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Gazeta Uliczna
special supplement
September 2006
CHRISTMAS EVE WITH THE BARKA FOUNDATION
The
Barka Foundation Has been organising open Christmas Eve Suppers for over
12 years. They always take place in the middle of the Old Market Square
in Poznań in BWA Gallery and Kongresowa Restaurant. In the same time
when all the Polish families meet at the traditional Supper Table, 400
people including the homeless, the lonely and the poor gather to
celebrate Christmas Eve. On the beautifully set tables there are 12
traditional Polish dishes prepared by volunteers from donation products.
The tables are standing outsider. Inside of the gallery there is a
Christmas crib with Baby Jesus ST Mary, ST Joseph and live animals.
But it is not only people In Reed that take part In the Supper. Local
authorities, public administration representatives, church and media
representatives, artists and famous people together with many families
of Poznan also come to the Market Square to join the open Christmas Eve
Supper.
The participants are invited to begin their traditional Christmas Carols
Meetings a week before the Supper. They bring various gifts and make
donations, they organize different meetings and carols singing evenings.
Traditional Christmas decorations are being prepared. stalls selling
social cooperatives products are also set up.
We Gould like to entourage all the EuroMi members and supporters to
organise similar open Christmas Suppers for all those who are going to
be alone or away from home on Christmas or who are in a difficult
situation or have no home.
We wish you a marry Christmas and a happy and prosperous Year
2007!!!
Volunteers, Barka programmes participants and working staff
together with all the Barka’s friends
POLISH-BRITISH MISSION FOR EMPLOYMENT |
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Log in to support an appeal to the European Commision |
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BARKA organizes the Polish-British Mission for the homeless and unemployed people in London |
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Film "Polish-British Mission
for Employment"
Jarek Cybulski, Piotr Dobroniak CINOSPROJEKT London
jarek@cinosproject.com, www.cinosproject.com , tel. +447737633277
(45 MB file)
21.12.2006 New EuroMI webpage!!! We would like you to invite you to visit our brand new EuroMI webpage. Please go to www.euromi.info and tell us what you think about it
21.12.2006 Around
2000 people have received the first edition
of our "EuroMI Nesletter"!!We hope that the number of
our readers and friends will grow continously.
EuroMI Newsletter>
21.12.2006
A EuroMI representative live in a popular Polish TV show!
Ewa Sadowska, the EuroMI coordinator has takenpart in a
popular morning TV show today, on thursday the 21st of December. The main
topic of the interview was the Open Christmas Eve Supper
organised for the 12th time by the Barka Foundation on the Old
Market Square in Poznań and the EuroMI project.
21.12.2006 we
present a EAPN
National Report on Strategies for Social
Protection and Social Inclusion for the years
2006-2008
more>
more>
18.12.2006
An important letter from Dublin-we hope
there will be more such offers. We count on you!
Hello,
My name is Ela Dzienisiewicz I have lived in Dublin for a
while. I have heard your Foundation is planning to begin some of
its activities here in Dublin. I was wondering if I could be of
any help. I'd like to be one of those providing support to my
compatriots in need.
Ireland is presented in the Polish media as a "paradise on Earth".
Unfortunately Polish migrants expecations often choke with cruel
reality. Many people who come here cannot cope with the Irish
realities and they become socially excluded. I'm sure you
perfectly understand this process.
please let me know if you are interested in cooperating with me
and if you consider my support useful.
I send you warm greetings and looking forward to hearing from
you.
Wish you all Marry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Ela Dzienisiewicz
15.12.2006
Franco Frattini's response to uor
letter
more>
14.12.2006
Preparations for Christmas Eve have begun.
This year the Traditional Christmas Supper is going to be
organised by young staff members of the Barka Foundation.
more>
13.12.2006.
To all EuroMI friends and supporters!
We present 2 short reports ( By Tim Nicholls and Ewa
Sadowaska) from the
Closing Conference
and Ceremony of the European Union's Year of Worker
report1>
report2>
11.12.2006
An important information for those
willing to take part in the European Network for Migrants
Integration! - representatives of the
developing EuroMI network - Ewa Sadowska and Tim Nicholls will
take active part in a conference on the European Year of Workers
Mobility organised today (11.12.2006) by the European Commission.
programme>
workshops>
07.12.2006
We continue our educational campaign on
the local level!
On the 5th and
the 7th of December PBME representatives provided training for
Local information centres empoyees and representatives of
university job agencies. The participants had the possibility to
learn more about migration process and connected problems.
EuroMI project was also presented.
07.12.2006
Videoconference in London and Warsaw on
the new wave of Polish work migrants in the UK
Ewa Sadowska-a PBME representative has taken part in the panel
discussion during a seminar orgnised by the British
Council in Warsaw - Thursday the 7th of December - on the situation of Polish migrants in the UK. The
Seminar will take place simultaneously in London and Warsaw -
videoconference facilitieson will enable common
discussion. Homelessness of many Polish migrants in the
UK is one of the proposed topics
more>
topics>
06.12.2006
Regional Workshop on Social Enterprises
in Central-Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent
States is going to take place in Brussels on the
11-12 of December 2006.
more>
04.12.2006
EU suggests Job Centres for Africa.
To
deal with the surge in African immigrants, the European
Commission proposes a network of pseudo-placement agencies and a
system of short-term work visits
more>
04.12.2006
2 important films on good practices in
poverty eradication!
We present 2 important films on poverty and alcoholism
eradication and the role that GEEP (The Global Encyclopedia for
the Eradication of Poverty) plays in presenting good practices
on fighting the problems ( the Barka Foundaton example)
Peruvian example>
Polish example>
04.12.2006
A report from the conference on the
free movement of workers within the EU organised by ECAS in the
European Parliament. PBME representatives - Ewa
Sadowska and Philip Burke took active part in the conference.
more>
photographs>
28.11.2006
50 victims of dishonest employers end
fake job agencies on the streets of Copenhagen
The Director of Koefede's School in Copenhagen has told one
of the PBME representatives that the school streetwalkers have
met within a month 50 Polish work migrants living on the streets
of Copenhagen. They had lef their homes and families in Poland
and went to Denmark to work. Unfortunately they became victims
of dishonest employers or various fake job agencies and they are
now homeless. They cannot afford a ticket home and have to moan
the streets of Copenhagen. We are awaiting more information from
Denmark and we hope that the new EuroMi project will create
possibilities of providing support to people in neeed living in
all parts of Europe.
27.11.2006
A story of a missing Polish migrant, we
presented a few days ago, has reached a happy end!
Janus G was identified by his family members whilst being
interviewed on Wiadomosci ( the main Polish news channel). His
back was turned to the camera and he was saying that he loves
his wife and children and wants tocomeback home but has no money
to buy a return ticket. His family contacted us a week ago and
we showed the pogramme to Tim Nicholls who was then visiting us
from the Simon Community in London. He was able to recognise the
place where the interview took place. It was at a day centre for
the homeless based in the London borough of Hammersmith. We
contacted the family providing contact details to a Polish
speaking social worker of the organis. On Friday Wiadomości
broadcast an information that Janusz G. had reached his home
safely. Janusz G has been the 7 th person that Barka
ant its partners have helped return to Poland.
see a film>
27.11.2006
PBME in The British Council
The British Council has invited Barka Foundation
representatives to take part in a panel discussion during a
seminar on the situation of Polish migrants in the UK. The
Seminar will take place simultaneously in London and Warsaw -
videoconference facilitieson will enable common
discussion. Homelessness of many Polish migrants in the
UK is one of the proposed topics.
more>
proposed
topics>
27.11.2006
A Barka representativehas been invited
to make a speech during a United Nations conference.
A seminar entitled "Strenhtening social Inclusion Process -
Searching for a Compromise in Order to Reach Lisbon Strategy and
Millennium Development Goals" will take place in Warsaw on the
29-30th of November 2006. European Commission representatives as
well as government representatives together with local
authorities and NGOs dealing with social exclusion and social
integration will take part in the conference.
more>
24.11.2006
The
Barka Foundation project
has
been selected as a finalist for the prize of "Most Innovative
Development Project"
which is part of the 2006 Global Development Awards and Medals
Competition
more>
21.11.2006
PBME
representatives - Ewa Sadowska and Philip Burke will take part
in a conference on free movement of workers within the EU
organised by European Action Services (ECAS). The seminar will
take place in the European Parliament in Brussels on the 22nd of
October 2006.
letter
to the participants>
case
study>
programme>
21.11.2006Features
– Poles apart. A report on Polish migrants
Just over two years ago, Poland joined the EU, and the trickle
of arrivals into the UK became a flood — and not just to the
cities. Varya Shaw looks at where the new wave of immigrants has
settled and the consequences for local authorities.
more>
20.11.2006
The Barka Foundation have received an
invitation to take active part in the Closing Conference of the
European Year of Workers Mobility organised by the
European Commission
programme>
workshops>
20.11.2006
PBME has begun it's educational
campaign on the local level.
On Friday 17.11.2006 Tim Nicholls from the Simon
Community and three representatives of the Barka Foundation have
met with Katholic Youth Association (KSM) in one of the
Cathedral rooms in Poznan. The PBME representatives told the KSM
members about all the risks of unprepared migration and
presented the PBME history and reasons for its establishment.
They have also talked about possibilities of migrants support
within the EuroMI project. We hope that such tee-time meetings
with local communities will take place more often.
20.11.2006
European Commission
Report on the Functioning of the
Transitional Arrangements set out in the 2003 Accession Treaty
(period 1 May 2004–30 April 2006)
the report>
16.11.2006
This land of opportunity must not close
doors to migrant labour - an article by Stephen King
from "The Independent"
the
article - part1
the
article - part2
16.11.2006
Immigration is opening up all those issues
that the Government would rather forget - an article
by Steve Richards from "The Independent"
more>
16.11.2006
SNP targets Polish voters.
About 50,000 immigrants have arrived in Scotland since Poland
entered the European Union (EU), all of whom are now entitled to
vote in next year’s Holyrood poll. The Scottish National Party
is targeting the immigrant Polish community to boost its
performance at next year’s Scottish election.
more>
14.11.2006 The closest family of a Polish work migrant missing in London has contacted us today. Janus G was identified by his family members whilst being interviewed on Wiadomosci ( the main Polish news channel). His back was turned to the camera and he was saying that he loves his wife and children and wants tocomeback home but has no money to buy a return ticket. We have shown the programme to Tim Nicholls visiting us from the Simon Community in London. He was able to recognise the place where the interview took place. It was at a day centre for the homeless based in the London borough of Hammersmith. We contacted the family providing contact details to a Polish speaking social worker of the organisation. We hope for a reestablishement of contact.
14.11.2006.
Correspondence with an NGO from Belgium
offering their cooperation on the migrants issues.
Dear Ewa Sadowska ,
Through Eric Degimbe , we received your request for a belgian
NGO working on migration issues .
We are pleased to let you know that we have been working for
more than 3 years on this crucial theme , on a brussels level so
as an european level.
We would be delighted to work with you, with the collaboration
of local brussel social actors working with polish migrants.
Are you sometimes in Brussels to discuss over this project ?
Let me know more in details your expectations .
Best regards,
Denis Stokkink
Président
Think tank européen
Pour la Solidarité
Dear Denis,
Thank you for you email and your willingness to cooperate with
the Barka Foundation on the migration issue. I think it would be
useful to meet - I will be in Brussles sometime around 12-14 of
December. Perhaps there would be an opportunity to talk some
more then?
Meanwhile, please find the attached letter of the Barka
Foundation and its partners to the Vice President of the
European Commission - Franco Frattini concerning the issue of
job migration in Europe. We welcome any comments you may have
concerning the letter to Mr. Frattini. (It is in English).
Thank you very much for your consideration.
Ewa Sadowska
Project Coordonator
ewa.sadowska@gmail.com
14.11.2006
The European Commission has invited the
Barka Foundation to participate actively in a conference
sumarising the Year of European Workers' Mobility The
conference will take place in Lille (France) on the 11-12of
December 2006 " Barka representative will take part in the
official opening of the conference. They will present the
Foundation's project on work migrants. Furthermore they will
conduct workshops on activization and rentegration
of the migrants returning to their home country".
- said a European Commisssion representative
14.11.2006
Correspondence with a Belgian NGO -
Pour la Solidarite
Dear Ewa Sadowska ,
Through Eric Degimbe , we received your request for a belgian
NGO working on migration issues .
We are pleased to let you know that we have been working for
more than 3 years on this crucial theme , on a brussels level so
as an european level .
We would be delighted to work with you, with the collaboration
of local brussel social actors working with polish migrants.
Are you sometimes in Brussels to discuss over this project ?
Let me know more in details your expectations .
Best regards,
Denis Stokkink
Président
Think tank européen
Pour la Solidarité
www.pourlasolidarite.be
Dear Denis,
Thank you for you email and your willingness to
cooperate with the Barka Foundation on the migration
issue. I think it would be useful to meet - I will be in
Brussles sometime around 12-14 of December. Perhaps
there would be an opportunity to talk some more then?
Meanwhile, please find the attached letter of the Barka
Foundation and its partners to the Vice President of the
European Commission - Franco Frattini concerning the
issue of job migration in Europe. We welcome any
comments you may have concerning the letter to Mr.
Frattini. (It is in English).
Thank you very much for your consideration.
Ewa Sadowska
Project Coordinator
ewa.sadowska@gmail.com
14.11.2006
Tim Nicholls, the director of the Simon
Community, has come for his second visit to Poland.
Tim Nicholls is going to stay for a week with the Barka
Foundation trying to think of possibilities of providing support
to the migrants.
We recommend you read an interview with Tim Nicholls
in the Polish "Big Issue"- "Gazeta Uliczna" you can find it in
our "Mission in the media".
14.11.2006
The Polish President L.Kaczynski on
Polish work migrants Great Britain - "It's a lie".
Maciej Łopiński Polish vice secretary of state said that the
"Daily Mail" article on the president’s visit is false. The
Wednesday Daily Mail quotes Lech Kaczyński’s words from a press
conference after the meeting with Tony Blair.
more>
10.11.2006
FEANSTA Flash October 2006 (European Federation of National
Organizations working with the Homeless)
more>
10.11.2006 The
Barka Foundation together with its partners (Simon Community,
Housing Justice Unleash, Natioanl Alliance of
Organizations for Social Integration) Have written a letter to
Franco Frattini - Vice-President and EU Commssioner,
Chairman of the Commissioners' Group on Migrants Issues.
The Group concentrates
on creating a safety-net social system embracing non EU
nationals mainly. The letter is a plea for the Group to consider
the problem of he internal migration within the EU and to
include the A8 nationals in the support system.
the letter>
10.11.2006
A letter from Holand
Dear Sirs,
I have red an artickle
about your mission for Polish homeless people in London England,
is there an organisation in Holland who can help the Polish
people who live on the street ?
I work as a social worker in the centre of Rotterdam and we see
and meet more and more homeless people from all over the wordl ,
among them an increasing number of Polish men, who came here
for work, cannot find work , start to drink and sometimes die in
the street.
If you can help us , please let me know!
Yours sincerely,
Tilly van den Bogaard
social worker
GGD
tel 06 212 8 333 7
10.11.2006
1,500 migrants arrive in UK daily.Some
1,500 migrants arrived to live in the UK every day in 2005,
according to official estimates.
more>
09.11.2006
MEP Jean Lambert
mentions Barka and the Simon Community in her newsletter under
the heading Human Rights.
more>
08.11.2006
Letter from Pour la Solidarite
Dear Ewa
Sadowska,
Through Eric Degimbe, we received your request for a belgian NGO
working on migration issues. We are pleased to let you know that
we have been working for more than 3 years on this crucial theme,
on a brussels level so as an european level. We would be
delighted to work with you, with the collaboration of local
brussel social actors working with polish migrants.
Are you sometimes in Brussels to discuss over this project ?
Let me know more in details your expectations.
Best regards ,
Denis Stokkink
Président Think tank européen Pour la Solidarité, Rue Coenraets,
66
B-1060 Bruxelles
Tél. : +32.2.535.06.85 - Fax : +32.2.539.13.04 Portable :
+32.476.711.724
www.pourlasolidarite.be
03.11.2006
The Right to Health is a Human Right:
Ensuring Access to Health for People who are Homeless.
FEANTSA Annual European Report 2006 has been published
the report>
03.11.2006 A Polish
department of the biggest trade union,GMB, has been created!
more>
31.10.2006 Cooperation offer form France! French Embassy in Warsaw as well as Paris local authorities have invited Barka Foundation to come to France. Polish work migrants are flooding Pris and they begin to face similar problems as their compatriots in Greate Britain. A group of 5 experts will come to Paris with a study visit to identify the migrants problems and needs. The visit will also aim at creating local and international partnerships to solve the problems.
31.10.2006
Commisioners Group on Migration Issues
chaired by Vice President Franco Frattini has been set up
more>
31.10.2006
A police office worker from Thames Valley wrote
to us asking for assistance in dealing with Polish work migrants.
We present his letter and Małgorzata Malak response.
more>
30.10.2006
The
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
has submitted an application for funding for a common project of
the Hammersmith and Fulham Borough and two agencies identified
as:
1)The Barka foundation that has agreed to develop a service to
assist with A8s in the borough.
2) The Broadway project hosts existing outreach work and offers
some existing support to assist A8s.
The project takes into account the following strands:
1. Developing communications that keep potential migrants well
informed of realistic prospects and suitable preparations before
entering the UK.
2. Polish police secondment
3. Voluntary reconnections with arranged programmes in the home
country of the migrants.
4. Short stay hostel space
26.10.2006
We would like to encourage our partners
to apply for subventions. We present you 2 different
founds thet are still available.
World Bank>
Oak Foundation>
26.10.2006
Philip Burke from the Simon Community
and Małgorzata Malak from PBME on behalf of T.Sadowski from the
BArka Foundation have written 2 separate letters to the EU
Commisioner for Justice and Home Affairs - Franco Frattini
P.Burke
letter>
M.Malak Letter>
EuroMI>
26.10.2006
Fast track to UK for Polish builders
The
construction industry's training body is setting up an office in
Poland to fast-track migrant workers into Britain. The office
will be open this month to hone the skills of Polish builders
and familiarize them with health and safety issues.
more>
26.10.2006
Bosses and unions court the Poles
The TUC's concern that one in five migrant workers is being
exploited by unscrupulous bosses led it to set up a stall at a
job fair in the Polish capital this week to give advice about UK
employment law and working in Britain
more>
24.10.2006. Polish
migrants in France face similar problems as those in Great
Britain- correspondence from France
Dear Barka Foundation
We've heard about the situation of Polish migrants in London
and we would like to inform you about similar problems in
France. Indeed, thousands of Polish workers come to France
and, because of various problems (language, difficulty to
integrate...), they stay unemployed and, very often,
homeless. One of their meeting points in Paris is the Polish
Church where they gather to speak, exchange clothes, try to
help each other... Although it is very important for them to
have those meeting points, it could also be a problem
because then, they always stay in close circles.
They need people with your experience to help them to
integrate and create a real social dialogue. Your actions in
London are a great example of what could be done to help
these migrants, not only in England, but also in every
country of the European Union. You could maybe create an
organization to support migrants in Paris too. We could help
you to find French organizations which could become your
partners.
Kind regards
LEAP Massabielle - Le Vernet la Varenne - France
24.10.2006
An application form for subventions for
the EuroMI project has been sent to the European Commission!
EuroMI- European
Network for Migrants Integration is a program created to support
all migrant workers. It is a partnership created by
organizations from 6 different countries: Great Britain, France,
Spain, Denmark, Greece, and Poland
24.10.2006
Thousands of Italians went on a
demonstration against slavery work and in solidarity with abused
migrant workers.
Three major Italian trade unions have organized a
demonstration called "Migration and Law" in Foggia, South Italy.
It has been a reaction to the recently discovered work cams
where migrant workers (most of them Polish)were forced to
slavery work. Speeches held during the demonstration have
underlined that consent for slavery work makes Italy regress to
the nineteenth century.
24.10.2006 British Unions recruit Polish workers during Warsaw Work Fair. TUC have come to Poland to encourage Polish migrant workers to join British trade unions while working in Great Britain. The TUC arrival to Poland is a result of constantly growing numbers of Polish migrants arriving to the UK without adequate knowledge and preparation. They don't know English nor have any friends in the UK and therefore are very vulnerable to misuse and work gangs. The TUC have been concerned about the growing problem and therefore encourage Poles to join them. They assure that they treat all they members equally. " a term <migrant worker> does not exists to us, we perceive everyone as workers", said one of the TUC representatives.
24.10.2006
EuroMI representatives in Polish
Parliament- 20.10.2006
Representatives of the European Network for Migrants
Integration - the project coordinator, Ewa Sadowska and the
Barka Foundation secretary took part in a conference
organized by the Marshall of Polish Senate. The conference was
called "Work Migration from Poland to other EU countries -
challenges to the state. In her speech Ewa Sadowskja asked
Polish Parliament representatives for support for the EuroMI
project activities in the European Commission. EuroMI
promotional materials were distributed during the conference.
24.10.2006
PBME in the European Parliament -
11.10.2006
Tomasz Sadowski i Ewa Sadowska - EuroMI project
representatives have met with a EMP Jan Kułakowski in the
European Parliament in Brussels. Mr. Jea Louis, one of the Barka
Foundation partners have also participated in the meeting. Mr.
Luis represents a network of social enterprises in Belgium.
The talks concerned EuroMI future development and possibility of
using Belgian social economy good practices in the EuroMi
project.
19.10.2006
Ken
Loach new film on Polish migrants
more>
18.10.2006
BBC One on Polish work migrants and the
Barka Foundation
more>
18.10.2006
Mohammad Janus, a social entrepreneur
from Bangladesh is the new Nobel Peace prizewinner.
I have met Prof. Mohammad Janus and I have seen people in
Bangladesh who were getting out of poverty thanks to him and his
bank. I am not surprised in the slightest that he is the new
Nobel Peace prizewinner. Prof. Janus works for social
integration of the socially marginalized. He fights with social
exclusion which only breeds aggression, anger, hatred and leads
to war. His actions help bringing peace to the world.
more>
13.10.2006
The second day of the FEANSTA
Conference has begun
During the first day representatives of 8
different organisations have shown their presentations.
The Barka Foundation was represented by Barbara Sadowska.
Aditionaly Małgorzata Malak from PBME introduced the conference
participants to the new project program EuroMI. Partners of
the project have written a letter to the participans and during
breakes between presentation declarations of support for the
project were being collected.
11.10.2006 On the 12-14th of October an international conference organised by FEANSTA will take place in Wrocław. It is aimed at NGOs fighting homelesness, they will all come to Wrocław tommorow to exchange their experience in the matter. The Barka Foundation representatives will introduce the participantsof the conference to the newly created programme called EuroMI (European Network for Migrants Integration).
11.10.2006 UN has designated
18 of December for the International Migrants Day
Why celebrating the IMD?>
more>
09.10.2006 The
European Commission has declared the year 2006 as The European
Year of Workers' Mobility
more>
09.10.2006
PBME representatives meet with Anna
Kalata-the Polish Minister of Labour and Social Policy.
On the 4th of October two PBME representatives met with Anna
Kalata- the Polish Labour Minister. The meeting took place in
the Polish Embassy
more>
06.10.2006 A press conference has
been organised today, on Friday 06.10.2006. Tim
Nicholls from the Simon Community has reported on his visit in
Poland.
The aim of the visit was:
- to strengthen the cooperation between Polish and British
organizations within Polish-British Mission for Employment;
- an exchange of experience - the Simon Community is interested
in the idea of Centers for Social Integration and wants to
introduce a similar project in the UK;
- to find ways for introducing changes into British law
concerning work migrants;
- to highlight the scale of the migrants’ problems to the
representatives of Polish government – Tim Nicholls together with
the Barka Foundation representatives have met with Polish
Foreign Affairs Minister, Labour and Social Policy Minister and
the Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection.
At the end of the conference Tim Nicholls defined Polish-British
cooperation within PBME as "very fruitful" and he said that
prospects for cooperation with Polish government looked
good.
22.09.06 We have
received a letter from the Police
Station in Tooting, which describes a tragic
situation of a group of homeless Polish males camping on private
properties. Since they constitute a threat to other residents
the Tooting Poliece Station has asked the Barka Foundation for
assistance.
more>
03.10.2006 Tim Nicholls from the
Simon Community visits Poland. Tim Nicholls came on
Monday to Poznań on the Barka Foundation invitation. He is the
chair person of the Simon Community, an NGO based in London
dealing with homelesness. On Tuesday and Wednesday Tim Nicholls
is due to meet with the Barka Foundation representatives and
local authorities. Several meetings are scheduled for him in
Warsaw for Thursday. He is going to meet with representatives of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Labour andSocial
Policy. Later the same day, he is going to meet with
the Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection.
All the talks are aimed at finding ways for Polish – British
cooperation in the field of prevention against social exclucion
of migrant workers
02.10.2006
The report by Philip Burke -
trustee of the Simon Community - UK on the migration of A8
nationals in England. The report has been writen for the
occasion of the speech delivered by the Barka representative Ewa
Sadowska in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on September
27
more>
28.09.2006 Correspondence from London
by Małgorzata Malak (PBME Office in London)
Yesterday, together with
Maciej Woroch from Facts, TVN (Polish TV channel), we spoke to
Poles living in an abandoned garage in Tooting district and with
squatters from Kennington.
Our plans for the coming days:
28.09.2006
10.00- meeting with the Consul General of the Republic of Poland,
the Association of Help for Poles, then with Maciej Woroch,
Facts, TVN/ABC London;
15.00 – discussing the cooperation with The Broadway Project
from Hammersmith district;
16.00 – meeting with British journalist who is working on the
documentary about Poles;
18.00 – meeting with volunteers.
29.09.2006
14.00- meeting with the priest Gostomski from St. Andrew Bobola
parish;
18.00 – dinner with Tim from the Simon Community, Ray Tang (a
press photographer who is working on the issue of Poles) and
Jarek Cybulski (Cinosproject).
30.09.2006
Polish Construction Fairs
Hammersmith and Fulham local authorities want to start a common
project.
27.09.2006 PBME representatives
met people from the Housing Center of Hammersmith and Fulham
district. The following persons took part in the
meeting: John Downie, a manager for homelessness, Natalie Cooke,
responsible for help for rough sleepers on the streets of
Hammersmith, Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, James Morris who
works on the development of the strategy for fight against the
alcohol problem.
John Downie wants to carry out the project to assist A8
nationals, especially from Poland and Lithuania, in cooperation
with organizations from these countries. The project will
include assist to find work, support groups, especially for
alcohol addicts, assist to go back home for those who want and
will then get support from Polish organizations – they will be
able to take part in projects organized by Barka Foundation and
its partner organizations. There is a chance that in Hammersmith
some flats will be made available for homeless Poles to live
there temporarily.
Hammersmith local authorities asked us for help to find partners
in Lithuania.(tł.A.Kąciak)
Ewa Sadowska will
present the activities of the Barka Foundation,
including the project of Polish-British Mission for Employment
in the European Parliament in Strasburg on September 27th.
more>
“Developing the policy on homelessness
services for people from Eastern Europe”.
(26.09.06) The meeting took place in a day-care centre The
Passage close to Victoria Station. The representatives of
various centres and local authorities of Westminister and
Southwark took part in the meeting. Paul Anderson from Homeless
Link, the umbrella organisation, presented current researches
which show that the main problems people from A8 countries face
are: accommodation, employment, language. Alcohol and drugs are
placed much further on that list. The conclusion: Job Centres
should make an effort to meet A8 nationals’ needs.
read
more>
NOTE: This website should be seen with the use of Internet
Explorer.
25.09.06 Cooperation with BIG ISSUE LONDON and
International Network of Street Papers initiated!
Representatives of Polish-British Mission for Employment
contacted the Network Director Ms Lisa Maclean.
read more>
22.09.2006 MEP Jan Kulakowski
has entered the Polish-British Mission for Employment for
European Workers Mobility Award.
read more>
22.09.06
Six more Poles are victims
of false labour provider which announced itself in daily
newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza. The Polish-British Mission for
Employment met the victims and helped them to go from the Luton
airport to Victoria Station. The action was possible thanks to
the kindness of friendly journalists. In this way it is possible
to help a few persons. But is is just a drop in the ocean. It is
necessary to create the system of control of the gangs which act
as labour providers.
read more>
22.09.06
Representatives of "the Mission"
met in London with a manager of the emerging "Migrant
Worker Project" - Janie Kidston who introduced her ideas for
further cooperation with "the Mission" and providing assistance
to Poles in the UK.
21.09.06
Tim Nicholls (Simone Community):
What the British government is presently doing.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have one person on
secondment with Westminster Council (the local authority where
most people arrive at Victoria coach station). This person is
doing sterling work in trying to ensure that people from the A8
nations access employment opportunities. However the secondment
ends at the end of October, and she was herself severely
stretched, in terms of work load.
Secondly the DWP gave Westminster council £167,000 for extra
Police Community support workers to go around Westminster and
potentially to offer to A8 Nationals on the streets, the chance
to return home. So far 265 people have returned home using this
fund. The fund is due to end at the end of September and there
is no clear indication that the DWP will continue the funding.
All of the funding/ support has been focused on Westminster. It
does not take into consideration the wide geographic spread of
homelessness in London for A8 Nationals. This funding is due to
run out, and it is hard to say if it will be renewed. It also is
clearly a drop in the ocean for what needs to be happening.
16.09.06
Philip Burke, a
Simon Community trustee wrote:
Malgorzata,
I took part in a
pre-recorded news programme last night with the national German
television broadcaster, ARD, which has reach in Poland and some
of the other A8 countries. My involvement was purely to
highlight the pitfalls of people arriving in the UK,
ill-prepared, and with little or indeed no understanding that
they are setting off for one of the most expensive countries in
the world. I wanted to re-inforce the point that anyone thinking
of coming here should have at least £500 in their pocket as well
as having a skill - afterall, they cannot all be builders,
plumbers and decorators.
read>
IFSW
Policy Statement on Migration:
15.09.06 "IFSW believes that
it is vital for prospective migrants to obtain comprehensive,
easy-to-understand information regarding the consequences of
emigration. This information should include all aspects which
facilitate better adaptation to the new living conditions, use
of the social services and assistance in the receiving country.
The history and customs of the receiving country, the language,
rights and obligations, education, cultural activities etc.,
should all be the subject of pre-departure information.
Information regarding likely employment and accommodation is a
key element.
"IFSW proposes that this information be provided jointly between
the countries of emigration and of immigration. This should be
supplemented by efforts of social services organisations and
consular authorities in the receiving countries to overcome the
obstacles experienced on arrival."
Joint statement by
Peterborough City Council and Barka Foundation of Poland
following meeting in Peterborough on Tuesday 12 September 2006
15.09.2006
read>
We have finished the first stage of the
Mission.
15.09.2006
The Polish-British Mission for Employment office has been
established in London. Małgorzata Malak is a manager of the
office (m_malak@wp.pl, tel. 0044 78.58.46.96.97). She has stayed
in London together with Leszek Bór to continue the activities
for unemployed Poles. Tomasz Sadowski, Ewa Sadowska and Grzegorz
Wojtanowski came back to Poznan. Now they are preparing a report
for the government and the media. They are full of optimism. We
have fulfilled 125 or even 150 percent of the assumed plan for
this trip - Tomasz Sadowski said. It is impossible to help Poles
without the participation of all the institutions: the
governments of both countries, local authorities, organizations,
churches. We are planning a meeting of experts in Warsaw –
T.Sadowski said.
(Tł.A. Kąciak)
CBCEW
ORP Statement on Homelessness among Polish Migrants
12.09.2006
read>
Meeting between the Local Government
and the Church.
by Malgorzata Malak, office of PBME in London
12.09.2006
9.30 Meeting with representatives of the Westminster Council and
also representatives of the Self-Government district of
Southward which have all participated. Both districts will be
placed in Central London; they wrestle with homelessness and
particular problems related. Westminster is contained in the
notorious Victoria Station area, where coaches filled arrive
daily with our compatriots. At the meeting present was The
Polish Republic General Consul, Janusz Wach, also envoy of
British House of Commons from cases of housing, representatives
of the European Parliament, representatives of British
Non-Government Organizations, earning emigrants and the
representatives of the Barka Foundation.
read>
reports>
foto>
Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in London: Press
Release - Meeting with Barka on 7th Sept.
"Meeting between the
representatives of the Consulate General of the Republic of
Poland in London, the representatives of the Barka Foundation
for Mutual Help - on its fact finding mission from Poznań on
combating homelessness, the representative of the Voivod
Employment Office in Poznań, the representative of the
All-Polish Union for Social Integration as well as the British
charities The Simon Community and the Housing Justice Unleash
was held at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland".
read>
Westminster pays struggling Poles to go
home
By Sally Pook
12.09.06
Day 4, 10.09.2006
The first Polish Festival in London
http://www.polishfestival.org.uk/
correspondence from London by Małgorzata Malak (PBME Office in
London)
During the festival we had the opportunity to meet the President
of the Republic of Poland in exile, Mr Jan Kaczorowski and his
wife. Once again we spoke to the Consul General. We participated
in a Mass celebrated by the priest Bronisław Gostomski from
Saint Andrew Bobola parish where we arranged the meeting for the
coming week. Today we were contacted by Robin Goodwin, a
professor of psychology at the Brunel University, who studies
Polish migrants in London and the socio-psychological factors
which influence the participation of Poles in the lives of
British (e.g. establishing contacts with people of different
nations, participation in democratic elections, receiving health
care, etc.).
(tł.A.Kącik)
Day 3, 09.09.2006
correspondence from London by Małgorzata Malak (PBME Office in
London)
Visit at the Upper Room office
Today we have visited the office of the Upper Room. A few people
we met there offered their help:
Janie Kidston – a coordinator of a new educational programme;
Anna Majcherek, who also works for the Broadway Project where
she helps to write CVs, to find work, organizes free health care
and detoxification for addicts, distributes ID letters (most of
the people living in the streets do not have any documents);
Krzysztof Andrzejewski, cooperates with the all-Polish
fortnightly magazine “Work and studies abroad”.
Some volunteers we met there were also interested in working for
the Mission. (Tł.A.Kąciak)
Day 2, 08.09.2006
correspondence from London by Małgorzata Malak (PBME Office in
London)
The Polish-British Mission for
Employment meets the representatives of the Providence Row,
Praxis, Homeless Link and Upper Room.
The Providence Row is a daycare centre for homeless. It’s placed
in a huge building in the multicultural district Tower Hamlets.
They offer free meals, clothes, showers, support groups,
artistic workshops and cinema club. The center helps to find
temporary accommodation. According to the annual report by the
Providence Row recently more and more people from accession
countries, especially from Poland and Slovenia, look for help
there. Leszek Bór, a member of our group, was asked to
participate in support groups for Poles addicted to alcohol.
www.providencerow.org.uk
read>
Day 1,
07.09.2006
correspondence from London by Małgorzata
Malak (PBME Office in London)
The most important during our first day in London was a meeting
with the Consul General of the Republic of Poland who gave us
valuable information.
He spoke about a few groups of Poles who came to Great Britain.
Among them there are so called “professional homeless” who want
to be homeless and believe they feel well like this.
read>
Today a group of experts from Barka has
gone to London
07.09.2006 As we announced at the beginning of August, British
non-governmental organizations invited the Barka Foundation to
cooperate in creating assistance programs for homeless and
unemployed Poles in Great Britain. The Polish-British Mission
for Employment has been established. On the 7th of September the
Barka Foundation sends to London the first group of experts for
a fact-finding visit. The trip is supported by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs which pays for the flights and accommodation in
the Polish Embassy. The group will be accompanied by a Member of
Parliament Jacek Tomczak, a representative of the Voivod
Employment Office in Poznan, a representative of the Training
Company ABEROS from Poznań and a crew of the channel 1 of the
Polish Television.
“We will meet homeless Poles and English Monsignors” – said Ewa
Sadowska, a project coordinator. Various visits are planned: to
non-governmental organizations (also those run by the Polish
community), official meetings with British Government, House of
Commons and the House of Lords and with the high-rank
representatives of Westminister and Southwark Councils. There
will be meetings with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
England and Wales, with the president of the International
Federation of Social Workers, with the Consul General of the
Embassy of Poland and the mayors of Peterborough, Bedforshire
and Bristol. The most serious agencies have announced their
presence during the press conference in London on the 11th of
September.
“The activity of the Barka Foundation becomes a part of consular
activities of the Republic of Poland. The Consul General of the
Embassy of Poland will participate in all our meetings in
London. The Polish Embassy is taking care of us all the time” –
Ewa Sadowska said. (tł.A.Kąciak)
Polish charity workers arrive to take migrants home (6.09.06)
A Draft schedule of the Visit in London
(7-13.09.2006)
read>
05.09.06
The Barka Foundation officially invited
the Secretary of State from the Ministry of Labour and Social
Policy, Mrs. Elzbieta Rafalska, to take part in the
Polish-British Mission for Employment which will take place in
the period between the 7th and the 13th of September.
Invitations were sent also from the part of Simon Community and
Local Administration of the Westminster and Sothwark boroughs.
read>
invitation
from Simone Community>
04.09.06
Touching letter from a London's local government office workerread>
01.09.06 President of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), Mr. David N. Jones (United Kingdom) is supportive towards the activities aimed at creation of the Polish-British Mission for Employment in London. He has plans to contact the President of IFSW Europa, Mr. Nicolai Paulsen (Denmark) and notify persons and environments who could possibly help the Mission in London. (Andrzej Goclawski, ops.pl)
01.09.06 In a conversation with representatives of the Barka
Foundation Brother Marek from Taize
expressed his concern on the difficult situation of Polish
emigrants in Italy, acknowledging that the Polish Mission should
also address its activities to the Italian area.
Details of stay of the first team?
31.08.06 On Aug. 30th we received an introductory program for the
visit in London from the Simon Community. The program includes
many meetings with institutions and organizations (also Polish
organizations), representatives of local authorities and the
government, as well as the House of Lords. A press conference is
planned for Sept. 11th .
On Aug. 31st the details of the stay in London were agreed with
the director of the Simon Community through a telephone call.
Sept. 1st “The interest of the media, including British, is not
weakening” said Ewa Sadowska. “I received some telephone calls
from the BBC radio. Journalists were asking mainly about the
expected cooperation form between the Barka Foundation and the
British government.
30.08.06 Two articles from today's
Independent (UK) concerning
immigration to the UK.
Tabloids in Great Britain fright with Poles
29.08.06 As P. Szczerkowski writes in Gazeta Wyborcza the affluence of hundreds of thousands workers from the new European Union states starts to generate anti-immigration hysteria in Great Britain.
29.08.06 A meeting of Barka Foundation’s representatives is planned today in the office of Parliament’s Speaker
Meeting in the regional Office in Poznan
28.08.
Barka Foundation’s representatives will take part in a meeting
on support of the Polish-British Mission on Social Employment on
Sept. 5th. Mr. Zbigniew Hoffman, First Vice-Mayor and Dr. Jan
Głęboki, Director of Social Policy Department in the Regional
Office will participate in the meeting.
28.08.06 We undertook activities to
set up a toll-free info-line. Through this info-line
Poles with difficulties in Great Britain will have the
possibility of contacting the office of the Polish-British
Mission on Social Employment. Our intention is to attend also
the persons in Poland who are planning to travel to Great
Britain with the purpose of searching for work. A meeting is
planned in the Polish Telecommunication office in Warsaw on
August 29th
28.08.06 The first visit to London will
consist of 7 persons: A representative of the
regional office, substitute of the regional work office’s
director and a representative of ABEROS Training Company from
Poznan will travel together with the first mission to London.
We invite you to
the section “Worth to read”
Down to
the lumpenproletariat. In Great Britain for bread.
Tygodnik Powszechny 21.08.2006
POLISH-BRITISH MISSION FOR EMPLOYMENT
26.08.06 From today the name of our mission was changed,
informed Ewa Sadowska, responsible for the mission. This name
reflects better its principles, sense and the objective of
common activities with the British side.
“Labour pains” “The Guardian”, Aug. 23rd, 2006
26.08.06 Exploitation
and poor living conditions rather than economic prosperity
awaits many migrant workers from eastern Europe
read >
Migration fever in the UK
25.08.06 Statistics published on 22 August 2006 show that the UK received more than 427,000 migrant workers from the new member states since 2004. These figures contrast with earlier statistics, which gave far lower estimates.
The UK government's original estimate of 5,000 to 13,000 migrant workers from Eastern European countries was corrected to more than 427,000. The Home Office says the real figures might amount to 600,000, as the statistics only cover those voluntarily registered and excludes self-employed. More than half of the workers, some 260,000, come from Poland.read>
"The Simon Community warns”
25.08.06
The Simon Community warned this week that Polish migrants are in mortal danger on the streets of London this winter unless the government takes swift action.read>
The first travel of the team to London was
established for Sept. 7th, 2006.
24.08.06 Telephone
conversations were held today
between Barka Foundation’s
representatives and the director of the British organization
Simon Community – Mr. Timothy Nichols. During
this talk the stay of the Polish delegation was established for
the period September 7th to 13th, 2006. The preliminary program
of stay was also discussed.
Toll-free telephone information?
24.08.06
Mr. Andrew Hingston, an American who lives in Poznan for some
years, visited the Barka Foundation. He is interested in
supporting the Aid Mission in London. His idea is to install a
toll-free telephone line for Poles with troubles in Great
Britain. A meeting was fixed for Aug. 25th in TP’s branch at ul.
Glogowska between Barka Foundation’s chairman, Mr. Tomasz
Sadowski and the representative of the Polish Telecommunication
Company, Mr. Maciej Pietrula.
Announcement of a meeting in the Ministry of Labour and Social
Policy.
23.08.06 A meeting is planned for August 29th at 11 o’clock a.m. between NGOs representatives: Ewa Sadowska (Barka Foundation), Grzegorz Wojtanowski (Polish Alliance of NGOs for Social Integration) and Elzbieta Rafalska, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. The meeting will be held in the Ministry, in Warsaw.
The Guardian - Barka – Wielkopolska province office
23.08.06 On Aug. 23rd a meeting was held with representatives of the Barka Foundation (Mr. Tomasz Sadowski, foundation’s board chairman, Ewa Sadowska, board’s member), Mr. Luke Harding, journalist of the Guardian and marshals of the Wielkopolska province, Mr. Jozef Lewandowski (employment issues), Mr. Przemyslaw Smulski (social policy) and Zdzislaw Sawala (director of the provincial work office). On this meeting the journalist from The Guardian made an interview with the above mentioned representatives of public institutions and NGO on the difficulties the Polish people find in searching for work in Great Britain. Mr. Luke Harding presented the question of the dishonest work agencies in Poland. Discussion was also held on possibility of cooperation between the provincial office and non-governmental organizations.
23.08.06
Interview for the British newspaper The Guardian.
22.08.06 The assistant of the Poznan
City’s President, Jerzy Stepien informed the Barka
Foundation that the President does not see the possibility of
cooperation with the “London Mission”.
22.08.06 Discussions with a
representative of the British company FEXCO Money Transfer Ltd.,
who offered the possibility of sponsoring the lacking part of
money indispensable for the travel to London.
On Barka’s Mission in the Parliament
Aug. 22nd Mr. Jacek Tomczak, member of the parliament, made a
statement regarding the creation of Barka’s Mission.
read
Polish>
Aug. 22nd Telephone call from a worker
of the Peterborough City Office (120 thousand
inhabitant’s city, south from London, with a migration wave of
Poles) with invitation to the Polish delegation for meeting with
representatives of Peterborough’s authorities. Journalists from
Bedfordshire also expressed the will to meet with the Polish
delegation.
Associated Press News
22.08.2006 WARSAW, Poland (AP) A Polish humanitarian group
plans to start working in London to help Poles return home after
they failed to find decent work there, the group said Friday.
Barka, a foundation based in the western Polish city of Poznan,
will send five members including a lawyer, a psychologist and a
social worker to London in two weeks.
read >
22.08.06
"Polonia news” („Wieści polonijne") on August 18th
and 19th, the Polonia TV put on the air a reportage
on the Polish support to homeless in London
see >
The Daily Telegraph writes about the Barka Mission
22.08.06 A chance to go home for Poles left without resources for
living. Read also the story of Michal.
read
>
Conference in Varsaw
18.08.06 Barka Foundation plans a conference on the problems of
Poles in Great Britain and the activities planned to solve them.
The conference will be held in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
after the return of the Polish delegation from London.
Invitation sent to representatives of Governmental and local
authorities administrations, the Commissioner for Civil Rights
Protection and non-governmental organizations.
18.08.06
"I received 42 mails and telephone
calls from Poles” living both in Poland and in Great
Britain ready to cooperate with the Polish Mission in London,
said Ewa Sadowska, responsible for the preparation of the
mission
Reuter, BBC, ARTE, Independent NEWS TV, TVN interested in the
Polish Mission
18.08.06 Telephone from Reuter Agency regarding possibility of
meeting with the first Polish Mission aid team. Telephone from a
journalist from TVN Notice interested in the Mission in Great
Britain, and mainly in the story of the Pole, who traveled to UK
and found himself in a dramatic situation there. Two interviews
with Ewa Sadowska for the BBC RADIO 5.
Interview for the British News Center
Announced interviews:
1. French-German cultural channel ARTE
2. BBC Radio 5 News
3. London Independent NEWS TV
In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
17.08.06 Meeting of representatives of the Barka Foundation’s and
the National Alliance for Social Integration with the Mr.
Andrzej Sados – Office for Protection and Promotion of Polish
Image in the World. MSZ Information System Department will
support 5-person representation’s travel to London.
Meeting in the SENATE
17.08.06 Meeting of Ewa Sadowska (Barka Foundation), Zbigniew
Kosla (National Alliance of NGOs for Social Integration) and Mr.
Artur Kozlowski – Director of the Polonia Office in the Senate
Chancellery with Mr. Romuald Lanczkowski (Senate Chancellery
Chief’s substitute) regarding support of 5-person aid team’s
travel to London (Barka Foundation’s and other organization’s
workers) on situation’s reconnaissance and beginning of
preparations to establish the Mission. Representatives of the
Senate Chancellery encouraged Barka Foundation to submit an
application for donation.
TV Polonia
17.08.06 Interview of Ewa Sadowska for TVP transmitted on August
18th in the program Polonia News on the Polonia channel.
see >
(better with the right bottom of the mouse and „save as”
)
Media
16.08.06 Telephone call of a NEWSWEEK’s journalist interested in
accompanying the 5-person representation to London
16.08. Interview for The Daily Telegraph.
Meeting with the Vice-President of Poznan
16.08.06 Ewa Sadowska (Barka Foundation) and Grzegorz Wojtanowski
(National Alliance of NGOs for Social Integration) had a meeting
with Mr. Jerzy Stepien (Vice-President of the Poznan City)
regarding support for the project of the Polish Mission in
London. On Monday (21.08) the President will inform how the
Poznan City Office may support the travel of 5 workers of
organizations from Poznan to London.
The OPS Central Warsaw Volunteering wrote to us:
16.08.06 The ops.pl redaction service sent to Ms. Ewa Sadowska an
e-mail suggesting to establish contact with
IFSW
regarding present problems of Poles searching for work in UK and
include in the activities of support social workers from Poland
interested in helping. The information on Barka’s Mission in
London was sent also to Mr. David NJ, President of the
International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW)
and the Secretary General of IFSW in Switzerland.
http://www.ops.pl/news.php?id=2695
Andrzej
Gocłowski, ops.pl redaction
17.08.06 ”Wyborcza” Poznan City’s
magazine on our mission
read
Polish version>
How to find work in England?
Read
UK Polish Community on-line. (11.08.)
From the Polish Republic Senate Chancellery
10.08.06 Mr. Kozlowski, Director of the Senate Chancellery’s
Polish Office invited three representatives of the Barka
Foundation for a meeting in the Polish Republic Senate
Chancellery on August 17th, 2006 at 11 o’clock a.m.
The theme of the meeting will be financial and organizational
support to the Polish Aid Mission in Great Britain.
10.08.06We answer telephone calls every day – says Ewa Sadowska, responsible for the project, also from outside the Wielkopolska region and also from London, from Poles living and working there. Many persons expressed their willingness to cooperate with the Mission. We are presently creating a list of volunteers.
"The Daily Telegraph" and "The Observer"
09.08.06
The British journal "The Daily Telegraph" expressed interest in the
Polish Aid Mission and made a telephone interview with Foundation’s
representative; the weekly newspaper “The Observer” (Sunday broadsheet)
wants to publish a text on the Polish Aid Mission next Sunday.
09.08.06 "... I would like to arrange a visit, perhaps to come to you, and also to help you to come here. Many people are keen to develop stronger links with organisations like yours. Do you think there are other organisations working to help homeless people in Poland/other A8 countries that would benefit from this exchange and perhaps establishing better mutual links?...”
letter English version>
letter Polish version>
Invitation from the Poznan City Hall
08.08.06
Mr. Jerzy Stepien, Poznan City Vice-President invited Barka Foundation’s
representative for a meeting in the Poznan City Office on August 16th
at 11 o’clock to discuss details of the Mission.
Addressees of the letter on support for the Polish Aid Mission to Poles Searching Work in England:
Ms. Anna Fotyga – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Andrzej Sadoś – Office for Protection and Promotion of Polish Image in the World (MSZ Information System Department)
Ms. Anna Kalata – Ministry of Labour and Social Policy
Mr. Marek Jurek – Polish Republic Sejm Speaker
Mr. Bogdan Borusewicz – Polish Republic Senate Speaker
Mr. Rafał Dutkiewicz – Wroclaw City President
Mr. Ryszard Grobelny – Poznan City President
Mr. Tadeusz Dziuba – Wielkopolska province Governor
Mr. Marek Wozniak – Wielkopolska Province Marshall
On August 25th, 2006 the letter was sent to all the remaining provinces’ governors and marshals, as well as to presidents of the major cities.
The Media interested in the Polish Mission
08.08.06 The Media reacted very spontaneously to the news on creation of
the Polish Mission in London. Information appeared, among others, on the
websites of: PAP, Rzeczpospolita, Wyborcza Work (Praca), NGO, and also
in the Radio RMI FM, Radio TOK FM, Radio Emaus. We were contacted by
journalists from the Warsaw Press Agency and TVP3, who declared
readiness to travel to London together with the first representatives of
the Barka Foundation. The most frequent questions refer to the
engagement of Wielkopolska region’s inhabitants and regional and
governmental authorities in the support for Poles in Great Britain.
Barka Foundation wants to establish a humanitarian mission
07.08.06 Poznan (PAP) – Barka Foundation for Mutual Help wants to
establish a humanitarian aid mission for Poles who went to London
searching for job and are now living on train stations and streets.
The Mission is to be established in cooperation with English
organizations of social support: the Simon Community and Housing Justice
UNLEASH. These organizations made a report on the more and more
complicated situation of Poles searching for jobs in Great Britain and
sent it to the Barka Foundation. There are no concrete numbers data on
the scale of the problem, but it comes out from the report that many
Poles do not find employment, start living on the streets and in
degraded environments.
The British organizations wrote that they fear that our compatriots may
represent a social threat, admit that they are not in position to assure
them aid and need support from the Polish side.
Barka’ Foundation’s chairman, Mr. Tomasz Sadowski, said that in about
two weeks volunteers will go to London and check the scale of the
problem.
”It is necessary to reply to a series of questions”: “Do our compatriots
want to come back to Poland? Do they have where to what for come back
to? Do they expect help in finding job abroad? Are they in position of
working abroad?, said Mr. Sadowski.
Krzysztof Krzywania from Barka added that up to now it is not known
whether the English organizations with whom the Barka Foundation
cooperates are in position to help in organizing stay for the volunteers
engaged in the Mission. The problem is still to find financing for these
activities, he said.
Barka
Foundation for Mutual Help gives support for the homeless, unemployed,
former prisoners, alcoholics, etc., who are not in position to provide
for their subsistence by themselves. For ten years now the Barka
Foundation is organizing the Christmas Eve for some hundreds of persons.
About 500 live in 14 Barka’s homes in 10 cities. Besides shelters Barka
also manages farms, shops and social companies providing services. (PAP)
Pozostałe newsy w Archiwum witryny