More information
Description
Approximately 200 thousand immigrants from Ukraine and Belarus live in Dolny Śląsk. This community experiences prejudice and discrimination due to their origin – and this includes problems in contact with institutions, workplace abuses (lower rate of pay and without an employment contract), problems on the residential property market (dislike on the part of tenants), and hate-based attacks. Acquiescence towards conduct of this kind originates at the top, starting for instance with politicians who use anti-Ukrainian rhetoric. At the same time, this problem is essentially non-existent in public debate – it is of little importance and is not noticed in any way, especially in Dolny Śląsk. The Project Promoter will organize journalism workshops for a group of 40 people from Belarus and Ukraine, who will then give accounts of their experiences and enter a competition for a journalistic piece on the subject of immigration. Two workshops on discrimination will also be held, for approximately 40 people. The Project Promoter will conduct surveys of the Dolny Śląsk immigrant community concerning their experiences of discrimination, and this will be the starting point for advocacy activities at a local level. A campaign will be conducted in the local media to raise awareness of the scale of the problem. The project will be useful above all to immigrants from Ukraine and Belarus living in Wrocław and in Dolny Śląsk, and this includes political refugees from Belarus – persons already receiving support from the Project Promoter. The workshops will improve their competencies with respect to recognizing and reacting to discrimination, and talking about their experiences using their own voice. Other groups for whom the project will be useful will be the Dolny Śląsk authorities and community. The problem of discrimination of immigrants will be publicized, and surveys at local level will reveal the scale of the problem and be the basis for work to counter discriminatory practices.
Summary of project results
The project responds to the problem of discrimination against migrants and migrant women from the East. In Lower Silesia, before the outbreak of war in Ukraine, there were about 200,000 people from Ukraine and Belarus. Today the statistics are many times higher. This community experiences prejudice and discrimination based on origin in everyday life - including difficulties in dealing with institutions, abuse in the workplace (underpayment, lack of employment contracts), problems in the housing market (unwillingness of tenants), and hate attacks. The acquiescence to this type of behavior comes from the top, including from politicians who use anti-Ukrainian rhetoric. At the same time, the problem is virtually nonexistent in the public debate - it seems unimportant and completely unnoticed, especially in Lower Silesia.
As part of the project, the Project Promoter organized a journalism workshop for a group of 28 people from Belarus and Ukraine, who next - as part of a competition for journalistic material on migrant issues - reported on their experiences. Two anti-discrimination workshops were also held for some 34 people. Migrants were also able to receive individual counseling on discrimination or other issues related to their migration experience. The Project Promoter surveyed the community of Lower Silesian migrants and migrant women for the discrimination they experienced. The survey became the basis for advocacy efforts at the local level and for a media outreach campaign.
The project primarily benefited the community of migrant women and men from Ukraine and Belarus living in Wroclaw and Lower Silesia, including refugee women and political refugees from Belarus. Those who participated in the workshops improved their skills in recognizing and responding to discrimination, as well as their self-advocacy competencies, i.e. speaking about their experiences and needs in their own voice. The problem of discrimination against migrants and migrant women in Lower Silesia was publicized, and research at the local level showed the scale of the problem.