is a lot of competition but we also support each other very much. All of the jobs are thanks to networking - someone does you a favour and gives you a tip about work, and you repay him one day. That’s how it works in here. I did not work for Australians yet - they probably would not want us as they have cheaper labour from Asia.”

Is it all so bleak for Mariusz though? The beauty of Australian outback has proved to be a great off-set fro him. As a passionate adventure seeker Mariusz loves hiking and backpacking. He has been to most beautiful, wild and often dangerous places in Australia and New Zealand. Alone he has hiked in the bush, semi-desert areas, little mining towns, stunning canyons and highlands.

Another view on the Kimberley. Photo Mariusz

His amazing photos from the Kimberly Region in Western Australia were even used by the local travel agency website. He has been also posting his photos and travel journals in the Polish travelling magazine “¦wiat Podró¿y”. ”I have many great memories of my bush adventures and think very fondly of local people. They are very friendly and proud of being Australian.”

It seems that leaving Sydney to admire the beauty of Australian landscape was a tremendous relief for him and enabled him to realise his great passion for travelling. But for Mariusz there are more new things to discover. He is planning to head back to more familiar surrounding of Pszczyna in the Polish south through the exotic tropical forests in Borneo and Samoa!

Magdalena Kopydlowska

The Kimberley. Photo Mariusz